This paper analyzes changes in gender employment rate (GER) differentials for whites and
blacks in the United States from 1950 to 2008. We document the evolution of the GER gap,
which narrows considerably within both racial groups and turns slightly negative for blacks.
We document the changing employment levels that drive these patterns as well as compositional
shifts in each gender-race population. Among whites, nearly all of the narrowing is
attributable to increasing employment rates among women. For blacks, a large component of
the narrowing is explained by declining employment rates among men. Black employment
rates decline precipitously for the least educated and post-1980 are reduced further by increased
institutionalization and declining marriage rates. In an analysis of state-level interdecade
changes in female outcomes, we find that a worsening of black male employment
prospects is associated with an increase in female education and a decline in marriage and
fertility rates.