This paper analyzes the determinants of labor participation of married women (married or in consensual union) and their spouses as a family decision in Colombia. It has been found that married women experience a greater pressure for participating in the labor market than women in general. Education is an important factor that reduces the gap in labor participation rates among couples. The econometric estimations, using a bivariate probit model corrected for selection bias, show that the labor participation decision of couples is affected in different ways by human capital endowment, school age children, household economic conditions, and indicators of labor demand and regional characteristics
