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on Gender |
| By: | Cavapozzi, Danilo (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia); Francesconi, Marco (University of Essex); Nicoletti, Cheti (University of York) |
| Abstract: | We study whether mothers' labor supply is shaped by the gender role attitudes of their peers. Using detailed information on a sample of UK mothers with dependent children, we find that having peers with gender-egalitarian norms leads mothers to be more likely to have a paid job and to have a greater share of the total number of paid hours worked within their household, but has no sizable effect on hours worked. Most of these effects are driven by less educated women. A new decomposition analysis allows us to estimate that approximately half of the impact on labor force participation is due to women conforming gender role attitudes to their peers', with the remaining half being explained by the spillover effect of peers' labor market behavior. These findings suggest that an evolution towards gender-egalitarian attitudes promotes gender convergence in labor market outcomes. In turn, a careful dissemination of statistics on female labor market behavior and attitudes may accelerate this convergence. |
| Keywords: | culture, norms, gender, identity, peer effects |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J22 J24 J31 Z13 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14219&r=all |
| By: | Jean N. Lee (World Bank); Jonathan Morduch (Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University); Saravana Ravindran (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore); Abu S. Shonchoy (Department of Economics, Florida International University) |
| Abstract: | Mobile banking and related digital financial technologies can make financial services cheaper and more widely accessible in low-income economies, but gender gaps persist. We present evidence from two connected field experiments in Bangladesh designed to encourage the adoption and use of mobile banking by poor, illiterate households. We show that training can dramatically increase adoption and usage by women. At the same time, women on average persist in using mobile banking at a lower rate than men. The study focuses on migrants and their families in Bangladesh. Despite large differences between female and male migrants in income and education, the first experiment shows that a training program led to a similarly large, positive impact on mobile banking usage by female and male migrants, increasing usage rates for both by about 45 percentage points. That led to increases in remittances sent to rural areas, reduced rural poverty, and increased rural consumption. Both female and male migrants in the treatment group, however, reported worse physical and emotional health, adding to health challenges reported by women across treatment and control groups. A second experiment explores whether the way that the technology was introduced and explained made an additional difference in narrowing gender gaps. Despite the lack of statistical power to detect small treatment impacts, we find suggestive evidence that the treatment increased mobile banking adoption by female migrants. |
| Keywords: | gender, financial inclusion, digital money, migration, field experiment, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | R23 O33 O16 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fiu:wpaper:2108&r=all |
| By: | Alon, Titan (University of California, San Diego); Coskun, Sena (University of Mannheim); Doepke, Matthias (Northwestern University); Koll, David (European University Institute); Tertilt, Michèle (University of Mannheim) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of the global recession triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic on women's versus men's employment. Whereas recent recessions in advanced economies usually had a disproportionate impact on men's employment, giving rise to the moniker "mancessions," we show that the pandemic recession of 2020 was a "shecession" in most countries with larger employment declines among women. We examine the causes behind this pattern using micro data from several national labor force surveys, and show that both the composition of women's employment across industries and occupations as well as increased childcare needs during closures of schools and daycare centers made important contributions. While many countries exhibit similar patterns, we also emphasize how policy choices such as furloughing policies and the extent of school closures shape the pandemic's impact on the labor market. Another notable finding is the central role of telecommuting: gender gaps in the employment impact of the pandemic arise almost entirely among workers who are unable to work from home. Nevertheless, among telecommuters a different kind of gender gap arises: women working from home during the pandemic spent more work time also doing childcare and experienced greater productivity reductions than men. We discuss what our findings imply for gender equality in a post-pandemic labor market that will likely continue to be characterized by pervasive telecommuting. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, pandemics, recessions, business cycle, gender equality, school closures, childcare, gender wage gap |
| JEL: | D13 E32 J16 J20 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14223&r=all |
| By: | Oto-Peralías, Daniel (Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Gutiérrez Mora, Dolores |
| Abstract: | This paper uses text analysis to measure gender bias in cities through the use of street names. Focusing on the case of Spain, we collect data on 15 million street names to analyze gender inequality in urban toponyms. We calculate for each Spanish municipality and each year from 2001 to 2020 a variable measuring the percentage of streets with female names over the total number of streets with male and female names. Our results reveal a strong gender imbalance in Spanish cities: the percentage of streets named after women over the total named after men and women is only 12% in 2020. We also observe that there are substantial differences across the Spanish regions, and concerning new streets, gender bias is lower but still far from parity. The second part of the paper analyzes the correlation of our indicator of gender bias in street names with the cultural factor it is supposed to capture, with the results suggesting that it constitutes a useful cultural measure of gender inequality at the city level. This research has policy implications since it helps to measure a relevant phenomenon, given the strong symbolic power attributed to street names, which has been elusive to quantify so far. |
| Date: | 2021–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:b9n4k&r=all |
| By: | Ann L. Owen; Judit Temesvary; Andrew Wei |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of the social networks of bank directors on board gender diversity and compensation using a unique, newly compiled dataset over the 1999-2018 period. We find that within-board social networks are extensive, but there are significant differences in the size and gender composition of social networks of male vs female bank directors. We also find that samegender networks play an important role in determining the gender composition of bank boards. Finally, we show that those connected to male directors receive higher compensation, but we find no evidence that connections to female directors are influential in determining pay and bonuses. |
| Keywords: | Bank boards; Social networks; Gender; Gender diversity |
| JEL: | G21 G34 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2021-21&r=all |
| By: | Stefania Fabrizio; Diego B. P. Gomes; Marina Mendes Tavares |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain the virus have caused severe disruptions to labor supply and demand worldwide. Understanding who is bearing the burden of the crisis and what drives it is crucial for designing policies going forward. Using the U.S. monthly Current Population Survey data, this paper analyzes differences in employment responses between men and women. The main finding is that less educated women with young children were the most adversely affected during the first nine months of the crisis.The loss of employment of women with young children due to the burden of additional childcare is estimated to account for 45 percent of the increase in the employment gender gap, and to reduce total output by 0.36 percent between April and November 2020. |
| Keywords: | Women;Employment;Gender inequality;Unemployment;Education;COVID-19,Gender Equality,School Closures,Output Cost,WP,employment gender gap,employment loss,gender employment gap,women employment distribution,employment level,gender employment growth gap,occupations employment |
| Date: | 2021–03–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2021/058&r=all |
| By: | Francesco Decarolis; Raymond Fisman; Paolo Pinotti; Silvia Vannutelli; Yongxiang Wang |
| Abstract: | We examine the correlation between gender and bureaucratic corruption using two distinct datasets, one from Italy and a second from China. In each case, we find that women are far less likely to be investigated for corruption than men. In our Italian data, female procurement officials are 34 percent less likely than men to be investigated for corruption by enforcement authorities; in China, female prefectural leaders are as much as 75 percent less likely to be arrested for corruption than men. While these represent correlations (rather than definitive causal effects), both are very robust relationships, which survive the inclusion of fine-grained individual and geographic controls. |
| JEL: | D73 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28397&r=all |
| By: | Raquel Fernández; Asel Isakova; Francesco Luna; Barbara Rambousek |
| Abstract: | This paper considers various dimensions and sources of gender inequality and presents policies and best practices to address these. With women accounting for fifty percent of the global population, inclusive growth can only be achieved if it promotes gender equality. Despite recent progress, gender gaps remain across all stages of life, including before birth, and negatively impact health, education, and economic outcomes for women. The roadmap to gender equality has to rely on legal framework reforms, policies to promote equal access, and efforts to tackle entrenched social norms. These need to be set in the context of arising new trends such as digitalization, climate change, as well as shocks such as pandemics. |
| Keywords: | Women;Gender inequality;Gender;Health;Education;gender gap,inequality,wage gap,wage segregation,gender discrimination,active labor market policies,gender budgeting,GGGI: Global Gender Gap Index,inclusive growth,WP,fiscal policy,parental leave,justice system,gender earnings gap,age-employment profile,commonwealth country |
| Date: | 2021–03–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2021/059&r=all |
| By: | Jane Korinek; Evdokia Moïsé; Jakob Tange |
| Abstract: | Closing gender gaps makes good economic sense. Advancing the aim of women’s economic empowerment will require policy action across a wide range of areas, including increasing their participation in international trade. Although trade policies are not de jure discriminatory, they impact women and men differently due to dissimilar initial conditions. Mapping the channels and interactions between trade and gender for women as workers, consumers, and business owners shows that: (i) trade impacts women workers differently to men in part because they are employed in different sectors — in OECD countries, more often in services; (ii) trade lowers prices for consumers, which particularly increases the purchasing power of more vulnerable groups, where women are disproportionately represented; and (iii) higher trade costs impede smaller businesses’ access to international markets more than large firms, which impacts women who tend to own and lead smaller businesses. A framework is proposed for analysing the impacts of trade and trade policies on women that policy makers can use in order to ensure that trade and trade policies in their country support women’s economic empowerment. |
| Keywords: | Gender equality, Gender impact analysis, Preferential Trade Agreements, Trade facilitation, Women entrepreneurs |
| JEL: | F13 F66 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaab:246-en&r=all |
| By: | Emilia Barili (University of Genoa); Veronica Grembi (University of Milan); Anna Rosso (University of Milan) |
| Abstract: | Relying on a survey of more than 4,000 female respondents, we investigate the main determinants of women's mental distress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. We focus on two groups of variables to capture both the health and the economic emergency: present concerns and future expectations. Our results show that the main predictors of mental health are future expectations, such as the fear of losing a job, which is more relevant than concerns related to the spread of the virus. Younger women (less than 35), those lacking a high school degree, and those working in education or in remote work with school-aged children are in most distress. Using a panel fixed effects model that includes respondents to a re-call run in February 2021, we show that there was no adjustment to the new normal. Finally, using data on gender norms, we show that where the role of women is conceived in a more traditional way, the level of mental distress as driven by future employment is lower, suggesting that women's expectations for their role in society do play a relevant role in self-assessed well-being. |
| Keywords: | Mental health, COVID-19, Expectations, Gender Stereotypes |
| JEL: | I1 I12 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:470&r=all |
| By: | Espino, Ilya; Hermeto, Ana; Luz, Luciana |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of individual and household characteristics on time allocation decisions for both women and men, and how these effects have evolved in Urban Guatemala using data from the National Survey of Living Conditions (2000 and 2004). We built a multivariate Tobit to model the decision of individuals to allocate time, distinguishing between three different types of time uses: housework, childcare, and paid work. The results reveal that time allocation is strongly determined by gender. For both periods, on average, women devote more time to housework and childcare than men, while men spent more hours in paid work than their counterparts. Although offering fewer hours of paid work, women frequently accumulate both unpaid and paid work, while men specialize in market work. Moreover, women's time allocation is more responsive to individuals and household characteristics than men in both periods. Finally, we find that educational attainment plays a central role in shaping how individuals allocate their time between market and non-market activities, especially for women. For instance, while housework time is negatively associated with education level, time devoted to childcare increases with instruction. |
| Keywords: | time use, gender, housework, childcare, paid work, Guatemala |
| JEL: | D1 D13 J22 O54 |
| Date: | 2020–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:106477&r=all |
| By: | Catia Batista; Sandra Sequeira; Pedro C. Vicente |
| Abstract: | We examine the complementarity between access to mobile savings accounts and improved financial management skills on the performance of female-led micro-enterprises in Mozambique. This combined support is associated with a large increase in both short and long-term firm profits and in financial security, when compared to the independent effect of each of these interventions. This support allowed female-headed micro-enterprises to close the gender gap in performance and financial literacy relative to their male counterparts. The main drivers of improved business performance are increased financial management practices (bookkeeping), an increase in accessible savings and reduced transfers to friends and relatives. |
| Keywords: | Microenterprise development, management, gender, mobile money, financial literacy, economic development |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unl:novafr:wp2104-1&r=all |
| By: | Reuschke, Darja (University of St. Andrews); Henley, Andrew (Cardiff University); Daniel, Elizabeth (The Open University); Price, Victoria (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the female self-employed are more affected by the COVID-19 crisis than the male self-employed using longitudinal data four months following the first 'lockdown' in the UK. We specifically test the role of family/social, economic and psychological factors on gendered differential impact. We find that self-employment exits are not gendered but women are more likely to experience reductions in hours worked and earnings. This greater adverse impact on women's working hours and earnings is despite family responsibilities and home-schooling, industrial gender segregation and women's greater propensity to run a non-employing business and to work part-time. However, lower attitude to risk in women is associated with lower risk of reduction in earnings. Policy needs to look beyond business exits when considering crisis support for the self-employed. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, self-employment, COVID-19, gender, labour supply |
| JEL: | J16 J22 L26 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14216&r=all |
| By: | Zhang, Yinjunjie (Australian National University); Breunig, Robert (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Australia conforms to the gender norm that women should earn less than their male partners. We investigate the impact of violating this cultural norm on the incidence of domestic violence and emotional abuse against women and men in Australia. Violating the male breadwinning norm results in a 35 per cent increase in the likelihood of partner violence and a 20 per cent increase in emotional abuse against women. We find no effect on abuse against men. The strong effect of violating the gender norm on abuse against women is present across age ranges, income groups and cultural and educational backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | domestic violence, gender identity norm, relative income |
| JEL: | J12 K42 D31 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14225&r=all |
| By: | Moehring, Katja (University of Mannheim); Reifenscheid, Maximiliane; Weiland, Andreas |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates gender inequality in employment risks during the first and the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. We use individual-level panel data collected weekly between 20 March and 9 July 2020, and again in January 2021, to examine the risks of short-time work, job loss and unpaid furlough, as well as having to work on-site by means of growth curve modelling. The results reveal gender inequality in employment risks and gendered use of governmental support schemes. During the early phase of the pandemic, women had a higher probability of being temporarily exempted from work, but a lower probability of being in short-time work and receiving the associated state benefits. Compared to men, women also continuously had a higher probability of working on-site rather that from home. Consequently, women’s employment during the pandemic is more polarized between job loss or working on-site with the associated infection risk. Gender inequalities are rooted in the long-term gendered dualization of the German labour market with the low-wage sector and marginal employment being female dominated. The results call for close monitoring of long-term gendered effects of the pandemic recession and an adjustment of governmental crisis measures to the requirements of the female workforce. |
| Date: | 2021–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:tzma5&r=all |
| By: | Monica Bozzano (Università di Pavia); Paola Profeta (Università Bocconi, Axa Research Lab on Gender Equality, Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policies Università Bocconi); Riccardo Puglisi (Università di Pavia); Simona Scabrosetti (Università di Pavia, Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policies Università Bocconi) |
| Abstract: | Gender norms, i.e. the role of men and women in the society, are a fundamental channel through which culture may influence preferences for redistribution and public policies. We consider both cross-country and individual level evidence on this mechanism. We find that in countries that are historically more gender-equal the tax system today is more redistributive. At the individual level, we find that in more gender equal countries gender differences in redistributive preferences are significantly larger. This effect is driven by women becoming systematically more favorable to redistribution, while there are no significant changes for men. Interestingly, there is no gender-based difference in preferences for redistribution among left-leaning citizens, while this difference is significant among moderates in the expected direction: ideologically moderate women are more favorable to redistribution than moderate men, and this effect is even stronger among right-leaning individuals. |
| Keywords: | gender inequality, comparative public finance, tax mix, institutions, historical origins |
| JEL: | H10 H20 N30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipu:wpaper:102&r=all |