|
on Gender |
| By: | José J. Domínguez (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.) |
| Abstract: | Committee quotas have been introduced during the last years for combatting the underrepresentation of women in male-stereotyped environments. However, the unclear effect of evaluators’ gender and the gender differences in group dynamics in mixed-gender committees question the effectiveness of the policy. I provide experimental evidence in both directions; a) how the gender composition of the committees affects the probability of female candidates of being recruited in a hiring process, and b) how men and women behave in group dynamics as a mechanism explaining the outcome of the policy. I designed a laboratory experiment in which groups of three subjects have to jointly select two candidates in a pool of six to perform a task. The probability of success of female candidates does not improve as the number of women in the committee increases. I found that malemajority committees were the most beneficial for female candidates. In these groups, men and women exhibited a similar level of voice and influence during deliberations, proposing male and female candidates for recruitment. Female-majority groups were, in contrast, the most detrimental for female candidates. Women in female-majority groups presented a higher level of voice but men, who proposed only male candidates as a modal proposal, were more influential, what limited the contribution of women. The paper suggests that more women in the committee do not necessarily benefit female candidates and examines some reasons that question the effectiveness of this policy. |
| Keywords: | Committee Quotas; Gender Gap; Group Dynamics; Laboratory Experiment. |
| JEL: | D03 C92 J71 |
| Date: | 2021–11–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:21/12&r= |
| By: | Aparajita Dasgupta (Ashoka University); Anahita Karandikar (J-PAL, South Asia) |
| Abstract: | There is mixed evidence in the literature on the effect of rainfall shocks on educational outcomes for children in rural areas, with a limited understanding of how the gender-gap in education evolves in the face of such a shock. We posit that the vulnerability to climatic shocks can vary by the gender institutions of the setting which can have a bearing on the gender-gap in educational outcomes. On one hand, a negative productivity shock can lead to a disproportionate reduction in human capital outcomes for girls, as investments for girls may be more sensitive to income constraints. On the other hand, as the opportunity cost of schooling goes down in the face of a negative shock, it can translate into gains in educational outcomes, which are higher for female children in areas that favour female labour force participation. Leveraging the variation in cropping patterns that guide norms around female labor force participation (FLFP) in rural India, we examine how exposure to contemporaneous and past rainfall shocks a effects learning outcomes for girls and boys. We find the widest gaps in outcomes in positive versus negative rainfall shock years for female children in regions that favour FLFP. We provide suggestive evidence that this is driven by increased participation in paid employment and full time domestic work during a positive rainfall shock. |
| Keywords: | Female labour force participation, rainfall, education, India |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ash:wpaper:70&r= |
| By: | Chuan, A.; Zhang, W. |
| Abstract: | Women used to lag behind men in college enrollment but now exceed them. We argue that changes in non-college job prospects contributed to these trends. We first document that routine-biased technical change disproportionately displaced non-college occupations held by women. We next employ a shift-share instrument for the impact of routinization to show that declining non-college job prospects for women increased female enrollment. Results show that a one percentage point decline in the share of routine task intensive jobs leads to a 0.6 percentage point rise in female college enrollment, while the effect for male enrollment is directionally smaller and insignificant. We next embed this instrumental variation into a dynamic model that links education and occupation choices. The model finds that routinization decreased returns to non-college occupations for women, leading them to shift to cognitive work and increasing their college premium. In contrast, non-college occupations for men were less susceptible to routinization. Altogether, our model estimates that workplace routinization accounted for 63% of the growth in female enrollment and 23% of the change in male enrollment between 1980 to 2000. |
| Keywords: | human capital, college enrollment, gender, occupations, automation |
| JEL: | I23 I24 I26 J16 J24 I26 |
| Date: | 2021–11–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2177&r= |
| By: | Ishaan Bansal (IDInsight); Kanika Mahajan (Ashoka University) |
| Abstract: | Existing evidence shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to employed women witnessing larger losses in the labor market in India. We examine the heterogeneity that underlie these trends by studying the impact of Covid-19 induced income shocks on female employment. Using individual level panel data and a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits lockdown timing (April 2020) and accounts for seasonal employment trends, we find that women in households facing a hundred percent reduction in household male income during the lockdown were 1.5 pp (25%) more likely to take up work during the "unlockdown" months (June-August 2020). We also find these results to be predominant in poorer and less educated households. However, these positive employment trends are only transitory in nature with a reversal in female employment in these households from September 2020 onwards. These findings underscore the use of women's labor as insurance during low-income periods by poorer households. |
| Keywords: | Employment, COVID-19, income shocks, gender, India |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ash:wpaper:69&r= |