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on Gender |
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Issue of 2023‒07‒24
seven papers chosen by Jan Sauermann Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Peveri, Julieta; Sangnier, Marc |
| Abstract: | This paper studies differences across genders in the re-contesting decisions of politicians following electoral wins or defeats. Using close races in mixed-gender French local elections, we show that women are less likely to persist in competition when they lose compared to male runners-up, but are equally or more prone than male winners to re-contest when they win. Differences in observable characteristics or in the expected electoral returns of running again cannot fully account for these gender gaps in persistence. In contrast, evidence suggests that results are driven by behavioural explanations such as cross-gender differences in candidates' attitudes toward competition, or by political parties behaving differently toward female and male candidates for a given electoral outcome. Additionally, we provide evidence that a woman's victory encourages former female challengers to re-contest but does not trigger the entry of new female candidates. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Competition, Persistence, Candidates, Self-selection, Elections |
| JEL: | D72 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117690&r=gen |
| By: | Radost Waszkiewicz; Honorata Bogusz |
| Abstract: | Poland records one of the lowest gender wage gaps in Europe. At the same time, it is a socially conservative country where women's rights have been on the decline. We argue that, in the Polish context, the gender gap in income is a more appropriate measure of gendered labour market outcomes than the gap in the hourly wage. We analyse the gender gap in income in Poland in relation to the parenthood status, using the placebo event history method, adjusted to low resolution data, and the two waves of the Polish Generations and Gender Survey (2010, 2014). Contrary to similar studies conducted in Western Europe, our analysis uncovers a large degree of anticipatory behaviour in both women and men who expect to become parents. We show that mothers' income decreases by about 20% after birth, but converges to the income trajectory of non-mothers after 15 years. In contrast, the income of eventual fathers is higher than that of non-fathers both before and after birth, suggesting that the fatherhood child premium might be driven primarily by selection. We also demonstrate a permanent increase in hours worked for fathers, as opposed to non-fathers and a decrease in hours worked for mothers who converge to the trajectory of non-mothers after 15 years from the birth. Finally, we compare the gender gaps in income and wages of women and men in the sample with those of individuals in a counterfactual scenario where the entire population is childless. We find no statistically significant gender gaps in the counterfactual scenario, thereby concluding that the gender gaps in income and wages in Poland are driven by parenthood and most likely, by differences in labour market participation and hours worked. |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.12924&r=gen |
| By: | Jakob Alfitian (University of Cologne, Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences. Albertus Magnus Platz, D-50923 Köln, Germany); Marvin Deversi (Education Y); Dirk Sliwka (University of Cologne, CESifo and IZA, Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences, Albertus Magnus Platz, D-50923 Köln, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We present a natural field experiment on promoting pay equity through simple modifications to the salary review process involving 623 middle managers and 8, 951 subordinate employees of a large technology firm.We first document a gender gap not only in salary levels but also in salary increases. Our treatments provide for a gender-neutral reallocation of the salary increase budget available to middle managers aimed at promoting pay equity, along with different variants of a corresponding decision guidance. We show that the budget reallocation combined with an explicit decision guidance, while still leaving managers discretion in allocating the budget, can completely eliminate the gender gap in salary increases. The treatments also do not appear to undermine desired performance differentiation in salary increases. We thus show that simple modifications to the salary review process can go a long way toward achieving pay equity, preventing the widening of gender gaps throughout the career. |
| Keywords: | Randomized Controlled Trial, Pay equity, Gender pay gap, Salary structure |
| JEL: | J31 J71 M52 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:244&r=gen |
| By: | Kristin F. Butcher; Patrick McEwan; Akila Weerapana |
| Abstract: | Many observers argue that diversity in Economics and STEM fields is critical, not simply because of egalitarian goals, but because who is in a field may shape what is studied by it. If increasing the rate of majoring in mathematically-intensive fields among women is a worthy goal, then understanding whether women’s colleges causally affect that choice is important. Among all admitted applicants to Wellesley College, enrollees are 7.2 percentage points (94%) more likely to receive an Economics degree than non-enrollees (a plausible lower bound given negative selection into enrollment on math skills and major preferences). Overall, 3.2 percentage points—or 44% of the difference between enrollees and non-enrollees—is explained by college exposure to female instructors and students, consistent with a wider role for women’s colleges in increasing female participation in Economics. |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:96384&r=gen |
| By: | Buser, Thomas (University of Amsterdam); Oosterbeek, Hessel (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | A large empirical literature in behavioral economics investigates heterogeneity across individuals and groups in preferences for competition. In this study, we provide a more detailed view on competitiveness by differentiating between four different motivations for entering competitions – enjoyment of competition, desire to win, competition for personal development, and general challenge seeking. We investigate which of these dimensions are picked up by traditional measures of competitiveness; how they predict individual and gender differences in career outcomes including income, holding a leadership position, and entrepreneurship; how they predict wellbeing; and how they relate to other personality traits, skills, and preferences. |
| Keywords: | competitiveness, personality traits, labor market outcomes, leadership, gender |
| JEL: | C92 D91 J24 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16224&r=gen |
| By: | Morettini, Lucio (National Research Council, Italy); Tani, Massimiliano (University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | We study career trajectories of university researchers in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the speed of career progression by gender. Using the panel data collected by the MORE project (Mobility Survey of the Higher Education Sector) - a longitudinal database that gathers survey responses from over 10, 000 university researchers across Europe - we find that women have a lower probability of promotion, but conditional on a career advance, their career development proceeds at a faster pace than that of comparable male researchers. Faster progression among women is positively influenced by the share of female researchers in the academic environment. Higher salaries in sectors outside academia appear to reinforce the positive selection of women preferring to stay in academia. |
| Keywords: | academic careers, career progression, promotion |
| JEL: | J20 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16206&r=gen |
| By: | Périvier, Hélène; Verdugo, Gregory (University of Evry) |
| Abstract: | Does providing nontransferable months of parental leave earmarked to fathers, as mandated by the European Union to its member countries since 2019, increase their participation? To answer that question, the authors investigate the consequences of a 2015 French reform that earmarked up to 12 months of paid leave for fathers while simultaneously reducing the maximum paid leave for mothers by the same number of months. While the benefits were low, parental leave could be taken part-time, which can be more attractive for fathers. Using administrative data and comparing parents of children born before and after the reform, the authors find that in response to a 25 p.p. decline in mothers' participation rate triggered by the reform, fathers' participation increased by less than 1 p.p., mostly through part-time leave. The reform increased mothers' labor earnings, but it had no significant impact on fathers' earnings. |
| Keywords: | gender inequality, labor supply, parental leave |
| JEL: | J16 D13 J18 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16244&r=gen |