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on Gender |
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Issue of 2023‒10‒23
seven papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Rodrigo Ceni (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Estefanía Galván (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Cecilia Parada (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | While a large body of literature has focused on identifying the causes of female under-representation at hierarchical positions, we still know little about the effects of having more women with decision-making power at top positions. Using matched employer-employee administrative data for Uruguay, this paper investigates how the gender composition at hierarchical positions of the firms affects the wage gaps among male and female employees. Our results show that having a higher proportion of female bosses at the firms leads to lower pay gaps. Including workers’ and bosses’ fixed effects to account for unobserved heterogeneity, we find that working in a firm with increasing participation of female bosses reduces the gender pay gap by between 1.15 and 4.27 log points. The gender pay gaps are substantially lower among civil servants compared to those of private workers, but even in these large public firms having female bosses reduces the gender wage gaps. We present suggestive evidence that gender differences in the entrance wage offered to males compared to that offered to female workers partially explain these results. Moreover, women working in public firms are between 2.9% and 4.3% more likely to be promoted when working for female bosses. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, promotions, firms, bosses |
| JEL: | D10 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-06-23&r=gen |
| By: | Gianmarco Daniele; Gemma Dipoppa; Massimo Pulejo |
| Abstract: | Surveys across countries indicate that female politicians are more often targets of violence compared to males. Why are women attacked more? Is this due to their gender, or to correlated factors? We provide the first causal evidence that violence is driven by gender: leveraging 12 years of data on attacks against Italian politicians, we show that marginally elected female mayors, similar in all respects to their male colleagues, are attacked three times more. We argue that violence can stem from two distinct sources: identity-based motives and divergent policymaking. Attacks concentrate where female empowerment in politics is highest, consistent with a misogynistic backlash hypothesis. Instead, there are no gender differences in expenditures and corruption, indicating that women’s policies do not motivate attacks. Violence can have pernicious consequences: female mayors are less likely to rerun for office after an attack, underscoring how violence may foster the persistence of the political gender gap. |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23207&r=gen |
| By: | Piera Bello; Alessandra Casarico; Debora Nozza |
| Abstract: | We investigate the extent to which research similarity between senior and junior researchers influences promotion in academia and study its implications in terms of gender diversity among faculty. Using data on the universe of job applications for tenure-track assistant professor positions in economics in Italy and exploiting NLP techniques (i.e., document embeddings) on the abstract of each publication of the scholars in our dataset, we propose a novel measure of research similarity, which can capture closeness in research topics, methodologies or policy relevance between candidates and members of selection committees. We show that the level of similarity is strongly associated with the winning probability. Moreover, while there are no gender differences in average similarity, maximum similarity with members of the selection committee is lower for female candidates. This gender gap disappears when similarity is calculated only focusing on female members of the committee. The results suggest that similarity bias in male-dominated environments can have implications for gender and research diversity. |
| Keywords: | cosine similarity, document embeddings, academia, economics, gender differences, labour force composition |
| JEL: | J16 J71 J82 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10657&r=gen |
| By: | Poole, Jennifer P.; Volpe Martincus, Christian |
| Abstract: | How can policymakers promote women-led exporting firms? In this paper, we study the role of online business platforms to reduce informational barriers to exporting for women entrepreneurs. We hypothesize that, if the costs associated with accessing digital platforms are more symmetric across gender than traditional trade costs, digital trade platforms can play an important role in making trade more gender equal. To assess this hypothesis, we combine information on firms' participation in ConnectAmericas , a free and purely informational online platform, and detailed firm level export data of a developing country over a long period. We find that participation in this platform is associated with a significantly larger increase in exports for women entrepreneurs than for men managed firms in otherwise identical products and destinations. Given existing evidence on the role of women managed businesses in reducing gender earnings inequality, these results suggest that policies which encourage women participation in online environments to reduce the informational barriers associated with operating in foreign markets have the capacity to promote gender equality more broadly. |
| Keywords: | Online Platforms;Firms;exports;gender;Trade promotion;Latin America |
| JEL: | F13 F14 J16 L15 L26 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:13016&r=gen |
| By: | López-Luzuriaga, Andrea; Scartascini, Carlos |
| Abstract: | The existing literature shows that women are more likely to pay taxes than men. Yet, there is less consensus on the gendered responses to interventions aimed at boosting tax compliance among non-payers. In this study, we exploit a field experiment designed to increase property tax compliance to investigate this gender disparity. Our findings reaffirm that women are typically more diligent in paying their taxes than men. Interestingly, while the receipt of a deterrence letter prompts women to pay earlier, it does not necessarily augment their overall compliance. Conversely, men, upon receiving a deterrence letter, show a marked improvement in overall compliance. We also find that the size of the tax bill influences women's compliance behavior (the likelihood of paying'increases substantially for small bills), but not men's. To unpack this intriguing finding, we examine survey data to uncover the differing motivations and resources between genders. This analysis suggests that, although women may be more motivated to pay, they might encounter significant liquidity constraints. Our observations are consistent with a simple analytical model that correlates compliance to tax morale, risk aversion, and budget constraints. This research underscores the potential for tax policies and enforcement procedures to exacerbate income inequality between genders, especially in low tax-enforcement contexts where tax evasion is substantial. |
| Keywords: | taxes;Tax compliance;Field experiment;Development;Latin America and the Caribbea |
| JEL: | H24 D31 J16 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12983&r=gen |
| By: | Liwen Chen (East China Normal University); Bobby W. Chung (University of South Florida); Guanghua Wang (Nanjing Audit University) |
| Abstract: | Increased exposure to gender-role information affects a girl's educational performance. Utilizing the classroom randomization in Chinese middle schools, we find that the increased presence of stay-at-home peer mothers significantly reduces a girl's performance in mathematics. This exposure also cultivates gendered attitudes towards mathematics and STEM professions. Long exposure, dense network, and distant parent-daughter relationship enhance peer mothers' influences. As falsification tests against unobserved confounding factors, we find that the exposure to stay-at-home peer mothers does not affect boys' performance, nor do we find that stay-at-home peer fathers affect girls' outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Cultural transmission, Gender identity, Gender norms, Role models |
| JEL: | I24 J16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usf:wpaper:2023-03&r=gen |
| By: | Hernández, Hugo; Quiroz, Gabriel; Zambrano, Omar; Zanoni, Wladimir |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the findings of an artifactual field experiment conducted in urban Ecuador to investigate discrimination against LGBTQ (here restricted to individuals self-identified as gay or lesbian) job seekers in the labor market. Focusing on occupations and sectors where LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ individuals commonly apply, the study employed fictitious job applications evaluated by 394 human resource analysts. The results indicate that, on average, LGBTQ candidates did not face discrimination in terms of hiring recommendations, job fit assessments, or wage offers. However, a closer analysis reveals a gender-based differential treatment. Female LGBTQ candidates received positive discrimination, were more likely to be selected and offered higher wages compared to their heterosexual counterparts. In contrast, male LGBTQ candidates experienced negative discrimination and no wage differences with a lower likelihood of selection. The study found an influential role of female recruiters in driving these discriminatory behaviors. These findings contribute to our understanding of the complex dynamics of discrimination towards LGBTQ workers in the labor market and its interaction with gender. |
| Keywords: | discrimination;LGBTQ+;Employment;field experiments |
| JEL: | C9 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12977&r=gen |