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on Gender |
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Issue of 2024‒03‒11
six papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Barile, Lory (Department of Economics, University of Warwick); Drouvelis, Michalis (Department of Economics, University of Birmingham) |
| Abstract: | A substantial body of literature has shown that women shy away from competition against men, which has been put forward as an explanation for the significant gender differences observed in career promotions and salary negotiations. It is therefore of crucial importance to understand the conditions under which the gender gap in competitiveness can be reduced. In this study, we explore the role of priming. Our findings replicate previous work showing that, in the absence of primes, women compete less than men. By contrast, introducing a priming task can eliminate gender disparities in competitiveness, ceteris paribus; however, the effects are stronger when neutral primes are used. We perform sentiment analysis and attribute this to the more negative emotions triggered in the neutral priming condition, making women more competitive. Overall, our results indicate that costless and simple tools such as priming can be adopted by organisations aiming at reducing gender inequalities in the workplace. |
| Keywords: | competitiveness ; gender differences ; priming ; laboratory experiment JEL Codes: C92 ; D03 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1490&r=gen |
| By: | Agnès Charpin; Josep Amer-Mestre; Noémi Berlin; Magali Dumontet |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses gender differences in occupational choices in a setting in which observed matches are solely determined by supply-side factors: the French centralised medical residency selection mechanism. We show that men and women facing the same occupational choice set make drastically different occupational choices. Medical specialties selected by women pay less, have lower time requirements, and are less competitive. To understand these differences and estimate how much of the gender gap in specialty sorting can be explained by individual preferences for job attributes, we administer a survey to prospective medical residents just before their specialty choice. Using both a hypothetical job choice framework and stated preferences, we show that while “hard” job characteristics (earnings, time requirements) only slightly reduce the gender gap in sorting, “soft” characteristics (daily tasks, contact with patients, willingness to help others) play a larger role in reducing the gap. We also find suggestive evidence of an anticipation effect of fertility on women’s career choices. Our results suggest that individual preferences play a determinant role in explaining gender-based occupational segregation. |
| Keywords: | Occupational segregation, Gender, Labour market, Job attributes, Willingness to pay |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2024-5&r=gen |
| By: | Billur Aksoy; Christine L. Exley; Judd B. Kessler |
| Abstract: | A rich literature explores gender differences between men and women, but an increasing share of the population identifies their gender in some other way. Analyzing data on roughly 10, 000 students and 1, 500 adults, we find that such gender minorities are less confident and provide less favorable self-evaluations than equally performing men on a math and science test. We find that these "gender minority gaps" are robust, are as large as—or larger than—gender gaps between men and women, and are domain specific. Administrative data reveals that our confidence and self-evaluation measures are highly predictive of academic performance. |
| JEL: | C91 D91 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32061&r=gen |
| By: | Xavier Ramos (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Marcela Gomez-Ruiz (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); María Cervini-Plá (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of a change in the gender composition of the pool of candidates on the academic performance of women in an entrance exam. We use data from a natural experiment that altered the gender composition of the candidates for a nation-wide admission exam to a coding educational program. Our identification strategy exploits the fact that both men and women were accepted for the admission exam in all years except for 2019, when only women were allowed to take it. Our results reveal that in the absence of men, women exhibit enhanced performance, particularly in subjects where men do traditionally better, such as mathematics and logical reasoning. Conversely, we observe no significant effects in verbal tasks, where men do not typically outperform. The improvement in performance stems from both increased attempts at questions and a higher rate of correct answers. Women improve their academic performance by exerting greater effort when men are not present. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the stereotype threat is deactivated in the absence of men, highlighting the nuanced impact of gender composition on women's performance in high-stakes exams. |
| Keywords: | Gender, performance, effort, stereotype threat, competition |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2024-665&r=gen |
| By: | Vu, Tien Manh; Yamada, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | We examine whether changes in capital intensity from Vietnamese firms during 1999-2019 influence family formation and gender inequality, using panel data of communes. We use the recorded trajectories of cyclones to create a damage index as an instrumental variable. We find that higher capital intensity is associated with a higher share of single people and a lower share of families with multiple generations living together. Also, women prepared for high capital intensity industries by increasing their educational attainment. However, the results also indicate the sex ratio at birth is more skewed in communes with high capital intensity. |
| Keywords: | Capital intensity, Gender inequality, Family formation, Cyclones, Vietnam |
| JEL: | I24 J12 J16 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120002&r=gen |
| By: | Barbara Boelmann (University of Cologne, Department of Economics and ECONtribute: Markets Public Policy, SSC, Universitätsstraße 22, 50937 Cologne, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that the local availability of universities acted as a catalyst in the catch-up of women in higher education that has been documented for developed countries in the latter half of the 20th century. It uses the foundation of new univer- sities in the 1960s and 1970s in West German regions which previously did not have a university as a case study to understand how women’s mobility and education decisions interact. I first document women’s low regional mobility in post-war West Germany along with their low educational attainment. Second, I exploit that the university expansion exogenously brought universities to women’s doorsteps in a difference-in- differences (DiD) strategy. Comparing regions which experienced a university opening within 20 km to those where no university was opened, I show that women benefited more than men from a close-by university opening, closing the local gender gap in university education by about 72%. Third, I provide evidence that local universities partly increased university education through reduced costs, while part of the effect is due to higher expected returns, highlighting an important second channel through which universities promote education to local youths. |
| Keywords: | college gender gap, geographic mobility, university expansion |
| JEL: | I23 I24 I28 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:280&r=gen |