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on Gender |
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Issue of 2024‒08‒19
ten papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Ashraf, Nava (London School of Economics); Bandiera, Oriana (London School of Economics); Minni, Virginia (University of Chicago Booth School of Business); Quintas-Martínez, Víctor (MIT) |
| Abstract: | We ask whether the gendered division of work affects firm productivity across the spectrum of economic development. Personnel records of over 100, 000 individuals hired by a global firm that operates in 100 countries reveal that the performance of female employees is higher where women are underrepresented in the candidate pool. This implies productivity gains from hiring more women, but realizing them would require increasing women's pay relative to men. The findings highlight how unequal gender norms in local labor markets create an equity-efficiency trade-off inside the firm, particularly in low-income countries with conservative gender norms. |
| Keywords: | female labor force participation, multinationals, local labor markets, gender pay gap, firm productivity |
| JEL: | O12 O15 M5 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17103 |
| By: | Theresa Hager (Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Patrick Mellacher (University of Graz, Austria); Magdalena Rath (University of Graz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of gender norms on the distribution of paid and unpaid labor between women and men in an intra-household bargaining model featuring endogenous social norms. In contrast to the previous literature, which assumes a homogeneous social norm, agents are connected via explicitly modeled social networks and accordingly face heterogeneous perceptions of gender norms. In our model, social pressure to conform to gender norms exacerbates gender inequalities in the distribution of paid and unpaid labor that may result from a gender pay gap or gender-specific preferences. However, we show that the behavior of agents connected in different standardized social networks is significantly closer to a situation in which agents face no social pressure than in a scenario in which the whole of society perceives homogeneous gender norms. This is particularly true if agents are more likely to form connections to other agents that have similar preferences. |
| Keywords: | Intra-household bargaining, Social norms, Agent-based model, Social network. |
| JEL: | C63 C78 D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2023-05 |
| By: | Joyce P. Jacobsen (Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Wesleyan University); Sooyoung A. Lee (Department of Economics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) |
| Abstract: | A literature has developed in labor economics regarding employer discrimination and how it may be detrimental to firms, particularly firms operating in more competitive sectors. A second literature in international trade considers the effects of import competition and export orientation on gender employment and earnings gaps. Finally, factors affecting firm survival have been increasingly studied as more panel data have become available for firms. We unite these diverse literatures and test several pertinent hypotheses from them using a 2005-2018 panel of Vietnamese firms. We find that firms with higher proportions of female labor are more likely to survive, controlling for other firm-level and industry-level characteristics, and that exporting and foreign- owned firms have higher proportions of female labor. We also examine earnings and women-run firms to consider other dimensions of firm gendering and their effects on firm survival. |
| Keywords: | Vietnam, gender discrimination, trade competition |
| JEL: | D22 F16 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wes:weswpa:2024-009 |
| By: | Joanna Tyrowicz (Group for Research in Applied Economics (GRAPE); University of Warsaw; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA); Group for Research in Applied Economics (GRAPE)) |
| Abstract: | We test for implicit gender quotas in the boardroom. We use novel dataset covering 11 million European corporations over three decades. We find that -- accounting for the pool of available candidates -- gender-blind hiring of women to board positions is highly improbable. Implicit quotas refer to unspoken policies or practices that result in a specific gender composition. Tokenism is one such example: in order to project the reputation of supporting diversity, an organization may prefer to invite a single representative of minority (or representatives of minorities) without endowing them with actual decision power. |
| Keywords: | gender, board, diversity |
| JEL: | C81 J16 M12 M51 J24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fme:wpaper:96 |
| By: | Carla Rowold (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Even though Gender Pension Gaps (GPG) surpass gender wage gaps in most European countries, we know less about how they emerge and relate to gendered life-course inequalities. This study contributes by applying a life-course-sensitive decomposition to linked survey-register data for Germany (SHARE-RV), decomposing gender gaps in public and private pensions based on common work-family life courses. It considers the interdependencies of employment, family life, and earning positions over the life course, relevant due to pension privatization in Europe. GPGs occur because privileged life courses (stable civil servant careers for public and high-income employment for private pensions) yield high pensions but are almost exclusively accessible by fathers. Gender differences in access to high-income careers for parents drive the GPG in private pensions more than the gap in public pensions. The study underscores the future risk of high GPGs given the persistently high Gender Wage Gap and pension privatization in Germany. |
| Keywords: | Germany (Alte Bundesländer), employment, family life cycle, gender, income, life cycle, pension schemes, retirement pensions |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2024-015 |
| By: | Sievert, Martin (Leiden University); Vogel, Dominik (University of Hamburg); Döring, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Increasing gender diversity constitutes a desirable goal for policymakers and recruiters in public organizations. However, contemporary research lacks focus on gender sorting, referring to structural self-selection among job seekers in the public labor market. Since job advertisements are the initial step when targeting candidates, we investigate how they contribute to gender sorting. We address research gaps concerning gendered recruitment practices and theorize two mechanisms of gender sorting: gendered language and the gender of the contact person in job advertisements. We test these theoretical arguments using a unique multi-source dataset consisting of real job advertisements, a survey among recruiters issuing the job advertisements, and organization-level data (n = 1, 859). Results from hierarchical linear models indicate that feminine wording relates to a higher number and share of applications by women. A female contact person did not exhibit statistically significant effects. This study offers robust empirical evidence showcasing the relevance of gendered language. The research contributes to public management research by providing interdisciplinary theorizing about why, structurally, women may be less inclined to apply for some public sector jobs. We derive theoretical implications for policymakers and recruitment in public administrations and emphasize the relevance of gender sorting mechanisms in public sector recruiting. |
| Date: | 2024–07–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:u6z5e |
| By: | Renaud Bourlès (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Centrale Med., AMSE); Timothée Demont (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, AMSE); Sarah Vincent (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, AMSE); Roberta Ziparo (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, AMSE) |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, many policy interventions aim to enhance female entrepreneurship by giving access to cash inflows targeting women. However, important investment decisions are usually made at the household level and may be influenced by local cultural norms about female labour force participation. Using a standard collective household model, this paper studies spouses’ joint investment decisions. We show that the individual optimal investment levels are not necessarily aligned between spouses, though costly utility transfers can realign spouses’ incentives. The required transfer is increasing in the stringency of the gender norm against female labour participation, making investment potentially too costly. We test these predictions using two different empirical settings and strategies. First, we exploit original data from a field experiment in India, which gave access to new investment opportunities to women through microcredit. We find that treated women belonging to castes that are relatively more favourable to women investing are more likely to engage in home agricultural production and less likely to engage in casual low-wage jobs. Yet, they seem to enjoy lower utility levels in some dimensions such as health and freedom. To the contrary, we do not find any change in the occupation or independence of women belonging to castes that traditionally impose strong restrictions on women’s behaviour, suggesting that investment is then too costly. Second, we exploit India’s accession to the GATT in 2005 as a natural experiment and use Indian household surveys to study the effect of the termination of quotas imposed on textile exports, a female-dominated activity, on women’s well-being. We find that in districts that are more suitable for cotton growing, a feminine-oriented occupation, removing the quotas increases specialization in garments and decreases health indicators for women belonging to castes that are relatively more in favour of women working. Those empirical findings are consistent with our model, showing that, in the presence of gender norms, female entrepreneurship entails intra-household transfers that impact female well-being and can eventually prevent investment. |
| Keywords: | Female Entrepreneurship, gender norms, Intra-household allocation |
| JEL: | C71 D13 D81 J16 C93 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2422 |
| By: | Elsner, Benjamin (University College Dublin); Jindal, Manvi (University College Dublin); Mascherini, Massimiliano (Eurofound - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions); Nivakoski, Sanna (Eurofound - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic on the time allocated to paid and unpaid work within households. We use panel data from 27 EU countries and isolate the impact of school closures by comparing parents and non-parents. We find no evidence that school closures had a disproportionate impact on women or men. Women and men reduced the time spent on paid work and increased the amount of time spent on household chores and leisure in roughly equal amounts. These findings do not confirm the common concern that school closures increased the care burden for women. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, gender gaps, household production, paid work, time-use |
| JEL: | D13 J13 J16 J22 J30 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17151 |
| By: | Carla Rowold (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Gender Pension Gaps (GPG) represent crucial indicators of gender inequalities over the life course and reflect the value welfare states place on different types of work. Despite reaching higher levels, they receive less attention than other gender inequalities, such as gender wage gaps. More generally, research on gender inequalities typically focuses on selected sets of life course summary measures, predominantly the employment duration, to explain gender inequalities across the life course. Taking a life course perspective and using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for the Netherlands and West Germany, I propose an innovative combination of machine learning, sequence analysis, and decomposition techniques, allowing for a new perspective on gender inequalities over the life course. The study contributes by disentangling which specific life course elements are most relevant for pension inequalities and quantifies the role of gender-exclusive life-course experiences for gender disparities. I find that the duration, timing, order of life-course states, and overall life course complexity matter for pension income inequalities in both pension systems. Specifically, the duration, timing, and order of care work experiences are more crucial pension predictors than employment duration, which has been the primary focus of previous research. The largest parts of the GPGs are attributable to gender-exclusive life course experiences: There is no male counterpart for the female engagement in care work, which is poorly rewarded in pension systems. Future research and policymakers likely benefit from considering such gender-specific combinations of life-course experiences and applications of the methodological approach to other inequalities. |
| Keywords: | Germany (Alte Bundesländer), Netherlands, family life, gender, inequality, life cycle, retirement pensions, working life |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2024-021 |
| By: | Iñaki Aldasoro; Olivier Armantier; Sebastian Doerr; Leonardo Gambacorta; Tommaso Oliviero |
| Abstract: | Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is expected to increase productivity. But if unequally adopted across demographic groups, its proliferation risks exacerbating disparities in pay and job opportunities, leading to greater inequality. To investigate the use of gen AI and its drivers we draw on a representative survey of U.S. household heads from the Survey of Consumer Expectations. We find a significant "gen AI gender gap": while 50% of men already use gen AI, only 37% of women do. Demographic characteristics explain only a small share of this gap, while respondents' self-assessed knowledge about gen AI emerges as the most important factor, explaining three-quarters of the gap. Gender differences in privacy concerns and trust when using gen AI tools, as well as perceived economic risks and benefits, account for the remainder. We conclude by discussing implications for policy to foster equitable gen AI adoption. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, privacy, gender, gen AI |
| JEL: | C8 D8 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:1197 |