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on Gender |
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Issue of 2025–06–30
seven papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Huynh, Quynh (University College London); Ku, Hyejin (University College London) |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between economic development and female labor force participation, with a focus on the impact of gender norms. Analyzing quasi-random variation in provincial exports in reunified Vietnam from 2002 to 2018, we find that a positive economic shock led to a significant decline in women’s labor market engagement, particularly among married women from wealthier households and those with husbands in more skilled occupations. This trend is more pronounced in the South (formerly capitalist) than in the North (always socialist), and among native Southerners compared to Northerners relocated to the South after the war. Our findings highlight the importance of gender role attitudes in shaping women’s responses to rising incomes. |
| Keywords: | female labor force participation, social norms, gender role attitudes, income and substitution effects, trade liberalization |
| JEL: | J16 J22 O12 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17911 |
| By: | Riccarda Rosenball (University of Graz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the gender pay gap in West Germany's manufacturing sector using linked employer-employee data. The gender pay gap has nearly halved for exporting firms since 1993 - a decline that is much smaller for non-exporting firms. Long-term exporters employ a large share of the workforce and drive trends across the entire sector. Some of the largest exporting industries, such as vehicle manufacturing, show the lowest gender pay gaps. I show that the decline in the gender pay gap of exporters is driven by the increasing representation of women in high-paying positions. Tracking the gender pay gap over the first 10 to 15 years of employees' careers reveals that this decline is largely due to a growing share of highly educated women in the workforce, along with stronger opportunities for career advancement for women. Providing women with early career advancement opportunities is key to breaking the glass ceiling and reducing persistent gender pay disparities. |
| Keywords: | Gender Pay Gap, Exporting Firms, Linked Employer-Employee Data |
| JEL: | F16 J16 J70 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2025-08 |
| By: | J. Ignacio Conde-Ruiz; Juan-José Ganuza; Manu García |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the existence and drivers of gender citation gaps in the five leading journals in economics. Using a comprehensive dataset of 7, 214 articles published between 1999 and 2023, we examine whether female-authored papers are cited more frequently than male-authored ones, and whether this pattern persists after controlling for differences in research topics. We apply Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to abstracts to estimate latent research themes and complement this approach with field classifications based on JEL codes. Our results show that female-authored papers initially display a citation premium—receiving up to 15 log points more citations—but this advantage becomes statistically insignificant once we control for research field composition using either STM topics or JEL codes. These findings suggest that horizontal gender differences in thematic specialization, rather than bias in citation behavior, account for most of the observed citation gap. Our analysis highlights the importance of accounting for field heterogeneity when assessing academic recognition and contributes to ongoing discussions about fairness and diversity in economics publishing. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2025-07 |
| By: | Sara Ayllón; Lars J. Lefgren; Richard W. Patterson; Olga B. Stoddard; Nicolás Urdaneta Andrade |
| Abstract: | How should gender discrimination and systemic disadvantage be addressed when more discriminatory and less generous students systematically sort into certain fields, courses, and instructors’ sections? In this paper, we estimate measures of gender bias and evaluation generosity at the student level by examining the gap between how a student rates male and female instructors, controlling for professor fixed effects. Accounting for measurement error, we find significant variation in gender bias and generosity across students. Furthermore, we uncover that bias varies systematically by gender and field of study and that patterns of sorting are sufficiently large to place female faculty at a substantive disadvantage in some fields and male faculty at a disadvantage in others. Finally, we document that sexist attitudes are predictive of gender-based sorting and propose Empirical Bayes inspired measures of student-level bias to correct for instructor-specific advantages and disadvantages caused by sorting. |
| JEL: | I20 J01 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33911 |
| By: | Majbouri, Mahdi (Babson College) |
| Abstract: | Women’s educational attainment has continuously increased across the Middle East, while fertility rates have declined substantially. Yet their labor force participation remains stubbornly low. To investigate this puzzle, I use a discrete choice experiment in Egypt that varies the gender composition of the work environment—a key but underexplored dimension. I find that men, who have final say over women’s work decisions, demand 77% higher wages for their wives if the job is in a mixed-gender setting. Since few workplaces are all-female and men can veto women’s employment, these findings help explain the persistently low female participation rate. |
| Keywords: | Middle East and North Africa, preferences toward job attributes, labor supply |
| JEL: | J21 J29 J49 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17952 |
| By: | Emily Winskill |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between job mobility and earnings growth in the UK labour market, with a focus on gender differences in the returns to switching jobs. Using data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) between 2011 and 2023, the analysis compares wage progression for job switchers and stayers, controlling for individual and job characteristics. The findings show that job mobility is associated with higher earnings growth, but women experience smaller gains than men, with occupational mobility and age further widening this gap. However, the study finds no statistically significant evidence that changes in occupation, sector, or working time pattern influence this gender gap. The results highlight the importance of addressing gender disparities in the returns to job mobility and provide valuable evidence for developing policy interventions aimed at promoting more equitable labour market outcomes. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.09791 |
| By: | Morando, Greta (University of Sheffield); Sen, Sonkurt (University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Socio-emotional skills are recognized as key factors influencing both early and later life outcomes. However, there is limited evidence on how these skills are shaped within the classroom environment. This paper uses nationally representative survey data from England to examine the impact of teacher gender on students' socio-emotional skills. We employ a student fixed effects model. Our findings show that male teachers positively influence male students' prosocial behavior, while negatively affecting female students' peer problems. We provide support for the role model hypothesis and present novel evidence on how parents respond to teacher-student gender match by adjusting their investment strategies for daughters. |
| Keywords: | socio-emotional skills, teachers, gender, child development |
| JEL: | D91 I21 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17953 |