|
on Gender |
|
Issue of 2025–09–08
three papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Kansikas, Carolina (University of Warwick); Bagues, Manuel (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We study whether term limits can accelerate women’s access to top political positions by analyzing two reforms in Italian local elections that extended mayoral term limits from two to three five-year terms. In a period marked by rapid growth in women’s political participation, the first reform affected municipalities with fewer than 3, 000 inhabitants in 2014, and the second those below 5, 000 in 2022. Using a difference-in-discontinuities design, we find that longer term limits restrict opportunities for early-career politicians, with substantial effects for female representation: the share of female mayors would be 8 percentage points higher without the term limit extensions. The impact is larger in municipalities with more women in lower political positions and where gender quotas for council members are present, suggesting that entry-level quotas can be more effective when paired with policies promoting turnover in top positions. |
| Keywords: | Term limits, female political representation, Italian local elections JEL Classification: J16, J18, J48, D72 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:768 |
| By: | Joseph G. Altonji; John Eric Humphries; Yagmur Yuksel; Ling Zhong |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the gender gap in log earnings among full-time, college-educated workers born between 1931 and 1984. Using data from the National Survey of College Graduates and other sources, we decompose the gender earnings gap across birth cohorts into three components: (i) gender differences in the relative returns to undergraduate and graduate fields, (ii) gender-specific trends in undergraduate field, graduate degree attainment, and graduate field, and (iii) a cohort-specific “residual component” that shifts the gender gap uniformly across all college graduates. We have three main findings. First, when holding the relative returns to fields constant, changes in fields of study contribute 0.128 to the decline in the gender gap. However, this decline is partially offset by cohort trends in the relative returns to specific fields that favored men over women, reducing the contribution of field-of-study changes to the decline to 0.055. Second, gender differences in the relative returns to undergraduate and graduate fields of study contribute to the earnings gap, but they play a limited role in explaining its decline over time. Third, much of the convergence in earnings between the 1931 and 1950 cohorts is due to a declining “residual component.” The residual component remains stable for cohorts born between 1951 and the late 1970s, after which it resumes its decline. |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J16 J31 J7 N32 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34133 |
| By: | Agnieszka Kasperska (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), University of Warsaw); Anna Matysiak (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), University of Warsaw); Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska (Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | This study explores how organizational factors influence managerial decision-making regarding the career advancement of employees working from home. Despite a large body of research on the new modes of working, a gap persists concerning the role of the organizational context in shaping these dynamics. In this article, we investigate whether managers’ promotion and pay decisions depend on the employee's use of remote work and whether these decisions are moderated by the presence of the ideal worker norms (i.e. high work devotion and centrality) and family-friendly policies (childcare-related and flexible work options) in their work environments. We use data from a choice experiment, which included over 1, 000 managers from the United Kingdom. The experiment was run in the second half of 2022, and therefore, this study provides post-pandemic evidence and represents the “new normal” settings. The findings indicate that employees who work fully remotely are less likely to be considered for promotion and a salary increase than on-site workers. This pattern is observed particularly in firms with more demanding organizational cultures, namely those with stronger ideal worker norms and/or fewer family-friendly policies. Importantly, both male and female remote workers experience career penalties, albeit in distinct ways, as both ideal worker norms and family-friendly policies appear important for men, whereas for women, it is primarily the availability of supportive policies that influences outcomes. The findings underscore the significant impact of organizational culture on managerial decision-making, with implications for both theory and practice. |
| Keywords: | experiment, gender, promotion, organizational culture, work from home |
| JEL: | J12 J13 J16 J21 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2025-17 |