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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–05–11
five papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Manuel Bagues; Natalia Zinovyeva |
| Abstract: | Gender segregation in higher education persists across developed countries and is paradoxically stronger in wealthier, more gender-equal societies. Using data from over 500, 000 children across 37 Western countries, we show that this segregation has roots in childhood. We document a strong correlation at the country level between segregation in higher education and in childhood friendships. Longitudinal data from 10, 000 British households further shows that children with fewer opposite-sex friends at age 7 are significantly more likely to select gender-dominated educational subjects a decade later. The stronger segregation observed in richer countries seems to reflect economic prosperity rather than backlash against gender equality: while children from wealthier households report fewer cross-gender friendships, those whose parents hold more gender-egalitarian views have more opposite-sex friends. We identify two mechanisms explaining this income gradient: affluent families' structured activities that emphasize children's self-expression foster gender-segregated environments, and higher-income children's personality traits reduce demand for cross-gender friendships. |
| Keywords: | cross-gender friendships, gender equality paradox, women in STEM |
| JEL: | J16 I21 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2538 |
| By: | Louise Devos; François Rycx; Thomas Senterre; Mélanie Volral (-) |
| Abstract: | Using matched employer–employee data on more than 62, 000 master’s graduates, this paper examines how gender differences in wage returns to fields of study vary by migration background and how educational specialisation contributes to the gender wage gap. We estimate wage regressions and apply a decomposition approach to separate sorting across fields from differences in pay within fields. Returns vary widely, with law, economics and management, and science yielding the highest returns, and women earning less than men within all fields, especially in high-paying ones. First-generation immigrants from developing countries obtain the lowest returns regardless of field of study, while second-generation immigrants approach but do not fully match natives. Fields of study explain a substantial share of gender wage inequality among natives and second-generation immigrants, whereas among first-generation immigrants broader wage disadvantages dominate. Results further vary with the number of parents originating from developing countries and with age at arrival. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gap, first- and second-generation immigrants, field of study, employer-employee data |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:26/1141 |
| By: | Delia Furtado; Samantha Trajkovski; Nikolaos Theodoropoulos |
| Abstract: | When maternity leave policies lower the cost of taking leave, leave durations tend to increase. If enough people extend their leaves, social norms can shift, further reinforcing longer leave-taking. This paper examines whether foreign-born mothers in the US-who are not directly subject to home country policies-respond to policy changes abroad via norms. Exploiting variation in US birth timing and policy reforms abroad, we find that increases in paid leave in immigrants' home countries lead to longer US maternity leaves, even after accounting for country-of-origin fixed effects. Heterogeneity analyses and placebo tests also point to policy-induced shifting leave-taking norms. |
| Keywords: | Maternity Leave, Gender Norms, Immigrants, Female Labor Supply |
| JEL: | J13 J15 J18 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2560 |
| By: | Gertsberg, Marina (University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Academic seminars are a central mechanism through which the finance profession allocates visibility, feedback, and network access. Using a new panel of 8, 744 external seminars at 74 U.S. finance departments from 2010 to 2024, I document five stylized facts. First, female representation rose from 10% to 25%, outpacing growth in the female share of the finance faculty. Second, seminar presenters are positively selected on research visibility: relative to same-institution faculty, they have substantially more publications, Top-3 publications, and citations, and this premium is no larger for women than for men. Third, seminar matching is strongly hierarchical: lower-ranked departments invite upward, whereas top departments draw from a broader range of tiers. Fourth, geographic reach is greater for elite-affiliated and senior scholars. Fifth, seminar opportunities are highly concentrated, with the top 10% of presenters accounting for 43% of all talks. The evidence shows that finance seminars have become more gender-inclusive while remaining strongly selective and hierarchical. |
| Keywords: | finance profession, academic seminars, diversity, hierarchy, geographic stratification, academic labor markets |
| JEL: | I23 J16 J44 J71 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18603 |
| By: | Jisoo Hwang; Inkyung Yoo |
| Abstract: | Across developed countries, women's earnings decline sharply following childbirth while men's earnings remain unaffected. But how will the "motherhood effect" evolve as more women choose not to have children? We examine changes in the motherhood effect on earnings amid rising childlessness in South Korea, the country with the world's lowest fertility rate. Using an event study framework and administrative data covering the entire population, we find that earnings losses after childbirth have increased across recent cohorts of mothers. We provide suggestive evidence that the expansion of parental leave and a stronger positive selection into motherhood contributed to this trend. |
| Keywords: | Motherhood effect, child penalty, selection into motherhood, parental leave |
| JEL: | J16 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2557 |