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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–08–31
two papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Mimosa Distefano; Lorenzo Incoronato; Anna Raute |
| Abstract: | Women often struggle to re-enter employment after career breaks, possibly because employers are uncertain about their productivity. We study whether hiring subsidies help firms overcome this uncertainty and hire from this group. Exploiting an Italian policy that temporarily cut payroll taxes for women hired from non-employment, we find that firms persistently hire more women with career breaks, including mothers, following subsidy adoption. Consistent with employer learning about target-group productivity, firms with better initial matches later hire more from this group. Subsidized workers also show stronger labor-market attachment. These findings suggest demand-side interventions can complement supply-side policies in addressing gender gaps. |
| Keywords: | gender employment gap, mothers, hiring subsidies, employer learning, firm hiring behaviour |
| Date: | 2026–08–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2209 |
| By: | Santiago Campos-Rodríguez; David Neumark |
| Abstract: | Gender disparities in becoming a CEO are pronounced, and women who become CEOs, especially of large firms, are less likely to have children or be married. We study the effects of children and marriage on becoming a CEO, using longitudinal administrative data covering the universe of tax-registered firms in Costa Rica, matched to universal civil registry records that provide the timing of childbirth and marriage. We find that first childbirth is followed by a persistent decline in women’s probability of becoming a CEO, but no comparable decline for men and some evidence that CEO attainment rises. Marriage displays a different but still divergent pattern: it is associated with higher subsequent CEO attainment for men, but little change for women. Changes around childbirth account for a substantial share of the overall gender difference in CEO rates. Finally, we find evidence consistent with household specialization as a potential mechanism. Around marriage and first childbirth, women’s formal employment, earnings, and share of household earnings decline, while men become more central to household earnings as their partners reduce formal employment. |
| JEL: | J16 J30 J4 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35616 |