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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–03–30
six papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Rita Pető (HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how foreign direct investment (FDI) influences the gender wage gap, using matched employer-employee data from Hungary between 2003 and 2017. I find that foreign-owned firms exhibit a 4 percentage points larger within-firm gender wage gap compared to domestic firms, even after accounting for worker- and firm-level selection. This gap persists even after foreign capital withdraws, suggesting a lasting structural imprint. Furthermore, the results highlight the role of cultural norms: subsidiaries of companies from countries with more favorable economic opportunities for women show significantly smaller gender disparities. Greater wage-setting flexibility is also associated with a wider gender wage gap, especially among new hires. Overall, the study demonstrates that foreign ownership not only affects wage structures through economic channels but also transmits cultural norms that shape gender inequality in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | gender inequality, wage inequality, foreign-owned firms |
| JEL: | J16 J31 M52 F23 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:2509 |
| By: | Xiaoyue Shan |
| Abstract: | Does group gender diversity benefit individuals? I examine this question with a field experiment randomizing 3, 060 students to small study groups at university entry. Assignment to mixed-gender rather than single-gender groups improves performance and well-being for both men and women: first-year grades increase by about 0.10 SD, well-being by 0.15 SD, and program dropout falls by 6 pp (24%). However, mixed-gender groups also induce more traditional attitudes toward family gender roles. Mechanism analyses suggest that gender diversity fosters collaboration and shifts gender attitudes by reinforcing gendered roles in social interaction: while women coordinate and ask questions, men compete and explain. |
| Keywords: | gender diversity, performance, well-being, gender roles |
| JEL: | C93 D91 I21 I31 J16 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12565 |
| By: | Ha Nguyen; Chapman, Bruce; Huong Le; Royer, Heather; Dearden, Lorraine; Mitrou, Francis |
| Abstract: | This study leverages whole-of-population linked census-administrative data to examine gender gaps in educational outcomes from early primary school through early adulthood in Australia and to assess the contribution of socioeconomic factors to these gaps. We find that females outperform males from as early as ages 5-6 across multiple developmental domains, and this advantage persists through university. The gender gap in favour of females is larger among lower-performing students. These findings are robust across population-wide analyses as well as sibling- and twin-based designs. We also find that boys benefit more than girls from growing up in more advantaged families, particularly among academically lower-performing boys. However, this advantage is observed only for outcomes measured in the early years of primary school. By contrast, for outcomes measured at the tertiary level, most indicators of socioeconomic advantage confer stronger benefits to females, especially among individuals at the lower end of the educational attainment distribution. Finally, we identify gender differences across siblings in school sector choice and early childhood health conditions, both favouring females, as potential mechanisms underlying these patterns. |
| Keywords: | Education, Gender Gap, Socioeconomic Status, Administrative data, Census, Australia |
| JEL: | I24 J13 J15 J16 J62 R23 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1725 |
| By: | Hans-Martin von Gaudecker; Radost Holler; Lenard Simon; Christian Pugnaghi-Zimpelmann |
| Abstract: | Remote work expanded persistently after the Covid-19 pandemic. We study whether this increased job flexibility reduced within-household specialization in the Netherlands, where the pandemic’s childcare demand spike was transitory, isolating remote work’s effect. Using time-use and administrative data from 2016–2023 and a difference-in-differences design exploiting pre-pandemic remote work potential, we find each additional hour of potential raised parental childcare by about 10 minutes. As fathers have higher potential, the childcare gender gap narrowed by one-third. Mothers also increased market work when fathers could work from home. Thus, remote work can promote more equitable household labor division. |
| Keywords: | job flexibility, remote work, childcare, division of labor, time-use data |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_661v2 |
| By: | Luca Di Corato; Federica Esposito; Natalia Montinari |
| Abstract: | Gender quotas remain controversial despite evidence of their effectiveness in reducing labor market gender inequality. We study how informational narratives about quotas affect support, and how effects depend on pre-existing causal beliefs about inequality. In a pre-registered survey experiment with 2, 404 Italian workers and managers, we compare demand-side (discrimination, bias) versus supply-side (participation, confidence, role models) framings. All information increases unincentivized stated support, most strongly under demand-side narratives, but none affects the extensive margin of an incentivized donation, revealing a clear say-do gap. Conditional on donating, however, supply-side framing significantly raises amounts given. Open-ended responses show narratives reshape reasoning primarily among those with diffuse priors (generic cultural explanations). We formalize this in a simple model featuring misalignment costs and tail-driven effects: narrative success depends on the distribution of prior beliefs, which acts as a state variable determining optimal framing across contexts. |
| JEL: | D63 D83 J16 J22 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1220 |
| By: | Cyprien Batut; Caroline Coly; Sarah Schneider-Strawczynski |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of the #MeToo movement in the workplace, drawing on French survey data on harassment behaviours and administrative data on worker flows. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that, following the #MeToo movement, women began leaving high-risk workplaces at a significantly higher rate. This increase is mainly driven by women who quit their jobs. Both men and women who exit high-risk plants subsequently adjust their job search strategies toward less toxic workplaces. |
| Keywords: | sexual harassment, occupational gender inequality, workflows |
| JEL: | J16 D7 J81 J52 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12551 |