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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–02–16
five papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Virginia Minni; Kieu-Trang Nguyen; Heather Sarsons; Carla Srebot |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how managers’ gender attitudes shape workplace culture and gender inequality. Using data from a multinational firm operating in over 100 countries, we leverage cross-country manager rotations to identify the effects of male managers' gender attitudes on gender pay gaps within a team. Managers from countries with one standard deviation more progressive gender attitudes reduce the pay gap by 5 percentage points (18%), largely through higher promotion rates for women. These effects persist after managers rotate out and are strongest in more conservative countries. Managers with progressive attitudes also influence the local office culture, as local managers who interact with but are not under the purview of the foreign manager begin to have smaller pay gaps in their teams. Our evidence points to individual managers as critical in shaping corporate culture. |
| JEL: | F23 J16 M14 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34782 |
| By: | Matteo Picchio (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche); Raffaella Santolini (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | We study the role of mayoral gender in attracting public funding in Italian municipalities. We exploit a novel administrative dataset containing detailed information on all projects aimed at the digitalisation of local public administrations and funded under Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan between 2022 and 2024. Exogenous variation in the timing of municipal elections and switches from male to female mayors provides quasiexperimental identification within a staggered difference-in-differences framework. We find that female mayors attract significantly larger amounts of national public funding for the digitalisation of municipal administrative services. This effect is particularly strong when female leadership is combined with high levels of human, or supported by a high quality local bureaucrats, and a policy environment characterised by substantial funding opportunities. By contrast, the share of women in municipal councils and executives does not play a significant role. We also find that our main results are driven by small and territorially fragile municipalities. |
| Keywords: | Public funding, female political leadership, local governments, difference-in-differences, event-study, causal inference |
| JEL: | D72 H72 H76 J16 R58 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:504 |
| By: | Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali (University of Khartoum; University of Khartoum); Manal Osman Elhaj (Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the complex relationship between fertility and female labor force participation in the Arab region, where sociocultural norms often constrain women’s economic empowerment. Using panel data from 1991 to 2023 across 15 Arab countries, the analysis employs the Pooled Mean Group Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PMG-ARDL) model to address potential endogeneity and account for dynamic heterogeneity. The results show that higher fertility rates reduce labor market participation among women aged 15–64, while, somewhat unexpectedly, increasing participation among younger women aged 15–24. However, fertility is associated with higher unemployment rates in both age groups. These findings highlight the need for targeted policy interventions to support women’s employment, including expanded access to reproductive health services, flexible work arrangements, affordable childcare, and broader gender equity initiatives. The study’s key contribution lies in its region-wide, longitudinal approach, offering new insights that extend beyond previous country-specific or cross-sectional analyses. |
| Date: | 2025–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1792 |
| By: | Marina HeshamAuthor-Name-First: Marina Author-Name-Last: Hesham (Cairo UniversityAuthor-Name: Ariane Dupont-Kieffer; University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne); Racha Ramadan; Hanan Nazier |
| Abstract: | Sexual harassment is a pervasive form of violence against women (VAW) worldwide. In Egypt, women frequently encounter harassment in public spaces such as streets and public transportation. Despite its prevalence, harassment remains an underexplored barrier to women’s access to economic opportunities. This study examines the impact of public space harassment on female labor force participation (FLFP) in Egypt, drawing on data from the Egypt Economic Cost of Gender-Based Violence Survey (ECGBVS) and the 2018 wave of the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS). Using discrete choice models, the analysis reveals that the effects of harassment vary significantly according to women's characteristics, particularly marital status. The findings indicate that married women, those aged 25 to 44, and urban residents are disproportionately negatively affected, with higher likelihoods of labor market withdrawal following harassment. The robustness of these results is confirmed through Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and reduced-form regressions. Furthermore, mediation analysis highlights the critical role of husbands’ controlling behavior in shaping women’s responses to harassment. The paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations aimed at addressing these gendered barriers to labor force participation. |
| Date: | 2025–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1790 |
| By: | Alexander Mihailov; Giovanni Razzu; Zhe Wang |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the gendered effects of monetary policy shocks on key labour market outcomes in the Euro Area spanned by the 11 original member states from 2000 to 2016. Using a quarterly panel dataset and an identification strategy based on high-frequency financial surprises, we isolate exogenous monetary policy shocks from central bank information effects and trace their transmission across labour market outcomes for men and women. We provide new evidence on the distributional consequences of the common monetary policy shocks originating at the European Central Bank. A contractionary shock significantly increases unemployment for both genders, with systematically larger effects for men. At the same time, women exhibit a stronger rise in labour force participation, consistent with household labour supply adjustments. Gender differences in unemployment and participation are primarily driven by individuals aged 25–55 and are most pronounced among those with basic and intermediate education. Finally, labour market institutions shape the magnitude of these effects, either mitigating or amplifying gender disparities. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, labour market outcomes, monetary policy shocks, labour market institutions, Euro Area |
| JEL: | E24 E32 E52 F45 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–02–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2026-01 |