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on Gender |
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Issue of 2024‒04‒22
five papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Kazuharu Yanagimoto (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros) |
| Abstract: | Japan ranks 116th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2022, well below many developed countries, and has one of the largest gender pay gaps among high-income countries. On the other hand, women’s labor force participation is high in Japan. However, women are much more likely to work in non-regular jobs, which are associated with lower wages and fewer hours. Men, in contrast, have regular, higher-paid jobs with long-hours requirements. In this paper, I build and estimate a model where couples jointly decide their occupations and working hours. Occupations differ in their flexibility. Regular jobs require long working hours, and hourly wages are a convex function of hours worked. Non-regular occupations have a linear mapping between hours worked and hourly wages. The model also allows for social norms that penalize women who earn more than their husbands. Given the inflexibility of regular jobs and social norms, women are more likely to choose non-regular jobs or not to work, and allocate a larger share of their hours for home production. The model can account for all of the observed gender gaps in labor force participation, 33% in occupational choices, 74% in labor hours, and 34% in wages. Through the lens of the model, the inflexibility of regular jobs explains almost all the gaps in occupational choices and wages, while social norms that penalize women who earn more than their husbands account for all of the gap in the participation rate and half of the gap in hours worked. |
| Keywords: | Gender wage gap, social norms, job inflexibility, home production. |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J31 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2024_2405&r=gen |
| By: | Jose Garcia-Louzao; Ruben Perez-Sanz |
| Abstract: | Uneven family responsibilities are at the root of gender gaps. Using a new dataset covering all firm-level agreements signed in Spain between 2010 and 2018, we explore whether the presence of female worker representatives can facilitate the negotiation of family-friendly policies with management. We compare firms that operate under the same set of labor regulations but differ in the presence of women among employee representatives. Our findings suggest that having female representatives at the bargaining table can help transform workplaces to better meet women’s needs and ultimately close the gender gap. |
| Keywords: | women representation, bargaining, family-friendly firms |
| JEL: | J16 J32 J53 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10982&r=gen |
| By: | Kopp, Daniel (ETH Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Part-time work is a popular way to reconcile work and family responsibilities. This study investigates how easy it is for men and women to get part-time jobs. To assess this question, I first analyze the hiring decisions of recruiters who screen jobseekers on an online recruiting platform and estimate contact penalties for men and women seeking part-time jobs. Second, I relate the number of hours advertised in online job postings to firms' confidentially reported gender preferences. I find that recruiters prefer full-time over part-time workers, and that part-time penalties are more pronounced for men than for women. Differences in job or workplace characteristics cannot explain these results. Instead, the preponderance of evidence points to bias due to gender stereotypes. |
| Keywords: | recruitment, part-time, gender equality, hiring, online labor markets |
| JEL: | J16 J23 M51 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16845&r=gen |
| By: | O'Donoghue, Cathal (National University of Ireland, Galway); Doorley, Karina (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin); Sologon, Denisa Maria (LISER (CEPS/INSTEAD)) |
| Abstract: | The cost-of-living crisis has increased attention on consumption and how it differs for particular societal groups. There is much theoretical evidence that consumption patterns of men and women should differ, but the empirical evidence is scant, due in part to the availability of individual-level consumption data. This paper tackles the question of consumption differentials between men and women over nearly three decades in Ireland. Using harmonised survey data, we show how patterns of consumption of male- and female-headed households have changed over this period of significant economic turmoil and growth. |
| Keywords: | consumption, gender |
| JEL: | E21 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16852&r=gen |
| By: | Katherine B. Coffman; Lucas C. Coffman; Keith Marzilli Ericson |
| Abstract: | Economics research has largely overlooked non-binary individuals. We aim to jump-start the literature by providing data on several economically-important beliefs and preferences. Among many results, non-binary individuals report more gender-based discrimination and express different career and life aspirations, including less desire for children. Anti-non-binary sentiment is stronger than anti-LGBT sentiment, and strongest among men. Non-binary respondents report lower assertiveness than men and women, and their social preferences are similar to men’s and less prosocial than women’s, with age an important moderator. Elicited beliefs reveal inaccurate stereotypes as people often mistake the direction of group differences or exaggerate their size. |
| JEL: | C90 D10 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32222&r=gen |