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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–03–09
eight papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Cieply, Isea (University of Goettingen); Barros, Laura (University of Goettingen); Silbersdorff, Alexander (University of Goettingen); Kneib, Thomas (University of Goettingen); Kis-Katos, Krisztina (University of Goettingen) |
| Abstract: | How large is the gender pay gap among university professors, and how do institutional pay-setting mechanisms shape this disparity? This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the gender pay gap among professors at a renowned German university. Using detailed human resources data for the time span 2013 to 2021, we document a statistically significant conditional gender pay gap in professorial salaries of 5.2%, after controlling for employment characteristics, socio-demographics, performance measures, and faculty and year fixed effects. Our findings show that these differentials can be attributed mainly to lower returns from retention negotiations, which have a particularly strong impact during the earlier stages of academic careers. These results highlight the importance of pay system designs in promoting gender equity in academia. |
| Keywords: | gender pay gap, gender economics, wage differentials, wage negotiations, professorial salaries |
| JEL: | E24 J01 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18376 |
| By: | Brey, Björn (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Cefalá, Edoardo (Dept. of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); García-Peñalosa, Cecilia (The National Centre for Scientific Research, Aix Marseille School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Gender equality and economic growth have historically tended to move together yet identifying causal effects has been difficult. This paper uses data on the support for female suffrage in Switzerland in order to explore the impact of technology adoption on gender norms. We argue that the early adoption of electricity was conducive to local economic development, which in turn led to more egalitarian views on gender. To identify causality, we exploit geographic differences in the potential to generate electricity from waterpower. Our results show that early electricity adoption (by the 1910s) had a lasting impact on municipality vote shares in support of female suffrage in the groundbreaking 1959 referendum. We complement this finding with Cantonal referendums on female voting rights and federal electoral results to show that higher support for female political participation is observed in the data since the 1920s. We then examine how technology may have shaped gender attitudes and find that increased educational investment explains part of the shift. Fertility appears to respond to changing gender norms and reinforce them, but is unlikely the keymechanism in the causal chain. |
| Keywords: | Technological change; industrialization; womens rights |
| JEL: | J16 N33 O14 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–02–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2026_003 |
| By: | Kishida, Reina |
| Abstract: | This study examines how women’s labor migration affects their decision-making participation in household savings and how gender norms shape these outcomes. Using Indonesian data, analyses reveal contrasting effects based on community norms. Shift-share instrumental variables analysis shows that 5 years after migration, women from non-restrictive communities gain decision-making power in savings by more than 20%, while those from restrictive communities show limited or negative effects. Staggered difference-in-differences event studies, which reflect the self-selective nature of migration, suggest that women from restrictive communities experience a short-term increase in decision-making 3~7 years after migration timing, while women from non-restrictive regions do not necessarily increase power, possibly due to high initial levels. These findings underscore the role of migration selectivity and gender norms in determining migration’s potential for female empowerment. |
| Date: | 2026–02–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:tkjnx_v1 |
| By: | Beatrix Eugster; Kelli Marquardt; Aurélien Sallin |
| Abstract: | Female students are less likely to be identified as intellectually gifted than male students when the identification process follows a two-stage procedure. We posit and quantify two mechanisms that explain this gender gap. First, at any level of IQ, but especially at high levels of IQ, male students are more likely nominated for assessment due to higher salience of externalizing behaviors. This difference accounts for roughly 70% of the gender gap in giftedness identification. Second, the remainder of the gap is explained by the use of lower referral thresholds for male students, all else equal. We discuss policy implications. |
| Keywords: | gifted education, two-stage diagnosis, gender gap |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J16 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12382 |
| By: | Henrik Kleven; Camille Landais; Anne Sophie S. Lassen; Philip Rosenbaum; Herdis Steingrimsdottir; Jakob Egholt Søgaard |
| Abstract: | We study whether policy can shift gendered beliefs, norms, and labor market outcomes by exploiting a major expansion of earmarked paternity leave in Denmark. The reform generated large first-stage effects, substantially reallocating leave from mothers to fathers. Using a regression discontinuity design combined with new survey data linked to administrative records, we show that the reform makes parents more supportive of paternity leave, shifts gender-role beliefs in a progressive direction, and reduces perceived differences in childcare ability. The reform also narrows gender gaps in earnings and hours worked. The earnings gap falls by 33pp in the first year following childbirth (during leave) and by 2.8pp in the second year (after leave). These results demonstrate that policy can meaningfully influence beliefs, norms, and gender inequality. On the other hand, earmarking restricts families’ ability to allocate leave freely and lowers leave satisfaction, highlighting a central trade-off inherent in paternalistic policies. |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34862 |
| By: | Foltyn, Richard (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Olsson, Jonna (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | Do large language models (LLMs) provide gender-neutral financial advice? We answer this question by prompting 33 widely used LLMs from five vendors, varying only a single word in otherwise identical prompts: “man” versus “woman.” We find that women are advised to allocate 1.8 percentage points less to equity funds than men; this gap persists across vendors, model generations, and model complexity. Providing richer investor information attenuates but does not entirely eliminate the gender gap. Since even modest allocation differences imply persistent return differentials, algorithmic financial advice can shape wealth accumulation across demographic groups. |
| Keywords: | Algorithmic bias; Gender bias; Large Language Models; Portfolio allocation |
| JEL: | C01 G11 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–02–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2026_004 |
| By: | Achard, Pascal; Wagner, Sander |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies how motherhood penalties vary across firms. Using Dutch administrative employer–employee data we estimate firm-specific motherhood penalties in earnings, hours, wages, and labor force participation for 2, 877 firms. We document large heterogeneity: over the ten years following childbirth, mothers at firms in the 10th percentile of the penalty distribution experience earnings losses exceeding 50 percent, compared with about 20 percent at firms in the 90th percentile. Differences across firms are driven primarily by adjustments in hours worked. Firm-level variation in motherhood penalties rivals differences observed across countries, highlighting the central role of workplaces in shaping gender inequality. |
| Date: | 2026–02–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nmgxz_v1 |
| By: | Valentina Tocchioni (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' degli Studi di Firenze); Maria Fancesca Morabito (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' degli Studi di Firenze); Alessandra Petrucci (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' degli Studi di Firenze) |
| Abstract: | Ongoing technological change has led to a steadily growing demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates worldwide. Not only do STEM disciplines have a low attractiveness in some contexts, such as in the U.S. and Italy; it is also a matter of persistence in pursuing STEM studies, affected by high rates of course switches in several countries. Using administrative microdata from the Italian Ministry for Universities and Research and selecting students enrolled in a STEM discipline between 2010 and 2014, our aim is to explore how the student’s gender, the field of study, and the gender composition of the course can help identify at-risk students likely to switch away from STEM fields, often delaying and/or compromising their academic journeys. Overall, the findings show that the propensity to abandon STEM programmes is very high, especially among students enrolled in Soft STEM fields. We find that (female and male) students in female-dominated programmes tend to have a lower probability of switching to enroll in another STEM course compared to those in male-dominated programmes. These findings emphasise that institutional contexts and course-level gender composition matter for STEM persistence, calling for university-level strategies aimed at fostering more inclusive and supportive learning environments. |
| Keywords: | university students, STEM, gender, course switch, Italy |
| JEL: | I24 I23 I21 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fir:econom:wp2026_03 |