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Bothfeld, Silke, Christian Hohendanner, Petra Schütt & Aysel Yollu-Tok (Hrsg.) (2026): Geschlechtergerecht gestalten. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Arbeitsmarkt- und Sozialpolitik. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 471 S. DOI:10.12907/978-3-593-45932-5

Abstract

"Trotz zahlreicher Bemühungen und Erfolge in der Gleichstellungspolitik seit Ende der 1990er Jahre bestehen in der Praxis nach wie vor erhebliche geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Frauen haben nach wie vor geringere Erfolgsaussichten beim Zugang und beim Verbleib in Beschäftigung, ihre Bezahlung und ihre Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten sind schlechter. Die Beiträge dieses Bandes bieten einen umfassenden Überblick über die aktuelle geschlechtsbezogene Arbeits(marktpolitik-)forschung. Mit einem multiperspektivischen Blick auf den vergeschlechtlichten Arbeitsmarkt gelingt es dem Band, historische Aspekte, Gegenwartsanalysen sowie gesellschaftliche Transformationsprozesse und Lösungsansätze zu verbinden." (Verlagsangaben, IAB-Doku)

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Lochner, Benjamin & Christian Merkl (2026): Gender-Specific Application Behaviour, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap. In: The Economic Journal, Jg. 136, H. 673, S. 97-124., 2025-05-08. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaf037

Abstract

"This paper examines how gender-specific application behavior, firms’ hiring practices, and flexibility demands relate to the gender earnings gap, using linked data from the German Job Vacancy Survey and administrative records. Women are less likely than men to apply to high-wage firms with high flexibility requirements, although their hiring chances are similar when they do. We show that compensating differentials for firms’ flexibility demands help explain the residual gender earnings gap. Among women, mothers experience the largest earnings penalties relative to men in jobs with high flexibility requirements." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Shattuck, Rachel M. (2026): Cross-cohort employment differences among U.S. mothers of young children: The role of nonparental childcare. In: Social science research, Jg. 133. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103261

Abstract

"Following increased mothers' employment since the later 20th century, the majority of U.S. mothers now experience employment with children under age three. Most use nonparental childcare (NPC) while employed. NPC can include care provided in childcare centers and preschools, as well as by nannies, babysitters and relatives, and in family childcare homes. Changes since the 1980s to care costs and availability, labor market conditions, family structures, and public assistance policies may result in differences in the predictive relationship between NPC use and employment among late-20th vs. early-21st century mothers. I use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) (“Baby-Boomers”) and 1997 (“Millennials”) data to compare monthly likelihood of full-time employment, part-time employment, and employment exit—and how NPC use differently affects these—among mothers of children under three. A hybrid model including within-person and between-person components compares women to themselves at different points in time when they are employed either with or without NPC. NPC use increases full-time employment, and employment stability, for mothers in both cohorts. However, Millennials use NPC more than Baby-Boomers. Furthermore, NPC increases the likelihood of maintaining full-time employment, and transitioning from part-time to full-time employment, by larger magnitudes for Millennials than for Baby-Boomers. Supplementary descriptive analyses show changed care types, increased care costs, and increased nonstandard employment, all of which may contribute to this cross-cohort difference. Results demonstrate how NPC plays a key role in supporting employment within individual women's life courses, and how these effects may differ across different social and historical settings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Abendroth-Sohl, Anja, Ann-Christin Bächmann, Alexandra Mellies & Kevin Ruf (2025): Die Qual der Wahl? Soziale Strukturierungen der tariflichen Wahlmöglichkeit zwischen Zeit und Geld. In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 78, H. 1, S. 22-29., 2025-11-01. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2025-1-22

Abstract

"Immer mehr Beschäftigte sehen sich mit Vereinbarkeitskonflikten zwischen Privatem und Beruflichem konfrontiert. Entsprechend hat der Wunsch nach mehr Mitbestimmung in der Gestaltung der individuellen Arbeitszeit gesellschaftlich stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben einige Gewerkschaften eine tarifliche Wahloption durchgesetzt, die es Beschäftigten erlaubt, sich jährlich zwischen mehr Zeit oder mehr Geld zu entscheiden. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit die Wahl von mehr Zeit anstelle von mehr Geld sozial strukturiert ist; er berücksichtigt dabei Unterschiede bei der Wahl von Zeit sowie die dahinterliegenden Motive zwischen Männern und Frauen mit und ohne Kinder unter 14 Jahren im Haushalt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Nomos)

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Acero, Isabel & Nuria Alcalde (2025): Gender pay gap among non-executive directors in Spanish boards. In: Applied Economics, S. 1-13. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2025.2499209

Abstract

"This study focuses on the existence or not of a gender pay gap (GPG) among non-executive directors (NEDs) in Spanish boards. For this purpose, we used a sample covering 4,018 positions/year for NEDs in 57 Spanish listed firms over a 10-year period (2013–2022). The results obtained suggest that, controlling for individual characteristics of the directors, the type of position held as well as the features of the company and its corporate governance system, female NEDs receive approximately 11% less remuneration than their male counterparts. Therefore, our findings do not support the idea that female directors are a scarce resource that firms compete for and reward. The results also highlight the need to differentiate by categories of directors when analysing the GPG in the board. In fact, we find that the GPG is higher for proprietary directors (around 18%) than for independent directors (around 6%). In terms of practical implications, our results may be of interest to policy-makers who are considering gender equity policies to break the glass ceiling." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Adams, Abi, Kotaro Hara, Kristy Milland & Chris Callison-Burch (2025): The Gender Wage Gap in an Online Labor Market: The Cost of Interruptions. In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 107, H. 1, S. 55-64. DOI:10.1162/rest_a_01282

Abstract

"This paper analyzes gender differences in working patterns and wages on Amazon Mechanical Turk, a popular online labor platform. Using information on 2 million tasks, we find no gender differences in task selection nor experience. Nonetheless, women earn 20% less per hour on average. Gender differences in working patterns are a significant driver of this wage gap. Women are more likely to interrupt their working time on the platform with consequences for their task completion speed. A follow-up survey shows that the gender differences in working patterns and hourly wages are concentrated among workers with children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © MIT Press Journals) ((en))

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Afonso, António & M. Carmen Blanco-Arana (2025): The persistence of gender pay and employment gaps in European countries. In: Comparative Economic Studies, Jg. 67, H. 2, S. 326-354. DOI:10.1057/s41294-025-00252-6

Abstract

"We assess the factors that influence the gender pay gap and gender employment gap across an unbalanced panel of 31 European countries over the period 2000–2022, and estimate a system generalized method of moment model (GMM). We find that tertiary education reduces gender pay gap, and part-time and temporary contracts significantly increase this gap. Moreover, part-time reduces significantly gender employment gap, and both secondary and tertiary education as well. Additionally, for countries with GDP per capita below the sample mean, temporary work and part-time work significantly increases the gender pay gap. Nevertheless, for both group of countries (below and above GDP per capita sample mean), temporary work increases, whereas part-time work decreases the gender employment gap, highlighting the importance of being working or not. Finally, in higher income countries, education is the crucial determinant in reducing these gaps. Results are robust with fixed effects models." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Alfitian, Jakob, Marvin Deversi & Dirk Sliwka (2025): Closing the Gender Gap in Salary Increases: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Promoting Pay Equity. In: Journal of labor economics. DOI:10.1086/739021

Abstract

"We present a natural field experiment on promoting pay equity through simple modifications to the salary review process involving 623 middle managers and 8,951 subordinate employees of a large technology firm. We first document a gender gap not only in salary levels but also in salary increases. Our treatments provide for a gender-blind reallocation of the salary increase budget available to middle managers aimed at promoting pay equity, along with different variants of a corresponding decision guidance. We show that the budget reallocation combined with an explicit decision guidance, while still leaving middle managers discretion in allocating the budget, can completely eliminate the gender gap in salary increases. The treatments also do not appear to undermine the desired performance differentiation in salary increases. We thus show that simple modifications to the salary review process can go a long way toward achieving pay equity by preventing gender gaps from widening throughout employees' careers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Alon, Titan, Sena Coskun & Jane Olmstead‑Rumsey (2025): Gender Divergence in Sectors of Work. (IAB-Discussion Paper 11/2025), Nürnberg, 44 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.DP.2511

Abstract

"Im letzten halben Jahrhundert kam es in vielen Bereichen des Arbeitsmarktes, darunter Arbeitszeit, Einkommen und Berufe, zu einer weitgehenden Annäherung der Geschlechter. Diese Studie zeigt jedoch, dass sich die Beschäftigungssektoren von Männern und Frauen im gleichen Zeitraum tatsächlich auseinanderentwickelt haben. Wir zerlegen den Anstieg der sektoralen Segregation in drei Faktoren: veränderte Präferenzen, Diskriminierung und Technologien. Veränderte Beschäftigungspräferenzen verheirateter Frauen sind der wichtigste Faktor und erklären 59% des Anstiegs der Segregation. Diese veränderten Präferenzen verringern auch die geschlechtsspezifische Einkommenslücke, da die von Frauen geschätzten nicht‑lohnbezogenen Annehmlichkeiten in höher bezahlten Sektoren zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Bairoh, Susanna, Satu Pyöriä & Niklas Mäkinen (2025): Disaggregating Gender Income Disparities in STEM: Cohort and Family Factors in a Nordic Welfare State. In: Work, Employment and Society, S. 1-22. DOI:10.1177/09500170251366157

Abstract

"The article examines the income trajectories of women and men in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in Finland, a country within the Nordic labour market context that strives for gender equality. The study uses total population register data from Finnish STEM degree holders with at least a bachelor’s degree, aged 30–40 years, selecting cohorts born in 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980 (N = 31,865). This study estimates how cohort, becoming a parent, and co-residing with a spouse affect income trajectories for women and men. The findings reveal persistent gender income disparities across cohorts, with economic turbulence potentially widening the differences. The results support the motherhood penalty and, unexpectedly, address a ‘living-alone penalty’ for men. Even with a design examining STEM graduates at the same career stage, gender differences remain significant and are not alleviated by the Nordic welfare state context." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Baktash, Mehrzad B. (2025): Does Performance Pay Increase the Risk of Worker Loneliness? In: Kyklos, S. 1-20. DOI:10.1111/kykl.70018

Abstract

"Increased wages and productivity associated with performance pay can be beneficial to both employers and employees. However, performance pay can also entail unintended consequences for workers' well-being. This study is the first to systematically examine the association between performance pay and loneliness, a significant policy-relevant social well-being concern. Using representative survey data from Germany, I show that performance pay is significantly associated with increased loneliness. Correspondingly, performance pay is negatively associated with the social life satisfaction of workers. Investigating the transmission channels reveals work hours, earnings, conflict with coworkers, and conflict with the life partner as important mediators. The key findings also hold in sensible instrumental variable estimations, addressing the potential endogeneity of performance pay and in various robustness checks. Finally, implications are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Been, Jim, Marike Knoef & Heike Vethaak (2025): How Important is Selection into Full-time and Part-time Employment? A New Panel Data Sample Selection Model for Estimating Wage Profiles. In: Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, S. 1-19. DOI:10.1080/07350015.2025.2520851

Abstract

"The literature has shown that correcting for self-selection into work is important for the estimation of wage profiles. In this paper, we analyze to what extent intensive labor supply choices add valuable otherwise unobserved information to improve wage profile estimates. We develop a panel data sample selection model that allows for discrete choices in labor supply decisions and apply this to high-quality administrative data. Compared to labor supply decisions at the extensive margin, our new approach is able to control for additional unobserved heterogeneity from intensive labor supply choices with important consequences for the existence and direction of selection into (part-time) work. Applied to the data, we find that such information is especially important for estimating part-time wage profiles for women." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Blau, Francine D. (2025): Gender Inequality in the Labor Market: Continuing Progress? In: ILR review, Jg. 78, H. 2, S. 275-303. DOI:10.1177/00197939241308844

Abstract

"This article examines the trends in women ’s economic outcomes in the United States, focusing primarily on labor force participation, occupational attainment, and the gender wage gap. Considerable progress was made on all dimensions prior to the 1990s followed by a slowing or stalling of gains thereafter, with a plateauing of female labor force participation trends and a slowing of women’s occupational and wage convergence with men. The author considers the likelihood that progress in narrowing gender gaps will resume in these areas, and concludes it is unlikely without policy intervention. She then considers new policy initiatives to address work–family issues and labor market discrimination that may help to increase female labor force participation and narrow gender inequities in the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bohnet, Iris, Oliver P. Hauser & Ariella S. Kristal (2025): Can gender and race dynamics in performance appraisals be disrupted? The case of social influence. In: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Jg. 235. DOI:10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107032

Abstract

"We document gender and race dynamics in performance evaluations in a multi-national company, examining the impacts of a feature of the performance appraisal process: managers’ knowledge of employees’ self-evaluations. Generally, (White) women were rated higher than men and people of color were rated lower than White employees. Women of color gave themselves the lowest self-ratings. When self-evaluations were unavailable due to a quasi-exogenous shock, manager and self-ratings were less correlated. However, gender and race gaps remained unchanged as managers anchored on previous years’ ratings. Based onsuggestive evidence, women of color without an employment history benefitted from their self-ratings not being shared." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))

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Brandl, Julia, David G. Allen, Christian Grund & Anna Sender (2025): A new look at pay disclosure: Employee initiatives, multiple perspectives, and voids in legal rules. In: German Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 39, H. 3, S. 179-197. DOI:10.1177/23970022251346594

Abstract

"This article introduces the special issue on Pay disclosure: Implications for Human Resource Management in the German Journal of Human Resource Management. Previous research largely assumed employer agency in designing pay disclosure practices. Recent legislation regarding pay disclosure in many countries and an increasing role of employees have to be considered, though. Differences in actors’ attitudes toward pay disclosure and voids in legal rules then lead to multiple perspectives on the nature of pay disclosure. Based on the articles in this special issue, we outline how these themes constitute a challenge for managing actors and an exciting research opportunity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Burke, Vanessa, Ho Kwan Cheung & Lisa M. Finkelstein (2025): Exploring midlife identity negotiations in the context of the gender career gap: an interdisciplinary conceptual framework. In: Work, Aging and Retirement, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1093/workar/waae023

Abstract

"The gender gaps in career outcomes (e.g., pay, promotion, leadership opportunities) observably widen during mid-career, yet research often neglects considerations of gendered age identities in explaining this disparity. The present paper addresses this through an integrative review of interdisciplinary literature and proposes a novel theoretical framework that combines midlife development and gender identity negotiations to better understand mid-career disparities. In this review, we (1) adopt an inter-categorical approach to explore how workers navigate the overlapping systems of gender and age in the workplace, (2) critically review midlife development literature, highlighting significant oversights in organizational research, and (3) we introduce a process model of midlife gendered identity negotiations. We detail the model, describing the antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of gendered aging identity negotiations on mid-career inequities. We provide a foundation for advancing research and designing interventions to address gender disparities in mid-career outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bächmann, Ann-Christin, Andreas Filser & Corinna Frodermann (2025): Väter, die länger in Elternzeit sind, arbeiten auch längerfristig weniger (Serie "Equal Pay Day 2025"). In: IAB-Forum H. 07.04.2025. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20250407.01

Abstract

"Die Verdienste von Vätern, die nach der Geburt ihres ersten Kindes Elternzeit nehmen, steigen in den darauffolgenden Jahren im Schnitt etwas langsamer als die Verdienste von Vätern, die auf Elternzeit verzichten. Dies hängt stark damit zusammen, dass insbesondere Väter, die mehr als zwei Monate in Elternzeit gehen, danach zum Beispiel häufiger in Teilzeit arbeiten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Böheim, René, David Pichler & Christine Zulehner (2025): Gendered labour market dynamics across generations: Parental and local determinants of the daugther-son pay gap. (Working paper / Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler Universität of Linz 2025-05-00), Linz, 29 S.

Abstract

"We examine how parental and local factors shape the gender pay gap between daughters and sons. Maternal labor market attachment significantly reduces gender disparities as it increases daughters' earnings in adulthood relative to that of sons. We find that maternal employment has minimal effects on pre-parenthood earnings gaps. However, it substantially mitigates post-parenthood disparities as daughters return to the labour market more quickly after childbirth. Paternal employment in manufacturing and construction is linked to larger gender pay gaps and lower likelihoods of sons taking paternity leave. At the municipal level, higher female employment rates and education levels are associated with narrower gender gaps, whereas conservative norms and manufacturing employment exacerbate them." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Caparrós Ruiz, Antonio (2025): Gender wage gap among highly educated workers: some evidence from Spain. In: Journal of Economic Studies, Jg. 52, H. 6, S. 1171-1188. DOI:10.1108/jes-06-2024-0371

Abstract

"Purpose: The study aims to estimate wage models controlled for sample selection bias and apply the traditional Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition to examine the genderwage gap. Design/methodology/Approach: This research provides new evidence concerning the drivers of the gender pay gap for highly educated workers in Spain. Findings: The results show the existence of empirical evidence about the presence of the gender wage gap among tertiary-educated workers. An interesting conclusion is that holding a master’s degree hasa positive impact since it diminishes the unexplained component of the gender pay gap. Research limitations/implications: The survey used only analyses the labor insertion of tertiary-educated workers and its temporal scope does not allow us to examine the evolution of the gender wage gap throughout their careers. Social implications: The findings indicate that there is room for the implementation of policies aimed at diminishing gender inequality in the labor market even for highly educated workers, which could complement the current Spanish labor legislation regulating the gender pay gap in firms. Originality/value: This paper bridges two bodies of the economic literature: human capital returns and the gender wage gap. The data used represent a contribution to the economic literature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Emerald Group) ((en))

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Choi, Youjin, Rachel Margolis & Anders Holm (2025): The Effects of Extended Parental Benefits on Parents’ Employment and Earnings in Canada. In: Demography, Jg. 62, H. 3, S. 879-898. DOI:10.1215/00703370-11958785

Abstract

"Paid parental benefits, with individually earmarked time for mothers and fathers, aim to promote gender equality in labor force participation, wages, and childcare. The Canadian province of Québec expanded parental benefits over and above the federal policy in 2006 with the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), which introduced paid paternity leave and lower eligibility criteria as its key features. This policy aimed to increase gender equality by encouraging fathers to use parental benefits and expanding coverage to low-income parents. Using Canadian administrative data and exploiting the policy changes in 2006 as a natural experiment, we examine the effects of Québec's extended parental benefits policy on parents’ employment and earnings over 10 years after the transition to parenthood. First, we find that fathers’ use of parental benefits had positive long-run effects on mothers’ and fathers’ earnings 8–10 years after a first birth. Second, we find that among women with low earnings before the transition to parenthood, QPIP increased the likelihood of employment 1–7 years after a first birth. This article provides the first evidence that a policy dramatically expanding parental benefits and encouraging use among both parents can have long-term positive effects on parents’ labor market outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Conroy, Tessa, Jie Wu & Steven Deller (2025): Childcare availability and Women’s earnings in the U.S. In: Review of Economics of the Household. DOI:10.1007/s11150-025-09787-0

Abstract

"Extensive research shows that women earn less than men, and mothers earn less than women without children. In fact, the “motherhood penalty” accounts for much of the remaining gender wage gap. Since having children can reduce women’s earnings, access to childcare may play a crucial role in mitigating this effect and boosting women’s income. In this study we consider descriptive evidence of the relationship between childcare availability, defined geographically at the county level, and local women’s earnings. To account for potential spatial spillovers from childcare markets extending beyond county boundaries, we employ a spatial econometric model. This method is well suited for studying childcare markets which function regionally and their local economic effects, as well as for considering variation in this relationship by rurality. We find that in places with greater access to childcare, annual median women earnings are higher as is the ratio of female to male earnings. We also find evidence of interactions between neighboring places, highlighting the reality of cross-community childcare demand and need for regionally-informed childcare policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Coskun, Sena, Hermann Gartner & Ahmet Ali Taskin (2025): Rent Sharing and the Gender Bargaining Gap: Evidence from the Banking Sector. (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 20752), London, 45 S.

Abstract

"Wir nutzen den Wegfall staatlicher Bankgarantien in Deutschland als quasi-natürliches Experiment, um den Unterschied zwischen Männern und Frauen bei der Verhandlungsmacht abzuschätzen. Anhand umfassender Lohndaten von Bankangestellten, kombiniert mit Finanzinformationen auf Bankebene, stellen wir fest, dass Frauen etwa zwei Drittel der Verhandlungsmacht von Männern haben. Unsere modellbasierte Analyse legt nahe, dass diese geschlechtsspezifische Verhandlungsmacht allein 13 bis 25 Prozent der beobachteten geschlechtsspezifischen Lohnlücke in der Branche ausmacht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine wichtige Ursache der Lohnunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen: Eine Veränderung der Profitabilität von Firmen kannn die geschlechtsspezifische Lohnlücke verringern, ohne dass sich die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter strukturell verbessert. Dieser Effekt hat erhebliche Auswirkungen auf Branchen mit hohen Profiten und hoher Ungleichheit wie der Finanzbranche, in denen der Modus der Verteilung der Profite männliche Beschäftigte begünstigt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Coskun Dalgic, Sena, Hermann Gartner & Ahmet Ali Taskin (2025): Rent Sharing and the Gender Bargaining Gap: Evidence from the Banking Sector. (IAB-Discussion Paper 06/2025), Nürnberg, 40 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.DP.2506

Abstract

"Wir nutzen den Wegfall staatlicher Bankgarantien in Deutschland als quasi-natürliches Experiment, um den Unterschied zwischen Männern und Frauen bei der Verhandlungsmacht abzuschätzen. Anhand umfassender Lohndaten von Bankangestellten, kombiniert mit Finanzinformationen auf Bankebene, stellen wir fest, dass Frauen etwa zwei Drittel der Verhandlungsmacht von Männern haben. Unsere modellbasierte Analyse legt nahe, dass diese geschlechtsspezifische Verhandlungsmacht allein 13 bis 25 Prozent der beobachteten geschlechtsspezifischen Lohnlücke in der Branche ausmacht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine wichtige Ursache der Lohnunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen: Eine Veränderung der Profitabilität von Firmen kannn die geschlechtsspezifische Lohnlücke verringern, ohne dass sich die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter strukturell verbessert. Dieser Effekt hat erhebliche Auswirkungen auf Branchen mit hohen Profiten und hoher Ungleichheit wie der Finanzbranche, in denen der Modus der Verteilung der Profite männliche Beschäftigte begünstigt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Coskun Dalgic, Sena (2025): Gender convergence in all areas: Is it a myth? In: IAB-Forum H. 29.08.2025, 2025-08-27. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20250829.02

Abstract

"While men and women are increasingly found in the same occupations, a surprising trend has emerged: Sectors are becoming more gender-segregated over time. Are these patterns shaped by discriminatory hiring practices or by individual preferences? Examining this question offers new insights into the complex dynamics behind gendered labour market outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cruz, João, Amélia Bastos, Sara Falcão Casaca & Isabel Proença (2025): Gender pay gap trends across STEM fields: an empirical analysis. In: The international journal of sociology and social policy, S. 1-22. DOI:10.1108/ijssp-02-2025-0090

Abstract

"Purpose: This paper analyses the gender pay gap (GPG) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in Portugal over the past decade, utilising official national earnings data. Design/methodology/approach: A decomposition method is applied to estimate the explained and unexplained components of the GPG both at the mean and across the distribution quartiles of national earnings. This methodology can also be applied to other sectors or countries, providing robust statistical and econometric results relating to the GPG. Findings: The results show that the GPG varies heterogeneously across STEM fields. In occupations relating to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which are included in STEM, the GPG has been widening in recent years, in contrast to the overall trend in the labour force. Originality/value: The GPG in STEM is under-researched, with existing literature indicating a structural gap in these occupations. Understanding this GPG is essential for its reduction and for maximising human capital, which is vital for social and economic growth. This article aims to contribute to the discussion on this topic and offers potential policy recommendations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Emerald Group) ((en))

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Demiral, Elif E., Macie Addley & Erin Taylor (2025): Closing the gender negotiation gap: The power of entitlements, In: Journal of Economic Psychology, Jg. 106. DOI:10.1016/j.joep.2024.102786

Abstract

"Women are less likely to negotiate for their labor market outcomes than men and this finding is linked to the gender gaps in economic outcomes. Through a wage negotiation experiment, we investigate how entitlements influence gender differences in negotiation likelihood. We manipulate the formation of entitlements by employing different hiring methods. Our results reveal that when the hiring process is based on luck (random treatment), men are more prone to negotiate than women. In the condition where the hiring process lacks transparency (unknown treatment), the gender gap declines and remains muted. When the hiring process is transparently grounded on merit (entitlement treatment), women react by displaying higher negotiation likelihood, and the gender gap in negotiation not only declines but reverses in direction. These findings underscore the potential of transparent and merit-based recruitment practices in mitigating gender disparities within labor market outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Detemple, Jonas (2025): Partnerships as signposts? The role of spatial mobility in gendered earnings benefits of graduates. In: Advances in life course research, Jg. 63. DOI:10.1016/j.alcr.2024.100656

Abstract

"This study analyzes the gender-specific impact of spatial mobility on earnings after graduation from higher education, extending previous research on graduates’ mobility benefits, which has largely ignored gender-specific mechanisms. Based on household economic and gender role considerations, this study argues that partnerships are associated with solidifying gender differences in mobility-related earnings benefits. The study uses data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort First-Year Students (SC5), and applies entropy balancing weights to account for the self-selection of mobile graduates. General linear models show a weak correlation between overal graduate mobility and higher earnings and that gender differences are rather small and depend on the type of mobility. However, looking at the role of partnerships, female graduates benefit significantly less from short-distance mobility when cohabiting with a partner than their non-cohabiting counterparts, while cohabiting male graduates benefit significantly more from long-distance mobility. The findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the crucial role of partnerships in the gendered mobility benefits of graduates." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.) ((en))

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Diallo, Yaya, Fabian Lange & Laetitia Renée (2025): Can Paternity Leave Reduce the Gender Earnings Gap? (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17624), Bonn, 38 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines the impact of paternity leave on the gender gap in labor market outcomes. Utilizing administrative data from Canadian tax records, we analyze the introduction of Quebec's 2006 paternity leave policy, which offers five weeks of paid leave exclusively to fathers. Using mothers and fathers of children born around the reform, we estimate how the policy impacted labor market outcomes up to 10 years following birth. The reform significantly increased fathers' uptake of parental leave and reduced their earnings immediately after the reform. However, in the medium to long-run, we find that the reform did not impact earnings, employment, or the probability of being employed in a high-wage industry for either parent. We for instance find a 95%-CI for the effect on average female earnings 3-10 years following the reform ranging from -2.2 to +1.7%. Estimates of effects on other outcomes and for males are similarly precise zeros. There is likewise no evidence that the reform changed social norms around care-taking and family responsibilities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Diehl, Claudia, Julia Lang, Ole Brüggemann & Susanne Strauss (2025): Is My Wage Fair? Validating Fairness Perceptions among Women and Men. In: Socius, Jg. 11, S. 1-21., 2025-07-22. DOI:10.1177/23780231251366126

Abstract

"The authors examine gender differences in perceptions of the fairness of one’s own pay. This work differs from previous studies, as the authors not only assess whether women are as likely as men to perceive their pay as unfair at the same absolute wage levels. Instead, they use an innovative methodology based on linked employer-employee data. This makes it possible to compare subjective perceptions of (un)fair pay with the predicted pay of comparable others with the same individual-, work-, occupation-, and firm-related characteristics. The authors use the measurement of how closely a person’s pay aligns with the predicted pay of comparable others as a strictly empirical indicator of whether someone’s pay is fair. Overall, women are as likely as men to perceive a fair wage as unfair or an unfair wage as fair. Although the data at hand do not make it possible to explore the causes of this, or to assess whether women and men used to differ more in their perceptions of fairness, the authors speculate that women today may be more aware of the societal debate about gender-based wage discrimination, and their perceptions of appropriate compensation may be less influenced by gendered comparison groups and gender status beliefs than previous research has suggested." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © SAGE) ((en))

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Doan, Tinh, Liana Leach & Lyndall Strazdins (2025): The Economic Costs of Men's Long Work Hours for Women: Evidence on the Gender Wage Earnings Gap from Australia and Germany. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 179, H. 2, S. 1073-1100. DOI:10.1007/s11205-025-03647-1

Abstract

"Women’s earnings inequality persists, despite policy efforts to reduce discrimination and gender bias. Gender gaps in earnings, however, are a function of hours worked as well as wage rates, and reflect gendered short and long work hour patterns. Within households, how partners exchange time is a crucial driver of hours worked yet this is rarely incorporated into analysis of gender earning gaps. Using a two-stage instrumental variable Oaxaca- Blinder decomposition we model earnings gaps as a function of own and partner hours on and off the job. This enables us to estimate what the gender gap in hours and earnings would look like without a gendered time ‘subsidy’ or ‘borrowing’ in the home. We studied dual-earner households in two countries, Australia and Germany, finding a weekly earnings gap of AUD$536 and €400. This was accompanied by a weekly work hour gap of 12 h in Australia and 13 in Germany. When we accounted for the influence of partner’s hours (paid or unpaid), work hour gaps reduce to 5.1 h in Australian households (58% reduction), and to 6.9 h in German (47% reduction). In effect, women would work 3 to 4 h more each week, and men’s long hours would reduce, narrowing the gender earnings gaps by 43% in Australia and 25% in Germany, if time ‘subsidies’ in the home were eliminated. Our analysis reveals the economic cost to women long work hour cultures impose." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Dressel, Joanna, Paul Attewell, Liza Reisel & Kjersti Misje Østbakken (2025): Characteristics or Returns: Understanding Gender Pay Inequality among College Graduates in the USA. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 39, H. 1, S. 185-201. DOI:10.1177/09500170241245329

Abstract

"Explanations for the persistent pay disparity between similarly qualified men and women vary between women’s different and devalued work characteristics and specific processes that result in unequal wage returns to the same characteristics. This article investigates how the gender wage gap is affected by gender differences in detailed work activities among full-time, year-round, college-graduate workers in the US using decomposition analysis in the National Survey of College Graduates. Differences in men’s and women’s characteristics account for a majority of the gender wage gap. Additionally, men and women receive different returns to several characteristics: occupational composition, marriage and work activities. While men are penalized more than women for having teaching as their primary work activity, women receive lower rewards for primary work activities such as finance and computer programming. The findings suggest that even with men and women becoming more similar on several characteristics, unequal returns to those characteristics will stall progress towards equality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Ehab, Maye & Fatma Mossad (2025): Informal employment in the health sector: Examining gender disparities. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 2, 2024-09-20. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12704

Abstract

"This paper investigates the association between informal employment as a form of non-standard employment and the prevalence of in-work poverty for women in the health sector. We measured in-work poverty using a binary indicator that provides information on whether an individual has earnings above or below the low earnings threshold. The indicator takes into account household size and whether other household members are also in paid work. Using data from the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey for the years 2012 and 2018 and logit models, we found that being employed within the health sector increased the likelihood of in-work poverty among non-standard employees, both men and women. However, higher risks of in-work poverty were witnessed among women working informally in the health sector compared to other sectors. This increased risk was particularly observed when comparing non-standard employment in the health sector to non-standard employment in non-health sectors. Furthermore, marital status plays a critical role in economic wellbeing, with never-married women being more susceptible to in-work poverty compared to ever-married women." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Wiley) ((en))

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Fortes de Lena, Fernanda & Diederik Boertien (2025): A Marriage Premium for Whom? Sexual Identity, Relationship Status and Earnings. In: Journal of Marriage and Family, S. 1-19. DOI:10.1111/jomf.70005

Abstract

"Objective: This article aims to understand how relationship status is associated with earnings among LGB people. Background: Previous research has found that marriage is related to higher earnings for men and lower earnings for women, but has not often considered whether this holds across different sexual identities. Method: We use the longitudinal Understanding Society data from the UK to show how the earnings of LGB individuals are associated with relationship status (single, non-residential partner, residential partner, married). Results: Cohabiting or married men generally earn more compared to single men, regardless of sexual identity. However, gay men's earnings only increase after marrying, whereas heterosexual and bisexual men's earnings increase after entering any co-residential relationship. This suggests that gay men might receive more social support or employer approval after entering a normative relationship form. Heterosexual women start earning less after marriage, whereas the impact of changes in relationship status on earnings is relatively small and non-significant for bisexual and lesbian women. These results are largely explained by paid and unpaid work hours, suggesting that the division of labor within relationships lowers earnings among heterosexual women but not among LGB women. Conclusion: LGB women's earnings depend relatively little on changes in relationship status. At the same time, gay men only receive premiums related to having a partner once they marry." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fraja, Gianni de & Jozsef Sakovics (2025): Discrimination Spillovers, Glass Ceilings and Pay Gaps. (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 20056), London, 59 S.

Abstract

"This paper is a theoretical analysis of the consequences of workplace discrimination. We prove that discrimination against a group at lower levels of the hierarchy affects the pay of members of the same group at higher levels, leading to a "pay gap" relative to non-discriminated workers. These spillovers in turn induce firms to alter the match between workers and jobs for the discriminated group, potentially leading to a "glass ceiling". The phenomenon can occur even in firms where "equal pay for equal jobs" appears to be adhered to. The explanation is based on the standard participation and incentive constraints: the need to compensate workers for the direct discrimination they suffer, to induce them to work, and the need to maintain pay differentials between job levels, to provide effort incentives. We end the paper showing that neither competition among workers, nor competition among firms for workers eliminates these spillovers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Fredriksson, Peter, Dogan Gülümser & Lena Hensvik (2025): Outside Job Opportunities and the Gender Gap in Pay. (RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2025,71), Berlin, 48 S.

Abstract

"We show that the wages of men and women are differentially affected by outside options, and that these differential responses contribute to the gender pay gap. We develop a simple model of on-the-job search that integrates two crucial gender differences: job preferences and the propensity to renegotiate wages in response to external offers. Both factors contribute to lower wage responsiveness for women when they receive outside offers, and a negative female-male pay gap. However, women’s job mobility responses vary depending on the underlying mechanism. To empirically test our model’s predictions, we analyze wageand job mobility responses of men and women to external job opportunities, mediated through family networks. Using Swedish register data, we find that improved outside options are associated with higher within-job wage growth for men but not for women. Importantly, we can rule out that these gendered responses arise from differences in the quality of external offers as these are balanced across genders by design. Additionally, men’s and women’s job mobility responses are very similar. In the light of the model, we attribute these findings to differences in negotiation behavior between men and women. Policies encouraging women to bargain in response to outside options may thus be a powerful tool for reducing the remaining within-job gender gap in pay." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fuchs, Michaela, Antje Weyh & Gabriele Wydra-Somaggio (2025): Die spezifische Berufs- und Betriebsstruktur vor Ort führt zu deutlichen regionalen Unterschieden in der Lohnlücke zwischen Männern und Frauen (Serie "Equal Pay Day 2025"). In: IAB-Forum H. 05.03.2025 Nürnberg. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20250318.01

Abstract

"Frauen in Deutschland verdienen im Schnitt deutlich weniger als Männer. Weniger bekannt ist, dass sich der sogenannte Gender-Pay-Gap zwischen einzelnen Regionen deutlich unterscheidet. So verdienen vollzeitbeschäftigte Männer in Dingolfing-Landau gut 40 Prozent mehr als vollzeitbeschäftigte Frauen, in Dessau-Roßlau 1,2 Prozent weniger. Eine wichtige Erklärung bieten regionale Geschlechterunterschiede in den ausgeübten Berufen und in der Betriebsstruktur vor Ort." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Fuchs, Michaela, Anja Rossen, Antje Weyh & Gabriele Wydra-Somaggio (2025): Regionale Unterschiede im Gender Pay Gap in Deutschland 2023. (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung. Aktuelle Daten und Indikatoren), Nürnberg, 16 S.

Abstract

"Die vorliegenden Auswertungen beinhalten Angaben zum Tagesentgelt sozialversicherungspflichtig vollzeitbeschäftigter Frauen und Männer sowie zum unbereinigten und bereinigten Gender Pay Gap in den Bundesländern und Kreisen Deutschlands für das Jahr 2023. Nähere Erläuterungen zu den Einflussfaktoren auf die unterschiedlichen regionalen Gender Pay Gaps finden sich im IAB-Forumsbeitrag von Fuchs, Weyh und Wydra-Somaggio (2025). Wir nutzen Daten der Beschäftigtenhistorik (BeH) des IAB. Die BeH enthält u. a. Angaben zum täglichen Bruttoarbeitsentgelt aller sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten. Das Bruttoentgelt enthält auch Sonderzahlungen, wie beispielsweise Weihnachts- oder Urlaubsgeld, bezahlte Überstunden oder Nacht- und Feiertagszuschläge. Als regionalen Lohn verwenden wir den Durchschnitt des nominalen Bruttotagesentgelts aller sozialversicherungspflichtig vollzeitbeschäftigten Frauen und Männer (ohne Auszubildende) mit Arbeitsort in dem betrachteten Kreis zum Stichtag 30.06.2023. Die Angaben aus der BeH ergänzen wir mit Informationen aus den Integrierten Erwerbsbiographien (IEB). Hierdurch wird die Erwerbsbiographie der einzelnen Personen berücksichtigt und gewährleistet, dass auch Zeiten der Nichtbeschäftigung Berücksichtigung finden. Betriebliche Merkmale ergänzen wir aus dem Betriebs-Historik-Panel (BHP). Für die Analyse der Lohnlücke zwischen Frauen und Männern greifen wir auf die klassische Oaxaca-Blinder-Zerlegungsmethode (Oaxaca 1973 und Blinder 1973) zurück. Hierbei werden für die Kreise zunächst getrennte Schätzungen der logarithmierten Löhne für Frauen und für Männer durchgeführt, um die geschlechtsspezifischen Einflüsse der berücksichtigten individuellen und betriebsspezifischen Bestimmungsfaktoren zu quantifizieren. Individuelle Merkmale der Beschäftigten umfassen Alter, Nationalität, Qualifikation, Beruf und die Dauer einer möglichen Erwerbsunterbrechung (siehe Fuchs u. a. 2019a). Wir berücksichtigen zudem, ob die Person einen befristeten Arbeitsvertrag oder eine Führungsposition innehat. Da die Arbeitskräftemobilität zwischen den Kreisen teilweise sehr groß ist, kontrollieren wir außerdem für Pendeln zum Arbeitsort sowie dafür, wie lange eine Person schon an ihrem aktuellen Arbeitsort tätig ist. Zu den berücksichtigten Merkmalen der Betriebe, in denen die Beschäftigten arbeiten, zählen die Betriebsgröße, die Qualifikationsstruktur im Betrieb und die mittlere Lohnhöhe wie auch die Lohnspreizung im Betrieb (Fuchs u. a. 2019b). Aufgrund der starken Korrelation zwischen der Berufs- und Branchenvariable verwenden wir in den Modellen nur den Beruf, den eine Person ausübt." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Galego, Aurora (2025): Recent trends in the gender wage gap in Portugal: a distributional analysis. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 369-372. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2023.2270223

Abstract

"Portugal displays a persistent gender wage gap which increased during the 2010-2013 economic crisis. This paper aims at examining the developments in the gender wage gap for the private sector from 2009 to 2019 using a decomposition across the wage distribution. We conclude that the gap has decreased at the lower and middle quantiles but remains quite wide at the top. The largest part of the gap stems from the structure effect, which suggests persistent discrimination." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gartner, Hermann, Bajai Resch & Enzo Weber (2025): Der neue IAB-Lohnmonitor beleuchtet die aktuelle Lohnentwicklung in Deutschland. (IAB-Forschungsbericht 21/2025), Nürnberg, 22 S. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FB.2521

Abstract

"Die Lohnentwicklung ist eine zentrale Größe zur Charakterisierung der Arbeitsmarktentwicklung. Am IAB wird ein Monitor aufgebaut, mit dem die Lohnentwicklung in Deutschland beobachtet wird. Der IAB-Lohnmonitor basiert auf der IAB-Online-Personenbefragung „Arbeiten und Leben in Deutschland“ (IAB-OPAL). IAB-OPAL ist eine webbasierte Personenbefragung des IAB, die arbeitsmarktbezogene Themen abfragt. Es handelt sich um eine quartalsweise Befragung von je circa 7.500 Personen im erwerbsfähigen Alter (18–65 Jahre), in der wechselnde Fragen zu aktuellen Themen gestellt werden. Damit kann die Lohnverteilung auch nach Merkmalen wie Alter, Geschlecht, Ausbildung und Erwerbsumfang – ausgewertet werden. Auf Basis der Befragung lassen sich so zeitnahe Aussagen über die Entwicklung der Lohnungleichheit treffen. Ein Vorteil der Daten zum Beispiel gegenüber der Verdiensterhebung des Statistischen Bundesamts ist, dass bei IAB-OPAL auch der Haushaltskontext vorliegt. So können zum Beispiel Einkommen in Haushalten mit oder ohne Kinder verglichen werden. Ein Vorteil gegenüber Prozessdaten aus der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (wie dem SIAB des IAB) wiederum ist, dass auch die Löhne jenseits der Beitragsbemessungsgrenze sowie die Arbeitszeiten erfasst werden. Wir stellen in diesem Bericht die Datengrundlagen und die Aufbereitungsschritte vor und präsentieren erste Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Lohnmonitor: So zeigt sich, dass im vierten Quartal 2023 der durchschnittliche Stundenlohn bei 23,54 Euro lag und bis zum zweiten Quartal 2025 auf 25,61 Euro stieg. Zugleich haben sich die Unterschiede zwischen niedrigeren und höheren Löhnen in diesem Zeitraum verringert. So legten die Löhne von Personen ohne Berufsabschluss zuletzt um 13 Prozent zu, die von Personen mit Hochschulabschluss hingegen nur um 5,8 Prozent. Ein Vergleich der Löhne von Männern und Frauen zeigt: Frauen haben im Schnitt der vergangenen vier Quartale 2025 im Durchschnitt um 15,3 Prozent pro Stunde weniger verdient als Männer. Der durchschnittliche Lohn von neu eingestellten Beschäftigten schwankt meist stärker als der von bereits länger Beschäftigten. Dies zeigte sich insbesondere in den ersten Quartalen 2024 und 2025: Die Löhne in länger bestehenden Beschäftigungsverhältnissen sind im ersten Quartal 2025 gegenüber dem Vorjahresquartal um 6,7 Prozent gestiegen, die in neuen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen dagegen um 21,5 Prozent. Im zweiten Quartal lag das Verhältnis nur noch bei 6,2 Prozent zu 7,5 Prozent. Der aktuelle IAB-Lohnmonitor soll in Zukunft mehrmals jährlich erscheinen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Gartner, Hermann & Enzo Weber (2025): Die Lohnlücke schrumpft. Ein neuer Lohnmonitor soll aktuellere Daten für Forschung und Politik liefern. Die ersten Ergebnisse sind überraschend. In: Wirtschaftswoche H. 42, S. 35.

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Gash, Vanessa, Wendy Olsen, Sook Kim & Nadine Zwiener-Collins (2025): Decomposing the barriers to equal pay: examining differential predictors of the gender pay gap by socio-economic group. In: Cambridge Journal of Economics, Jg. 49, H. 4, S. 825-848. DOI:10.1093/cje/beaf025

Abstract

"Our article examines different predictors of the gender pay gap at the mean and for different income groups. Using the United Kingdom Household Panel Survey (UKHLS), we provide a detailed analysis of the effects of individual work histories, with up to 40 years of retrospective data examined alongside other key indicators. Work histories provide a powerful means of measuring the long-term effects of reduced labour force attachment on pay for women and for men. We find that gendered differentials in work-history account for 29% of the gender pay gap at the mean and that the effects of women’s reduced attachment vary by income group. We find men to earn a higher wage penalty to part-time work-histories than women, and find no evidence of a penalty to part-time work more generally in poor households. We conclude that gender equalisation policies need to reflect divergent needs by income group." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gebrewolde, Tewodros M., James Rockey & Akbar Ullah (2025): The global gender gap in labour income. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 77, H. 4, S. 1006-1036. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpaf011

Abstract

"This article introduces a new measure of economic gender inequality (EGI) based on the ratio of women’s share of national labor income to men’s. This measure captures both the principles of equal pay for equal work and nondiscrimination. Importantly, it can be calculated from existing data and is comparable between countries and over time. If we simply consider an unweighted average of our measure of EGI, there has been an improvement between 1994 and 2014. However, once we weight countries by population, average EGI has been increasing. Much of the higher EGI in poorer, more populous, countries is explained by the lower rates of female employment in those countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gerich, Joachim & Martina Beham-Rabanser (2025): Perceived fairness and legitimacy of parental workplace discrimination. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-27. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2453175

Abstract

"Parental discrimination has been shown to be related to several risks, including impaired health, increased job stress, and decreased job satisfaction, which calls for increased awareness of parental discrimination. This paper analyzes fairness and legitimacy judgments of unequal treatment based on parental status at work and the antecedents that influence these judgments. Stereotypes of symbolic vilification that suggest lower commitment due to caring responsibilities, and symbolic amplification, which refers to rational economic organizational needs, are expected to rationalize discrimination. Moreover, we expect specific values and ideologies to be related to judgments of fairness and legitimacy, mediated by resonance with symbolic vilification and amplification. Analyses are based on survey data from a sample of employees aged between 20 and 45 years (n = 376). Respondents' evaluations of parental discrimination were measured using two fictional cases. The results suggest that greater acceptance of vilifying and amplifying justifications is triggered by a stronger preference for the ideal worker norm and traditional gender role expectations. Women tend to view discrimination as more unfair and illegitimate than men, while men's judgments are more strongly driven by economic reasoning." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Godechot, Olivier, Mirna Safi & Matthew Soener (2025): Organizational Intersectionality: Do Gender and Migration Status Inequalities Reinforce or Offset Each Other in French Workplaces? In: Work, Employment and Society, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1177/09500170251348848

Abstract

"This study examines whether organizations with significant pay gaps along one dimension (gender, migration status, class, etc.) tend to exhibit similarly high inequalities along other dimensions, or whether there is a trade-off between inequality dimensions. Using French administrative data, it estimates correlations between class, gender and migrant workplace earnings gaps, and studies how these gaps also relate to a fourth measure of intra-categorical inequality. To ensure robust results, this article introduces innovative methods to address measurement biases that may distort the relationship between earnings gaps. It establishes three key patterns. First, the gender gap is higher in more unequal workplaces. Second, the migrant gap is higher in more equal workplaces. Third, gender and migrant earnings gaps are negatively correlated within workplaces. These results suggest that workplace inequality regimes are shaped by both reinforcing and trade-off dynamics. Finally, this article explores factors influencing these patterns and highlights the role of industries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Goldberg, Pinelopi, Charles Gottlieb, Somik V. Lall, Meet Mehta, Michael Peters & Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan (2025): The Global Gender Distortions Index (GGDI). (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 20554), London, 58 S.

Abstract

"The extent to which women participate in the labor market varies greatly across the globe. If such differences reflect distortions that women face in accessing good jobs, they can reduce economic activity through a misallocation of talent. In this paper, we build on Hsieh et al. (2019) to provide a methodology to quantify these productivity consequences. The index we propose, the ”Global Gender Distortions Index (GGDI)”, measures the losses in aggregate productivity that gender-based misallocation imposes. Our index allows us to separately identify labor demand distortions (e.g., discrimination in hiring for formal jobs) from labor supply distortions (e.g., frictions that discourage women’s labor force participation) and can be computed using data on labor income and job types. Our methodology also highlights an important distinction between welfare-relevant misallocation and the consequences on aggregate GDP if misallocation arises between market work and non-market activities. To showcase the versatility of our index, we analyze gender misallocation within countries over time, across countries over the development spectrum, and across local labor markets within countries. We find that misallocation is substantial and that demand distortions account for most of the productivity losses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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González, Libertad, Sergi Jiménez-Martín, Natalia Nollenberger & Judit Vall Castello (2025): The Effect of Access to Legal Abortion on Fertility, Marriage, and Long-term Outcomes for Women. In: The Economic Journal. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaf054

Abstract

"We evaluate the short- and long-term effects for women of access to legal, subsidized abortion. We find evidence that the legalization of abortion in Spain in 1985 led to an immediate decrease in births, more pronounced for younger women in provinces with a higher supply of abortion services. Affected women were more likely to graduate from high school, less likely to marry young, less likely to divorce in the long-term, and reported higher life satisfaction as adults. We find at most small reductions in completed fertility, while we do not find meaningful effects on labour market outcomes in the long run." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grönqvist, Erik, Yoko Okuyama, Lena Hensvik & Anna Thoresson (2025): Women's labor market opportunities and equality in the household. (Working papers / Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy 2025,11), Uppsala, 57 S.

Abstract

"We study how changes in couples’ relative wages affect the division of childcare.Using a nationwide wage reform that raised pay in the female-dominated teaching profession, we find that closing 25% of the earnings gap between female teachers and their male spouses led to a 12% reduction in the childcare time gap. This result holds when we extend the analysis to major pay raises for women at the population level. Data support the mechanism that women reduce their childcare time when the spouse can step in by working more from home. Policies that address female pay can foster household equality if men have access to flexible work arrangements." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Haan, Peter, Michaela Kreyenfeld, Sarah Schmauk & Tatjana Mika (2025): Rentenansprüche von Frauen bleiben mit steigender Kinderzahl deutlich hinter denen von Männern zurück. In: DIW-Wochenbericht, Jg. 92, H. 12, S. 183-189. DOI:10.18723/diw_wb:2025-12-1

Abstract

"Der Gender Pension Gap, der den Unterschied bei den Rentenansprüchen zwischen Männern und Frauen misst, liegt laut Daten der Deutschen Rentenversicherung im Alter von 60 Jahren bei 32 Prozent. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich auch ein deutlicher Unterschied bei den gesetzlichen Rentenansprüchen zwischen Müttern und kinderlosen Frauen (Motherhood Pension Gap). Diesem Gap wirken die im Jahr 1986 eingeführten und seither mehrfach modifizierten Kindererziehungszeiten entgegen. Die Anrechnung von Kindererziehungszeiten reduziert die Unterschiede der Rentenanwartschaften zwischen kinderlosen Frauen und Müttern zwar deutlich, allerdings nur für die Jahre nach der Geburt. Für die Geburtsjahrgänge 1952 bis 1959 liegt der Motherhood Pension Gap im Alter von 60 Jahren in Westdeutschland bei 26 Prozent: Kindererziehungszeiten können den Rentennachteil von Müttern nicht ausgleichen. Weitere sozial- und steuerpolitische Maßnahmen, die eine gleichberechtigte Aufteilung von Sorge- und Erwerbsarbeit fördern, sind notwendig. Neben dem Ausbau der Kinderbetreuung sind Reformen des Ehegattensplittings und der Minijobs sowie ein Umbau der Arbeitswelt erforderlich, der die Bedürfnisse von Sorgetragenden stärker berücksichtigt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Herrmann, Fiona & Katharina Wrohlich (2025): Gender Pay Gap steigt in allen Bildungsgruppen mit dem Alter stark an. In: DIW-Wochenbericht, Jg. 92, H. 10, S. 131-137. DOI:10.18723/diw_wb:2025-10-1

Abstract

"Der Gender Pay Gap, also die durchschnittliche Verdienstlücke zwischen Frauen und Männern, lag zuletzt bei 16 Prozent. Wie dieser Bericht auf Basis von Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) anlässlich des diesjährigen Equal Pay Days zeigt, verbergen sich hinter diesem Durchschnittswert mitunter große Unterschiede nach Alters- und Bildungsgruppen. So steigt der Gender Pay Gap mit zunehmendem Alter in allen Bildungsgruppen deutlich an und ist bei älteren Beschäftigten mit Hochschulabschluss am größten. Das Altersmuster ist dabei in Westdeutschland deutlich stärker ausgeprägt als in Ostdeutschland. Will die Politik der hohen geschlechtsspezifischen Entgeltungleichheit entgegenwirken, sollte sie Anreize für eine gleichmäßigere Aufteilung der Erwerbs- und Sorgearbeit zwischen Frauen und Männern schaffen. Ansatzpunkte sind eine Reform des Ehegattensplittings und der steuerlichen Behandlung der Einkünfte aus Minijobs. Beides macht derzeit eine Teilzeit- oder geringfügige Beschäftigung vor allem für verheiratete Frauen zumindest kurzfristig finanziell attraktiv und verfestigt dadurch bestehende geschlechtsspezifische Ungleichheiten auf dem Arbeitsmarkt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Herzberg-Druker, Efrat (2025): Couples' division of paid work and rising income inequality: A study of 21 OECD countries. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 99. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101084

Abstract

"Numerous scholars have explored the association between women's changing employment patterns and the changing income inequality in recent decades. While most studies indicate that increased women's employment reduces household inequality, a few suggest the opposite effect. This research investigated whether shifts in the division of paid work (i.e., changes in the working hours) among heterosexual couples, as compared to changes in women's work alone, contribute to changes in income inequality. It also examined whether the selection of couples into the different types of division of paid work based on their level of education is a mechanism underlying the growing inequality. Based on counterfactual analyses of data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), encompassing 21 OECD countries, the findings demonstrate shifts in couples' division of paid work, particularly the increase in fulltime dual-earner households, are associated with rising income inequality in most countries studied. However, changes in educational attainment were not found to be the mechanism underlying the association between changes in couples' division of paid work and changes in income inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.) ((en))

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Hohendanner, Christian, Markus Janser & Florian Lehmer (2025): Strukturwandel am Arbeitsmarkt durch die ökologische Transformation - Folgen für Geschlechterverhältnisse auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Expertise für den Vierten Gleichstellungsbericht der Bundesregierung. Berlin, 94 S.

Abstract

"Die vorliegende Expertise untersucht erstmals quantitativ die strukturellen Veränderungen des Arbeitsmarktes in Deutschland im Hinblick auf geschlechtsbezogene Aspekte, die im Zuge der ökologischen Transformation entstehen. Wir verwenden hierfür einen Tasks-basierten Ansatz zur Identifikation der betroffenen Akteur*innen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Dazu werden der Greenness-of-Jobs Index (GOJI) (Janser 2019, 2024), das IAB-Berufepanel (Version 2012-2022, inkl. GOJI) sowie deskriptive Statistiken auf Basis des IAB-Betriebspanels herangezogen. Das IAB-Berufepanel wie die Auswertungen des IAB-Betriebspanels sind auf der Homepage des IAB öffentlich zugänglich und können für weitere Analysen genutzt werden. Zusätzlich werden Maßnahmen diskutiert, die helfen könnten, mögliche Ungleichheiten in der ökologischen Transformation abzufedern und zu überwinden. Ziel der Expertise ist es, den Sachverständigen für den Vierten Gleichstellungsbericht eine fundierte empirische Grundlage zu den Veränderungen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt und deren potenziellen Folgen für Geschlechterverhältnisse durch die ökologische Transformation zu liefern. Die Expertise zeigt auf, inwiefern Frauen und Männer gleichermaßen oder unterschiedlich von den Entwicklungen des Arbeitsmarktes profitieren bzw. betroffen sind. Es wird dargestellt, in welchen Branchen und Berufen sich Tätigkeitsfelder verändert haben und neue Beschäftigungsverhältnisse entstanden bzw. weggefallen sind – jeweils mit besonderem Fokus auf die Unterschiede zwischen Frauen und Männern. Vor dem Hintergrund aller zusammengetragenen Erkenntnisse wird abschließend diskutiert, inwiefern die bisherigen Ergebnisse darauf hindeuten, dass sich geschlechtsbezogene Unterschiede bzw. Ungleichheiten auf dem Arbeitsmarkt in der ökologischen Transformation eher angleichen oder weiter auseinanderentwickeln." (Textauszug, IAB-Doku)

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Hook, Jennifer L. & Meiying Li (2025): National Work-Family Policies and Gender Earnings Inequality in 26 OECD Countries, 1999 to 2019. In: Socius, Jg. 11, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1177/23780231251360042

Abstract

"The authors investigate whether work-family policies help incorporate women into the labor market, but exacerbate the gender earnings gap and motherhood penalty, especially for mothers and/or tertiary-educated women. The authors use repeated cross-sectional income data from the Luxembourg Income Study database (1999–2019) (n = 26 countries, 280 country-years, 2.9 million employees) combined with an original collection of indicators on work-family policies, labor market conditions, and gender norms. The authors find that only one work-family policy, long paid parental leave (longer than six months), is associated with a larger gender earnings gap for mothers and tertiary-educated women. The negative relationship between long paid leave and women’s earning percentile is not well explained by selection, full-time status, work hours, experience, occupation, or sector, suggesting discrimination mechanisms. These findings add to the growing evidence that long paid leave specifically, as opposed to work-family policies more generally, cleaves the labor market outcomes of women from men." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Huebener, Mathias, Jonas Jessen, Daniel Kühnle & Michael Oberfichtner (2025): Parental Leave, Worker Substitutability, and Firms' Employment. In: The Economic Journal, Jg. 135, H. 669, S. 1467-1495., 2024-12-06. DOI:10.1093/ej/ueae114

Abstract

"Motherhood and parental leave are frequent causes of worker absences and employment interruptions, yet little is known about their effects on firms. Based on linked employer-employee data from Germany, we examine how parental leave absences affect small-and medium-sized firms. We show that they anticipate the absence with replacement hirings in the six months before childbirth. A 2007 parental leave reform extending leave absences reduces firm-level employment and total wages up to three years after childbirth, driven by firms with few internal substitutes for the absent mother. However, we do not find longer-term effects on firms’ employment, wage bill, or likelihood to shut down. The reform led to an increase in replacement hirings, but firms did not respond to longer expected absences of mothers by subsequently hiring fewer young women. Overall, our findings show that anticipated, extended parental leave does not have a lasting impact on firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Oxford University Press) ((en))

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Illing, Hannah & Benjamin Baisch (2025): Frauen sind schlechter über das Gehalt ihrer Kolleg*innen informiert als Männer. In: IAB-Forum H. 05.11.2025. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FOO.20251105.01

Abstract

"Seit 2017 existiert in Deutschland das sogenannte Entgelttransparenzgesetz, das Lohnunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen mit gleichwertiger Arbeit in derselben Firma reduzieren soll. Das Gesetz hat die Lohnlücke bisher jedoch nicht verringert. Ein Problem: Frauen sind schlechter als Männer über die Gehälter ihrer Kolleg*innen informiert und tauschen sich zudem seltener mit diesen darüber aus." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Jochmann-Döll, Andrea (2025): Entgeltgleichheit gemeinsam herstellen: Notwendig und machbar! Handlungshinweise und Erfahrungen aus der Praxis eines Unternehmens. (Working paper Forschungsförderung / Hans Böckler Stiftung 378), Düsseldorf, 46 S.

Abstract

"Wie kann geprüft werden, ob gleiche oder gleichwertige Arbeit gleich bezahlt wird und die Entgeltgleichheit der Geschlechter verwirklicht ist? Diese Frage stellt sich in vielen Unternehmen, angestoßen durch den Wandel der Geschlechterverhältnisse, die Veränderung von Tätigkeiten im Zuge der digitalen Transformation und neue rechtliche Grundlagen der Entgeltgleichheit durch die Entgelttransparenzrichtlinie der EU. In diesem Papier wird am praktischen Beispiel eines Unternehmens gezeigt, wie das Instrumentarium eg-check.de hierfür eingesetzt wurde. Sein Ablauf, die angewendeten Methoden und die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse werden beschrieben, der Bezug zur Entgelttransparenzrichtlinie wird hergestellt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Kałamucka, Agata, Anna Matysiak & Beata Osiewalska (2025): Working-time flexibility among European couples. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-23. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2535735

Abstract

"This study examines patterns of working-time flexibility among European heterosexual couples, focusing on both employee – and employer-oriented flexibilities. Using 2019 EU LFS and multinomial logit models, we analyse how these flexibilities are distributed between partners, considering education and parenthood status. The findings highlight the critical role of working-time flexibility in shaping labor force participation and reveal stark differences across socioeconomic and family contexts. Among the tertiary-educated strata, there is a high prevalence of dual-earner couples in which both partners work with employee-oriented flexibility, which remains consistently high even when there are children at home. This pattern is, however, much more common in Western Europe than in Southern and Central Eastern Europe. In contrast, below tertiary-educated couples are less likely to have employee-oriented flexibility and more often form male breadwinner families, particularly as family size increases. Additionally, we demonstrate that below tertiary-educated fathers often have to rely on employer-oriented schedules, which highlight the challenges they may face in balancing work and family responsibilities due to unpredictable work hours. We found this pattern most common in Southern Europe. This study underscores the critical intersection of education, working-time flexibility, and parenthood in shaping labour force participation and perpetuating gender inequalities across socioeconomic strata." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Killewald, Alexandra & Nino José Cricco (2025): Can fertility decline help explain gender pay convergence? In: Social forces, Jg. 103, H. 4, S. 1329-1349. DOI:10.1093/sf/soae153

Abstract

"Prior scholarship demonstrates that motherhood wage penalties and fatherhood wage premiums contribute to the gender pay gap. These analyses typically take a cross-sectional perspective, asking to what extent gender inequalities in the association between parenthood and wages can explain gender pay inequality for a given cohort or at a given moment in time. By contrast, explorations of gender pay convergence over time have tended to start at the firm’s door, testing the explanatory power of changes in men’s and women’s human capital and job characteristics and neglecting the contributions of fertility change. We bring these two strands of research together, asking to what extent declines 1980–2018 in US employees’ number of children can explain gender pay convergence over the same period. Using a descriptive decomposition and data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we show that, in gross terms, fertility decline can explain almost one-quarter of gender pay convergence from 1980 to 2018. Even net of a host of controls for human capital and job characteristics, fertility decline explains 8 percent of the attenuation of the US gender pay gap 1980–2018—about half as much as changes in education and about a quarter as much as changes in full-time work experience and job tenure combined. Finally, we show that employees’ fertility decline was fastest in the 1980s and subsequently slowed; this, in conjunction with persistent gender differences in parenthood–wage associations, helps explain stalled progress toward gender pay parity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kim, Andrew Taeho & ChangHwan Kim (2025): Double disadvantage of Black, Hispanic, and Asian American women in earnings, revisited. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 96. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101018

Abstract

"Prior literature suggests that women of color experience unique disadvantages as women and as racial minorities. However, empirical studies that hypothesize an additional disadvantage for women of color in personal earnings have not found supporting evidence. This study explores the family contexts and the local labor market conditions by which double disadvantage is mitigated. Using the 2015–2019 American Community Survey, we uncover a paradoxical pattern that the stronger the power of race in accounting for earnings inequality among men in a local labor market, the weaker double disadvantage married women of color experience. The relative performances of women of color compared to White women in terms of personal earnings, annual work hours, and hourly earnings are positively associated with the strength of race in explaining earnings inequality among men across local labor markets. No such paradoxical patterns are persistently evident among cohabiting or single women. The implications of these findings are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Konietzka, Dirk & Sebastian Wen (2025): Can women bridge the gender class gap by choosing a gender-atypical field of study? A study based the on the German micro-census 1996–2016. In: Journal of education and work, Jg. 37, H. 7/8, S. 550-567. DOI:10.1080/13639080.2025.2487421

Abstract

"The persistence of gender-stereotyped subject choices is considered as a detrimental factor for women’s labor market opportunities. Against this background, the paperfocusses on the labor market chances of women who graduated from a male-dominated field of study in higher education. We use a position in the upper service class as a criterion for successful job placement. Analyses of German micro-census data are conducted across labor market subsectors and over the period 1996–2016. Results show that class positions of women who graduated in male-dominated fields of study vary substantially by labor market segment. They are less likely than men to be employed in the upper service class specifically in large private sector firms, but at the same time more likely to be employed in the public sector. Over time, the private sector gender class gap has narrowed, but not disappeared." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kostøl, Fredrik B. & Elin Svarstad (2025): From bargaining to balance: How unions shape gender wage outcomes. In: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Jg. 236. DOI:10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107130

Abstract

"Women continue to earn less than men in OECD countries. Extensive research has explored various factors contributing to the gender wage gap. However, fewer studies have examined the impact of trade unions, despite their significant role in promoting equality. In this study, we exploit exogenous variation in tax scheme incentives for union members to identify the effect of trade unions on the gender wage gap in Norwegian private sector establishments. Using administrative register data on full-time private-sector workers in the period 2000–2014, we find that increases in union density reduce wage differences between women and men within establishments. A ten-percentage point increase in the workplace union density is estimated to reduce the gender wage gap by approximately 2.7 percentage points." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))

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Liu, Andrew Yizhou (2025): Paid family leave and occupational mobility. In: Applied Economics, S. 1-12. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2025.2526858

Abstract

"Paid family leave (PFL) programmes provide temporary financial support and workplace flexibility for mothers, potentially influencing their occupational choices after childbirth. I find that state-level PFL programs reduce downward occupational mobility among women aged 19 to 35 with children aged 0 to 3 by approximately 42%, with stronger effects among high-school educated, black, and single mothers. However, these policies have no significant impact on upward occupational mobility, indicating that PFL alone may be insufficient for reducing the gender gap in occupation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Maier, Eva-Maria, Almond Stöcker, Bernd Fitzenberger & Sonja Greven (2025): Additive density-on-scalar regression in Bayes Hilbert spaces with an application to gender economics. In: The annals of applied statistics, Jg. 19, H. 1, S. 680-700., 2024-10-21. DOI:10.1214/24-aoas1979

Abstract

"Motivated by research on gender identity norms and the distribution of the woman’s share in a couple’s total labor income, we consider additive regression models for densities as responses with scalar covariates. To preserve nonnegativity and integration to one under vector space operations, we formulate the model for densities in a Bayes Hilbert space, which allows to not only consider continuous densities but also, for example, discrete or mixed densities. Mixed ones occur in our application, as the woman’s income share is a continuous variable having discrete point masses at zero and one for single-earner couples. Estimation is based on a gradient boosting algorithm, allowing for potentially numerous flexible (linear, nonlinear, categorical, interaction etc.) covariate effects and model selection. We show useful properties of Bayes Hilbert spaces related to subcompositional coherence, also yielding new (odds-ratio) interpretations of effect functions and simplified estimation for mixed densities via an orthogonal decomposition. Applying our approach to data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) shows a more symmetric distribution in East German than in West German couples after reunification and a smaller child penalty comparing couples with and without minor children. These West–East differences become smaller but are persistent over time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Matavelli, Ieda, Pauline Grosjean, Ralph De Haas & Victoria Baranov (2025): Masculinity Norms and Their Economic Consequences. (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 20549), London, 37 S., Anhang.

Abstract

"While economists have extensively studied gender norms affecting women, masculinity norms — the informal rules that guide and constrain the behaviors of boys and men — remain underexplored. This review first examines how other disciplines have studied masculinity, providing economists with conceptual foundations and empirical patterns for understanding masculinity norms. We then discuss how the study of masculinity norms can inform the economics literature on gender gaps and men's outcomes across multiple domains: health behavior, labor supply and occupational choice, violence and aggression, and political preferences. We also discuss the paths for transmission and persistence of masculinity norms. Finally, using novel survey data from 70 countries, we present five stylized facts about masculinity norms. We document substantial global variation in these norms and demonstrate their predictive power for various socioeconomic and political Outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Melentyeva, Valentina & Lukas Riedel (2025): Child Penalty Estimation and Mothers Age at First Birth. (RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2025,19), Berlin, 45 S.

Abstract

"We show that the widespread approach to estimate the career costs of motherhood – so called “child penalties” – is prone to produce biased results, as it pools first-time mothers of all ages without accounting for their differences in characteristics and outcomes. We propose a novel method building on the recent advances in the difference-in-differences literature to address this issue. Applied to German administrative data, our method yields 30 percent larger post-birth earnings losses than the conventional approach. We document meaningful effect heterogeneity by maternal age in both magnitude and interpretation, highlighting its key role in understanding the impact of motherhood." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Mogstad, Magne, Kjell G. Salvanes & Gaute Torsvik (2025): Income Equality in The Nordic Countries: Myths, Facts, and Lessons. (BFI Working Papers / University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics 2025,25), Chicago, 58 S. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.5133608

Abstract

"Policymakers, public commentators, and researchers often cite the Nordic countries as examples of a social and economic model that successfully combines low income inequality with prosperity and growth. This article aims to critically assess this claim by integrating theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence to illustrate how the Nordic model functions and why these countries experience low inequality. Our analysis suggests that income equality in the Nordics is primarily driven by a significant compression of hourly wages, reducing the returns to labor market skills and education. This appears to be achieved through a wage bargaining system characterized by strong coordination both within and across industries. This finding contrasts with other commonly cited explanations for Nordic income equality, such as redistribution through the tax-transfer system, public spending on goods that complement employment, and public policies aimed at equalizing skills and human capital distribution. We consider the potential lessons for other economies that seek to reduce income equality. We conclude by discussing several underexplored or unresolved questions and issues." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Muffert, Johanna & Regina T. Riphahn (2025): Long-Run Career Outcomes of Multiple Job Holding. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17605), Bonn, 57 S.

Abstract

"Multiple job holding (MJH) is increasingly frequent in industrialized countries. Individuals holding a secondary job add to their experience, skills, and networks. We study the long-run labor market outcomes after MJH and investigate whether career effects can be validated. We employ high-quality administrative data from Germany. Our doubly robust estimation method combines entropy balancing with fixed effects difference-in-differences regressions. We find that income from primary employment declines after MJH spells and overall annual earnings from all jobs increase briefly. Job mobility increases after MJH spells. Interestingly, the beneficial long-term effects of MJH are largest for disadvantaged groups in the labor market such as females, those with low earnings, and low education. Overall, we find only limited benefits of MJH." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Oesch, Daniel, Oliver Lipps, Roujman Shahbazian, Erik Bihagen & Katy Morris (2025): Occupational earning potential: a new measure of social hierarchy in Europe and the US. In: European Sociological Review, S. 1-21. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcaf035

Abstract

"Social stratification is interested in unequal life chances and assumes the existence of a hierarchy of more or less advantageous occupations. Yet occupations are not easily translated into a linear hierarchical measure. Influential scales combine multiple indicators and lack intuitive interpretation. We therefore present a new scale based on occupations’ earnings potential (OEP). OEP measures the median earnings of occupations and expresses them as percentiles of the overall earnings structure: if mechanics earn the national median wage, their OEP is 50. We construct national OEP scales using annual microdata pooled over several decades for Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Consistent with the Treiman constant, these national scales are highly correlated over time and across countries, justifying the use of one common OEP scale. When applied to another European dataset, the common OEP scale explains a quarter of the variance in earnings—and works as well for men as women and as well for countries used to construct the scale as for other countries. Moreover, it is associated with the causes (education) and consequences (social mobility) that the theory expects. OEP thereby provides a simple and parsimonious indicator of economic advantage that can be meaningfully interpreted." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pfahl, Svenja, Eugen Unrau & Yvonne Lott (2025): Stand der Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern in Deutschland in ausgewählten Branchen. (WSI-Report 102), Düsseldorf, 74 S.

Abstract

"Wie einheitlich oder unterschiedlich vollzieht sich die Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern in den verschiedenen Branchen auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt in Hinblick auf Erwerbsarbeitszeit, Entgelt oder Erwerbsform? Anhand zentraler Indikatoren auf Basis des WSI GenderDatenPortals liefert der vorliegende Report eine zusammenfassende Übersicht über den aktuellen Stand der Geschlechtergleichstellung in Deutschland, differenziert nach Einzelbranchen aus dem Produktions- und Dienstleistungsbereich. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Geschlechterungleichheit insbesondere in Hinblick auf die Erwerbsarbeitszeitdauer und das Entgelt über (fast) alle Branchen hinweg fortbesteht. Die detaillierte branchenbezogene Betrachtung zeigt zudem, dass bei einer Vielzahl von einzelnen Arbeitsmerkmalen Unterschiede zwischen Frauen und Männern bestehen (z. B. bei Befristung, Teilzeitarbeit, überlanger Vollzeit, Tätigkeit als Helfer*in, Entgelten im unteren Entgeltbereich, Existenzsicherung durch eigenes Erwerbseinkommen, ausschließlicher Tätigkeit im Minijob), die in einigen Branchen deutlich stärker ausgeprägt sind als in anderen. Hierbei fallen besonders sieben Produktionsbranchen und neun Dienstleistungsbranchen auf, die sich durch deutliche Geschlechterabstände (dem Abstand in Prozentpunkten zwischen Frauen und Männern in Hinblick auf ein einzelnes Arbeitsmerkmal) kennzeichnen und in einer Mehrheit von Arbeitsmerkmalen eine verstärkt ungünstige Situation für Frauen aufweisen. Gegenüber dem Vergleichsjahr 2021 weisen 2023 insgesamt mehr Branchen einen deutlichen, zweistelligen Geschlechterabstand für mindestens die Hälfte aller Arbeitsmerkmale auf. Gleichzeitig zeigen sich für eine Reihe von Branchen auch punktuelle Verringerungen des Geschlechterabstandes, gerade bei den Indikatoren zur Lage der Arbeitszeit sowie der Existenzsicherung durch eigene Erwerbsarbeit." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Prakash, Arjun & Inder Sekhar Yadav (2025): Analysing gender pay disparities and structural barriers among software developers: a cross-country study. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 59, H. 1. DOI:10.1186/s12651-025-00407-z

Abstract

"This study analyses gender disparity in a highly skilled labour force within the modern knowledge-based economy. It explores the global gender pay disparity among software developers, examining structural barriers like the “glass ceiling” and “sticky floor” effects across different economic and geographical regions. Using quantile regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, the research analyses countries based on the World Bank classification to understand variations. The study reveals a moderate gender pay gap of 8.8% in High-Income countries, in contrast to 36.6% in lower-middle-income countries and a pronounced 47.9% in South Asia. Further, the study establishes the presence of a glass ceiling phenomenon among high-income and upper-middle-income countries in contrast to the sticky floor effect in lower-middle-income countries. Moreover, the study identifies that the unexplained component is higher in Non-High-Income countries than in High-Income countries. The study emphasises the need for Lower-Middle-Income regions, especially in South Asia, to adopt strategies from High-Income countries to create a more equitable workplace." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Raison, Fearghal (2025): Entgeltgleichheit: Pharma näher dran als andere Industrien. (IW-Kurzberichte / Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln 2025,46), Köln, 3 S.

Abstract

"In der Pharmaindustrie sind die Gehaltsunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen im Vergleich zu vielen anderen Industriebranchen besonders gering. Im Industriedurchschnitt verdienen Frauen aktuell noch 15 Prozent weniger als ihre männlichen Kollegen, in pharmazeutischen Unternehmen 10 Prozent." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Roos, Louisa (2025): The true gender pay gap: Accounting for the distribution of unpaid labour. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 247. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112144

Abstract

"This paper proposes a novel method to measure gender pay gaps, incorporating paid and unpaid labour. Decomposition analysis using Swiss labour force data attributes a sizable and persistent share of this pay gap to segregation across paid and unpaid work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))

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Rosenball, Riccarda (2025): The Gender Pay Gap in German Manufacturing: How Exporters Drive Wage Equality Trends. (Graz Economics Papers 2025-08), Graz, 56 S.

Abstract

"This study examines the gender pay gap in West Germany's manufacturing sector using linked employer-employee data. The gender pay gap has nearly halved for exporting firms since 1993 - a decline that is much smaller for non-exporting firms. Long-term exporters employ a large share of the workforce and drive trends across the entire sector. Some of the largest exporting industries, such as vehicle manufacturing, show the lowest gender pay gaps. I show that the decline in the gender pay gap of exporters is driven by the increasing representation of women in high-paying positions. Tracking the gender pay gap over the first 10 to 15 years of employees' careers reveals that this decline is largely due to a growing share of highly educated women in the workforce, along with stronger opportunities for career advancement for women. Providing women with early career advancement opportunities is key to breaking the glass ceiling and reducing persistent gender pay disparities." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sandner, Malte & Ipek Yükselen (2025): Unraveling the gender wage gap: Exploring early career patterns among university graduates. In: Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Jg. 72, H. 2, 2024-06-10. DOI:10.1111/sjpe.12405

Abstract

"A large body of literature has shown that the gender wage gap is small in the first years after graduation and increases gradually with age, largely because of family decisions, often a penalty caused by childbirth. However, the gender wage gap immediately after graduation has received less attention. Using a unique dataset that links 5000 university graduates with master's degrees or equivalent from a large German university to detailed employment records from the German social security register, we specifically analyze the gender wage gap at the first job and its dynamics during the initial years of their careers after graduation. We find that a significant gender wage gap already exists in the first job after graduation, even before most young individuals make family decisions. However, this gender wage gap decreases in the first year after entering the labor market and then increases slowly over time. We attribute this initial decrease in the gender wage gap to female university graduates experiencing greater returns from firm and occupational changes than their male counterparts. This suggests that women may use these changes to address skill mismatches, which are more common among women than men in their first job." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Schmid, Ramona (2025): Mindestlohn in Deutschland Chance zur Verringerung der Lohnungleichheit zwischen Männern und Frauen? In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 78, H. 10, S. 60-63.

Abstract

"Im Jahr 2015 wurde deutschlandweit der gesetzliche Mindestlohn eingeführt. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt waren in Deutschland insbesondere Frauen im Niedriglohnsektor beschäftigt und die geschlechtsspezifsche Lohnlücke zwischen Männern und Frauen gehörte zu den höchsten in Europa. Eine neue Studie zeigt deutliche regionale Unterschiede innerhalb Deutschlands – sowohl imAusmaß der Lohnunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen als auch in deren Entwicklung – nach der Einführung des Mindestlohns. Besonders in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern proftieren Frauen vom Mindestlohn, was zu einem deutlichen Rückgang der geschlechtsspezifschen Lohnlücke führt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Schmid, Ramona (2025): Mind the gap: effects of the national minimum wage on the gender wage gap of full-time workers in Germany. In: Journal of Economic Inequality, S. 1-30. DOI:10.1007/s10888-025-09669-6

Abstract

"Since 2015, the national minimum wage aims to benefit primarily low-wage workers in Germany. I examine how the minimum wage influences gender wage gaps of full-time workers within the lower half of the wage distribution on a regional level. Using administrative data, distinct regional differences in the extent of gender wage gaps and responses to the minimum wage become clear. Overall, wage gaps between men and women at the 10th percentile decrease by 2.46 and 6.34 percentage points in the West and East of Germany after 2015. Applying counterfactual wage distributions, I show that introducing the minimum wage explains decreases in gender wage gaps by 60% to 95%. Group-specific analyses demonstrate various responses based on age, educational level and occupational activity. Counterfactual aggregate Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions indicate that discriminatory remuneration structures decrease in the West of Germany after introducing the minimum wage." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schneider, Kimberly T., Sarah C. Williams & Rory E. Kuhn (2025): Workplace Discrimination Against Pregnant and Postpartum Employees: Links to Well-Being. In: International journal of environmental research and public health, Jg. 22, H. 8. DOI:10.3390/ijerph22081160

Abstract

"Pregnancy-related discrimination at work is a concern for many employees who navigate the pregnancy and postpartum stages of parenthood while working in the early-to-middle stages of their careers. Although there is legislation prohibiting pregnancy-related discrimination and ensuring accommodations postpartum, empirical evidence indicates many pregnant and postpartum employees still experience such behaviors. In this narrative review, we focus on describing the range of behaviors assessed in studies on pregnancy-related discrimination in several cultures, situating the occurrence of discrimination within theoretical frameworks related to stereotypes and gendered expectations. We also review evidence of employees’ postpartum experiences with a focus on the transition back to work, along with breastfeeding challenges related to pumping and storing milk at work. Regarding coping with pregnancy-related workplace discrimination and postpartum challenges during a return to work, we review the importance of social support, including instrumental and emotional support from allies and role models." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Discrimination remains a persistent challenge in the European Union, despite efforts to enhance anti‑discrimination laws and inclusion policies. In the absence of comparable official data sources, this report draws on survey data and the OECD Anti‑Discrimination Questionnaire to analyze discrimination against people from racialized communities, LGBTI people, persons with disability and religious minorities in OECD EU countries. Self‑reported discrimination rates are rising in many OECD EU countries and discrimination, particularly when it occurs frequently, is associated with severe effects on people’s lives – constraining income‑earning opportunities, exacerbating housing and financial stress, increasing concerns about exposure to violence, and contributing to loneliness and mental ill-health. These consequences come at a considerable personal cost to the individuals directly affected and to society as a whole. While OECD EU countries have made progress in prohibiting discrimination and promoting inclusion, legal and policy gaps persist for some at‑risk groups, such as LGBTI people and religious minorities. Strengthening anti‑discrimination protections, harmonizing EU legislation across all protected grounds, and improving data collection could help foster greater inclusion and equality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Singer, Kirsten & Yvonne Deyerler (2025): Die Arbeitsmarktsituation von Frauen und Männern 2024. (Berichte: Blickpunkt Arbeitsmarkt / Bundesagentur für Arbeit), Nürnberg, 26 S.

Abstract

"In den vergangenen 10 Jahren gab es in Deutschland deutliche Anstiege bei der Erwerbsbeteiligung. Nur in wenigen anderen europäischen Ländern war diese 2024 sowohl insgesamt, als auch insbesondere bei Frauen, so ausgeprägt. Frauen und Männer sind in sehr unterschiedlichem Maße in den verschiedenen Formen der Erwerbstätigkeit vertreten: Während das Geschlechterverhältnis bei Männern und Frauen in der sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung und im Beamtenstatus relativ ausgeglichen ist, werden rund drei Fünftel der Minijobs von Frauen ausgeübt. Männer hingegen entscheiden sich mit zwei Dritteln deutlich häufiger für die Selbständigkeit als Frauen. Im Laufe der letzten 10 Jahre stieg die sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung bei beiden Geschlechtern, bei Frauen relativ gesehen etwas stärker. Die sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung ist 2024 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr bei den 15- bis unter 65- Jährigen ausschließlich bei Frauen gestiegen, bei Männern leicht gesunken. Frauen sind überproportional im tertiären Sektor, Männer häufiger im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe, dem Bereich Verkehr und Logistik sowie im Baugewerbe beschäftigt. Daher sind in konjunkturellen Schwächephasen typischerweise vorrangig Männer vom Arbeitsplatzabbau betroffen, weil häufig industrielle Arbeitsplätze leiden. Jedoch haben Männer auch bessere Chancen, Arbeitslosigkeit durch die Aufnahme einer Beschäftigung zu überwinden. Im Jahr 2024 erreichte die Teilzeitbeschäftigung bei Männern und Frauen einen neuen Höchststand. Bei Frauen ist diese Beschäftigungsform nach wie vor weiter verbreitet. Männer erzielen im Mittel nach wie vor ein höheres monatliches Bruttoarbeitsentgelt als Frauen, was vielfältige Gründe wie u.a. die Berufswahl, die Wahrnehmung von Familienpflichten oder die Rahmenbedingungen für eine vertikale berufliche Weiterentwicklung hat. Der Gender Pay Gap schmilzt, jedoch nur in kleinen Schritten. Frauen üben – auch beigleicher Qualifikation – seltener eine Führungsposition aus. Die Arbeitslosenquote der Frauen liegt seit 2009, wenn auch teils sehr knapp, unter der Quote der Männer. 2024 stieg sie bei beiden Geschlechtern zum zweiten Mal in Folge. Arbeitslose Frauen und Männer sind mit jeweils einem Drittel etwa in gleichem Maße von Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit betroffen. Frauen stehen erheblich häufiger als Männer vor der Herausforderung, neben der Arbeitsuche allein für die Erziehung eines oder mehrerer Kinder verantwortlich zu sein. Das SGB III sieht die Beteiligung von Frauen an der arbeitsmarktpolitischen Förderung gemäß ihrem Anteil an den Arbeitslosen und ihrer relativen Betroffenheit von Arbeitslosigkeit vor. In der Umsetzung sind spürbare Unterschiede zwischen den Rechtskreisen erkennbar." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Skare, Marinko, Beáta Gavurová & Viliam Kovac (2025): Female entrepreneurship involvement in digital transformation process through perspective of gender employment and pay gaps. In: International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Jg. 21, H. 1. DOI:10.1007/s11365-024-01060-7

Abstract

"The main goal of the study is to investigate and to quantify the relations between the gender aspects and the processes of digital transformation in a relation to the eco-innovation processes. The processes of digital transformation in enterprises bring the changes of business strategies, processes, management, principles, approaches, and methods. A change in the roles of the managerial and other work positions, which can have an impact on efficiency of engaged processes in enterprises, is associated with them. The actual research studies aimed at investigating the female role in the leadership position have been focused on business processes mainly, which the effect of leadership is not difficult to quantify within. The procedures of digital transformation and the eco-innovation processes within them bring new dimension of the managerial work and a need for several technical, economic, and personal changes. According to the examined literature review, the three research questions are formulated, whilst each one is related to the particular examined field – the gender employment gap, the gender pay gap, and the female entrepreneurship participation. The applied regression analysis with the testing phase serves to analyse the data gathered. The carried-out analysis provides the interesting finding also from a geographical view. The gender employment gap in its different forms is confirmed by the outcomes of the constructed panel regression models in a majority of the explored cases. The gender pay gap is not seen as statistically significant. The female entrepreneurship participation represents the strongest point and it is confirmed absolutely at all. The study outcomes will support the creation of active environmental and innovation policies at the national and international level. Investigating gender diversity and its impact on the eco-innovation processes will enable the creation of mechanisms for eliminating the gender disparities, improving environmental reputation, and for effective decision-making processes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Sockin, Jason & Michael Sockin (2025): A Pay Scale of Their Own: Gender Differences in Variable Pay. (CESifo working paper 11608), München, 67 S.

Abstract

"In the United States and other large economies, women receive less variable pay than men, even within the same firms and job titles. We argue this disparity in pay partly reflects labor market sorting. Since women are less-represented in more variable-pay-intensive jobs, even within occupations, women accumulate less variable pay over time. Women apply relatively less often to and early in their careers separate faster from such roles. Compared with their male peers, women perceive variable-paying jobs as offering worse amenities, including culture, work-life balance, and paid family leave. Compensation schemes appear to induce disparities in pay through worker sorting." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Stinebrickner, Todd, Ralph Stinebrickner & Paul Sullivan (2025): Job Tasks, Task-Specific Work Experience, and the Gender Wage Gap. In: Journal of Human Capital. DOI:10.1086/738042

Abstract

"Taking advantage of unique longitudinal task data from the Berea Panel Study, we provide a new ex-amination of the gender wage gap, paying particular attention to gender differences in types of work experience. Access to longitudinal individual-level job task information, along with unique time allo-cation information, allows us to produce quantitative measures of current and past tasks. We provide the first empirical evidence on gender differences in time spent on tasks, and show that gender differ-ences in task-specific experience, in particular high-skilled information experience, are important for predicting the widening of the gender wage gap over the career." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Yilmaz, Levent & Julia Brandl (2025): Does pay disclosure in job offers remove gender differences in pay estimations? Evidence from an experiment with students and job seekers in the context of Austria. In: German Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 39, H. 3, S. 279-306. DOI:10.1177/23970022241240589

Abstract

"Pay disclosure aims at closing the gender pay gap by providing employees especially women with better salary knowledge, yet the effectiveness of employers’ practices is little understood. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment where participants estimate the salaries for several common pay statements for job offers which employers use in the context of the legislation in Austria. Our study with management students ( n = 385) shows that employer practices offer no solution to the problem of gender differences, except for the practice of salary range. The replication of the experiment with the real job seekers ( n = 242) demonstrates that gender differences disappear also for some practices, but not for the practice of mentioning excess payment (or overpay) options, which is common in Austria. This means that legislation addresses the gender gap most effectively when it encourages employers to display the salary range." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Zamberlan, Anna, Diana Roxana Galos, Susanne Strauss & Thomas Hinz (2025): Fairness Evaluations of Higher Education Graduates’ Earnings: The Role of Female Preference for Equality and Self‐Interest. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 76, H. 3, S. 541-552. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.13192

Abstract

"Educational and occupational horizontal segregation contribute significantly to economic inequalities, especially in contexts with a strong correspondence between fields of study and occupational outputs, such as in Germany. However, the extent to which individuals perceive disparities in economic returns across different fields of study as fair and the factors influencing these fairness evaluations remain largely unexplored. This study aims to understand fairness evaluations by assessing two theoretical explanations and their interrelation: (1) female preference for equality, where women generally favour smaller earnings disparities, and (2) biases leading to higher reward expectations for individuals in the same field of study as the evaluator. Our empirical research draws on a novel survey experiment from the German Student Survey (2021), in which higher education students evaluated the fairness of realistic earnings for graduates from various fields of study. These earnings relate to the entry phase of an individual's career, reflecting differences in economic returns exclusively tied to fields of study, independent of occupational or life trajectories. Our findings support the female preference for equality and self-interest theoretical perspectives, revealing that women and respondents in fields associated with lower-earning jobs tend to perceive greater unfairness. We further find evidence of an interaction between the two mechanisms, with women being particularly likely to perceive greater unfairness when it aligns with their self-interest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2025): Gender Equality in a Changing World. Taking Stock and Moving Forward. (Gender Equality at Work), Paris: OECD Publishing, 311 S. DOI:10.1787/e808086f-en

Abstract

"Despite significant progress over the last century, women still fare worse than men in most economic, social and political outcomes in EU and OECD countries. Drawing on novel data and using a lifecycle approach, this report presents a comprehensive stocktaking of how women, men, girls and boys are faring across seven key policy areas – education and skills, paid and unpaid work, leadership and representation, health, gender-based violence, the green transition and the digital transitions. The challenges are significant. Recognising that closing gender gaps requires serious and co-ordinated policy commitments and actions, this report presents countries’ good practices in gender mainstreaming, encourages breaking down silos, and identifies useful policy combinations to advance gender equality. A conceptual framework is included for governments seeking to assess their own legal, policy and budgetary measures, to help countries transform gender equality commitments into action." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2025): Gleichstellung in der sozial-ökologischen Transformation. Gutachten für den Vierten Gleichstellungsbericht der Bundesregierung. (Verhandlungen des Deutschen Bundestages. Drucksachen 20/15105 Vierter), Berlin, 259 S.

Abstract

"Der Vierte Gleichstellungsbericht widmet sich dem Klimawandel und Klimapolitiken in Deutschland unter dem Aspekt der Geschlechtergerechtigkeit. Die Sachverständigen waren beauftragt Ursachen und Auswirkungen des Klimawandels sowie Auswirkungen umwelt- und klimapolitischer Maßnahmen auf die Geschlechterverhältnisse darzustellen, Empfehlungen zur gleichstellungsorientierten Gestaltung der ökologischen Transformation zu erarbeiten, und Empfehlungen zu Strukturen, Instrumenten und institutionellen Mechanismen für eine an Art. 3 Abs. 2 und 3 Grundgesetz orientierte Gleichstellungs-, Umwelt- und Klimapolitik zu entwickeln. Die von Bundesgleichstellungsministerin Lisa Paus im März 2023 berufene Sachverständigenkommission übergab ihr Gutachten Anfang Januar 2025 an die Ministerin. Dieses wurde Anfang März 2025 veröffentlicht. Am 12. März 2025 beschloss das Bundeskabinett die Stellungnahme der Bundesregierung zum Vierten Gleichstellungsbericht, die zusammen mit dem Gutachten als Gleichstellungsbericht veröffentlicht wurde (Bundestags-Drucksache 20/15105). Der Bericht wurde anschließend dem Bundestag und dem Bundesrat vorgelegt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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(2025): Gender Equality Index 2024: Sustaining momentum on a fragile path. (Gender equality index ...), Vilnius, 118 S. DOI:10.2839/9523460

Abstract

"Since 2010, the Gender Equality Index has set a benchmark for equality between women and men to guide decision-makers on policies and goals for a more balanced and inclusive society across the EU by highlighting what is working and where, and what is not working. Chapter 1 presents the results of the Gender Equality Index 2024, along with key trends since the 2023 edition and between 2010 and 2022. A convergence analysis reveals diverse progress patterns at the national level while providing a broader context for Index findings. Chapters 2–8 summarise the policy context, the EU and country scores in key Index domains and how these scores link to violence against women. An intersectional approach exposes different layers of inequality across domains." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aavik, Kadri, Pille Ubakivi-Hadachi, Maaris Raudsepp & Triin Roosalu (2024): The gender pay gap—What's the problem represented to be? Analyzing the discourses of Estonian employers, employees, and state officials on pay equality. In: Gender, work & organization, Jg. 31, H. 1, S. 171-191. DOI:10.1111/gwao.13061

Abstract

"The gender pay gap (GPG) remains significant in most countries and is a key indicator of gender inequality in society. Qualitative research on the GPG is scarce, yet, qualitative perspectives on the GPG are valuable as the ways in which the GPG is understood and talked about shape actions to tackle it. This article focuses on how the GPG is represented in the context of work and organizations, inspired by the “What's the Problem Represented to be?” approach, developed by Carol Bacchi. The analysis draws on qualitative data—63 interviews with employers, employees, and state officials—collected in Estonia which exhibits one of the largest GPGs in the European Union. Five dominant representations of the GPG were identified: the GPG as (a) consciously produced by employers, (b) different pay for the same work, (c) unmeasurable due to “unique” and “incomparable” jobs and workers, (d) produced by women's failure to ask for fair pay, and (e) impossible for employers to reduce because of market forces. Collectively, these representations render the GPG inevitable, downplaying its emergence as a result of specific gendered social practices. This has implications for the employers' and the state's willingness and strategies to reduce the GPG." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Abrahams, Scott (2024): An analysis of the gender layoff gap implied by a gender gap in wage bargaining. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 234. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111505

Abstract

"The assumption that wage bargaining power is greater for men than for women yields a novel, mechanical implication regarding the gender wage gap: there should also be a gender layoff gap. If women with the same marginal product of labor as men exercise less bargaining power and consequently earn lower wages, then female workers should on average be more profitable for a firm. When conditions reduce labor demand, the firm should therefore prefer to lay off its male workers first. I show that this is consistent with the data for the United States from 1982–2019. A calibration exercise based on the gender gap in layoff rates suggests that the female bargaining share has risen from 14% lower to 6% lower than the male share over time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Afonso, António & M. Carmen Blanco-Arana (2024): The Persistence of Gender Pay and Employment Gaps in European Countries. (CESifo working paper 11315), München, 18 S.

Abstract

"The gender pay gap and the gender gap in employment remains persistent in Europe despite the basic assertion of gender equality under EU law. We assess the factors that influence the gender pay gap and gender employment gap across European countries. Therefore, we use an unbalanced panel of 31 European countries over the period 2000-2022, and estimate a system generalized method of moment model (GMM). The main conclusions confirm that tertiary education significantly reduces gender pay gap and part-time and temporary contracts significantly increase this gap. Moreover, part-time reduces significantly gender employment gap. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita does not affect these gaps and the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) saw a narrowing of the gender pay and employment gaps in European countries. The results are robust when using a fixed effects (FE) model." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Andrews, Rhys (2024): Social Equity in Municipally Owned Corporations: Do Women in the Boardroom Make a Difference to the Gender Pay Gap? In: Public Administration. DOI:10.1111/padm.13045

Abstract

"Representative bureaucracy theory posits that the presence of less-advantaged social groups in public leadership positions is an important driver of social equity among the recipients of public services and the public servants who provide them. To evaluate whether active representation can lead to improvements in social equity within arms-length public service organizations, this article presents an analysis of the relationship between women in the boardroom and the gender pay gap in 102 large municipally owned corporations (MOCs) in England for a 6-year period (2017–2022). The findings suggest that MOCs led by female chief executive officers (CEOs) have a lower pay gap between male and female employees. The presence of more women directors on MOC boards is also negatively related to the pay gap, especially in MOCs led by male CEOs. The findings highlight the importance of board gender representation to address social equity in arms-length public service organizations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Antoni, Manfred, Hans-Dieter Gerner, Robert Jäckle & Stefan Schwarz (2024): When Women Learn That They Earn Less: The Gender Pay Gap in University Student Internships. (MPRA paper / University Library of Munich 122018), München, 34 S.

Abstract

"Internships are an important and often mandatory part of academic education. They offer valuable insights into the labor market but can also expose students to negative aspects of the working world, such as gender pay disparities. Our paper provides first evidence of a gender pay gap in mandatory internships, with women earning up to 7% less per hour than men. Notably, this gap is not due to women choosing higher-quality internships over higher pay. Further analyses show that the internship pay gap is similar in magnitude to the labor market entry wage gap among graduates. We discuss potential mechanisms by which the internship pay gap may contribute to the graduation wage gap and present empirical evidence to support this." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aragonès, Enriqueta (2024): Gender Choice at Work. (Barcelona GSE working paper series 1460), Barcelona, 29 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyzes the demand based causes of gender discrimination in the labor market and it aims to explain the currently existing gender gaps in terms of labor market participation and lab or income. I propose a formal model to analyze the gender discrimination that individuals face at work due to statistical discrimination and taste-based discrimination. I study the effects of discrimination on the lab or market participation, income, and utility distributions and compare these effects between the female and male sectors of the society. I show that the conditions that dissipate the gender gaps are also good to improve efficiency. However, in order to reach a first best it is necessary to eliminate all kinds of gender related idiosyncratic preferences that are based on stereotypes and conscious and unconscious biases." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Arnemann, Laura, Lukas Riedel & Holger Stichnoth (2024): Geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede bei Einkommen und Erwerbsbeteiligung, wichtige Einflussfaktoren und Ereignisse. Forschungsbericht im Rahmen des Siebten Armuts- und Reichtumsberichts. Mannheim, 120 S.

Abstract

"Der vorliegende Bericht legt geschlechts- und kohortenspezifische Altersprofile von Erwerbseinkommen und Beschäftigung vor, analysiert Einflussfaktoren auf diese Profile (Bildung, Kinderzahl, Migrationshintergrund, Wohnort in Ost- oder Westdeutschland), untersucht die Auswirkungen (erwerbs-)biografischer Ereignisse (Geburt des ersten Kindes, Scheidung, Arbeitslosigkeit, Erwerbsminderung/Schwerbehinderung) auf Erwerbseinkommen und Beschäftigung und arbeitet in einer Lebensverlaufsbetrachtung typische Verläufe der Einkommen, gemessen an der alters- und jahresspezifischen Position in der Einkommensverteilung, sowie die Verteilung der kumulierten Erwerbseinkommen im Alter von 20 bis 45, differenziert nach Geschlecht, Kohorte und weiteren Merkmalen, heraus. Datengrundlage sind das Sozio-oekonomische Panel und die Stichprobe der Integrierten Arbeitsmarktbiografien." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Arsenev, Aleksandr, Meryem Gökten, Philipp Heimberger, Andreas Lichtenberger & Bernhard Schütz (2024): Gender and Education Gaps in Employment: New Evidence for the EU. (WIIW working paper 251), Wien, 45 S.

Abstract

"This paper analyses (age-adjusted) employment rates by gender and education. We find that male female gender gaps and high-low education gaps in employment vary markedly across European Union (EU) countries and regions, with larger gaps existing in Eastern and Southern Europe than in Nordic and Continental EU countries. We estimate that closing existing education gaps in employment between high and lower education levels would raise the employment rate in the EU for the year 2022 by 10.6 percentage points, whereas closing the gender gaps between men and women would lead to an increase of 2.5 percentage points. At the same time, closing both the gender and education gaps would raise the EU employment rate from 76% to 89% of the population. Furthermore, we provide new evidence on the cyclical behaviour of employment gaps, finding that gender gaps are procyclical. While female employment rates tend to be more resilient than male employment rates during economic downturns, male employment rates tend to grow at a faster pace than female employment rates during upswings. In contrast, education gaps are more countercyclical, as employment risks are more strongly concentrated where education is low." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Avenancio-León, Carlos F., Alessio Piccolo & Leslie Sheng Shen (2024): Self-reinforcing Glass Ceilings. (Working papers / Federal Reserve Bank of Boston 2024-14), Boston, 89 S.

Abstract

"After the gender pay gap narrows, what labor choices do men and women make? Several factors contribute to the persistence of the pay gap, such as workplace flexibility, systemic discrimination, and career costs of family. We show that how the labor market responds to the narrowing of the gap is just as pivotal for understanding this persistence. When the gender pay gap declines in a specific sector, women are relatively more likely to seek jobs in that sector, while men readjust their search to less equitable sectors. These compositional effects decrease female participation in less equitable sectors, which typically offer higher wages, reinforcing gender stereotypes and social norms that contribute to the glass ceiling. Through these effects, the same forces that reduce the gender pay gap at the bottom of the pay distribution also contribute to the persistence of gender inequities at the top. This self-reinforcing cycle underscores the need for reforms that are cross-sectoral and comprehensive to effectively achieve meaningful reductions in gender inequities across the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Averett, Susan L., Adam Biener & Olena Ogrokhina (2024): Equal Pay for Better Health: The Health Cost of the Gender Wage Gap. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17277), Bonn, 40 S.

Abstract

"This paper explores the relationship between gender wage gaps and women's overall health. Using data from the 2011-2019 Current Population Survey, we employ entropy balancing to create comparable samples of men and women and estimate wage gaps for full-time employed working-age women. Adjusting for individual, occupation, and industry characteristics, we estimate the association between wage gaps and self-rated health. Our results suggest that closing the wage gap results in a 1.2 percent reduction in women reporting poor or fair health, equivalent to nearly 170,000 fewer women. These effects are more pronounced for women with below-median wages or in male-dominated jobs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Averkamp, Dorothée, Christian Bredemeier & Falko Juessen (2024): Decomposing gender wage gaps: a family economics perspective. In: The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Jg. 126, H. 1, S. 3-37. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12542

Abstract

"We propose a simple way to embed family-economics arguments for pay differences between genders into standard decomposition techniques. To account appropriately for the role of the family in the determination of wages, one has to compare men and women with similar own characteristics – and with similar partners. In US survey data, we find that our extended decomposition explains considerably more of the wage gap than a standard approach, in line with our theory that highlights the role of career prioritization in dual-earner couples." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Bachmann, Ronald & Myrielle Gonschor (2024): DIW Berlin: Technological Progress, Occupational Structure, and Gender Gaps in the German Labour Market. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 1207), Berlin, 52 S.

Abstract

"We analyze if technological progress and the change in the occupational structure have improved women’s position in the labor market. We show that women increasingly work in non-routine manual and in interactive occupations. However, the observed narrowing of the gender wage gap is entirely driven by declining gender wag gaps within, rather than between, occupations. A decomposition exercise reveals that while explained factors have become more important contributors to the gender wage gap, the importance of unexplained factors factors has strongly declined. Therefore, unequal treatment based on unobservables, i.e. discrimination, is likely to have declined over time. Finally, technological change as measured by job tasks plays an ambiguous role. Institutional factors, and in particular part-time employment, are still a major driver of the gender wage gap." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bailey, Martha J., Thomas E. Helgerman & Bryan A. Stuart (2024): How the 1963 Equal Pay Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act Shaped the Gender Gap in Pay. In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jg. 139, H. 3, S. 1827-1878. DOI:10.1093/qje/qjae006

Abstract

"In the 1960s, two landmark statutes—the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts—targeted the long-standing practice of employment discrimination against U.S. women. For the next 15 years, the gender gap in median earnings among full-time, full-year workers changed little, leading many scholars to conclude that the legislation was ineffectual. This article revisits this conclusion using two research designs, which leverage (i) cross-state variation in preexisting state equal pay laws and (ii) variation in the 1960 gender gap across occupation-industry-state-group cells to capture differences in the legislation's incidence. Both designs suggest that federal antidiscrimination legislation led to striking gains in women's relative wages, which were concentrated among below-median wage earners. These wage gains offset preexisting labor market forces, which worked to depress women's relative pay growth, resulting in the apparent stability of the gender gap at the median and mean in the 1960s and 1970s. The data show little evidence of short-term changes in women's employment but suggest that firms reduced their hiring and promotion of women in the medium to long term. The historical record points to the key role of the Equal Pay Act in driving these changes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Baktash, Mehrzad B., John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn (2024): Variable Pay and Work Hours: Does Performance Pay Reduce the Gender Time Gap? (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 1450), Essen, 32 S.

Abstract

"Using German survey data, we show that performance pay is associated with a substantially lower gender hours gap. While performance pay increases the work hours of both men and women, the increase is much larger for women than for men. This finding persists in worker fixed effects estimates. We argue our finding likely reflects differences in household production and specialization by gender. Thus, we show that performance pay is not associated with increased hours for men with children in the household. Yet, performance pay is associated with a very large increase in hours for women with children in the household." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))