Zitatform

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)

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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

Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola, Andreas Peichl, Carla Krolage & Stefan Bach (2025): Kann eine Reform der Ehegattenbesteuerung die Beschäftigung erhöhen? – Eine Fachdiskussion mit Ökonominnen und Ökonomen im BMWK. In: Schlaglichter der Wirtschaftspolitik H. 5, S. 17-22.

Abstract

"In Wissenschaft und Politik wird seit langem intensiv und zunehmend auch evidenzbasiert debattiert, ob und inwiefern die steuerliche Behandlung der Erwerbseinkünfte von Ehepaaren ökonomische Fehlanreize generiert und insbesondere für Zweitverdienende – überwiegend Frauen – ein Beschäftigungshindernis darstellt. Zudem stellt sich die Wissenschaft die Frage, ob die fehlende Berücksichtigung alternativer Familienmodelle und der Existenz von Kindern im Rahmen des Ehegattensplittings noch zeitgemäß ist und fordert eine Anpassung der Regelungen. Die Ampelkoalition hatte sich im Koalitionsvertrag für die 20. Legislaturperiode auf eine Reform bei den Lohnsteuerklassen geeinigt: Die Lohnsteuerklassenkombination III/V sollte in das Faktorverfahren der Lohnsteuerklasse IV überführt werden. Ziel war es, für mehr Fairness bei der unterjährigen Lohnbesteuerung zu sorgen und so Erwerbsimpulse zu setzen. Die Maßnahme war zwar im Regierungsentwurf für ein Steuerfortentwicklungsgesetz enthalten, wurde aber letztlich nicht mehr vom Bundestag beschlossen. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das BMWK Anfang Februar 2025 zu einem Seminar eingeladen, um mit namhaften Ökonominnen und Ökonomen die Anreizwirkungen der bestehenden Ehegattenbesteuerung zu diskutieren und wirtschaftspolitisch sinnvolle Reformoptionen für die 21. Legislaturperiode zu beleuchten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Galaasen, Sigurd M. & Herman Kruse (2025): Spousal spillovers in the labor market: A structural assessment. In: Review of Economic Dynamics, Jg. 58. DOI:10.1016/j.red.2025.101300

Abstract

"We explore the importance and nature of elderly couples' labor market interlinkages, and how such linkages shape the response to welfare reforms. To this end, we develop a life-cycle model featuring dual-earner households with heterogeneous age gaps, non-separable leisure preferences, and endogenous retirement. To inform key preference parameters, our calibration exploits quasi-experimental evidence of spousal retirement spillovers from a pension reform in Norway. We show that the experimental evidence is highly informative about the degree of non-separability of leisure and that a substantial level of complementarity is required to match the data. Using our calibrated model, we find that the commonly observed tendency of couples to retire together, despite considerable age-gap heterogeneity, can be entirely explained by leisure complementarities. Moreover, comparing to a model with leisure separability reveals that one-third of the long-run labor supply effect of the pension reform is attributed to complementarity. This illustrates the importance of accounting for interdependent decisions when evaluating policy reforms." (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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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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Gambaro, Ludovica, Clara Schäper & C. Katharina Spieß (2025): Crowded-out? Changes in informal childcare during the expansion of formal services in Germany. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 59, H. 3, S. 383-398. DOI:10.1111/spol.13067

Abstract

"Informal childcare care by grandparents, other relatives or friends is an important source of support in many Western countries, including Germany. Yet the role of this type of care is often overlooked in accounts of social policies supporting families with children, which tend to focus on formal childcare. This article examines whether the large formal childcare expansion occurring in Germany in the last two decades has been accompanied by similar or opposite trends in informal childcare usage. It argues that accounting for both formal and informal childcare can offer a more accurate assessment of defamilisation effects of family policies. Drawing on representative data from the German Socio-Economic Panel the analysis identifies long-run developments of childcare arrangements for children aged 1–10 between 1997 and 2020, offering for the first time a comprehensive picture of how families with children of different ages mix informal care and service provision. Results show that on average the expansion of formal childcare was not associated with an equal reduction in informal childcare, lending little support to the crowding-out hypothesis. Further analyses distinguishing between population groups with different propensity to use formal childcare reveal, unexpectedly, remarkable similarities in the use of informal care throughout the period examined. The only exception are families with a migrant background, who tend to use informal childcare less than their counterparts. The general trend is, however, one whereby informal and formal care are increasingly combined." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Gangl, Selina & Martin Huber (2025): From homemakers to breadwinners? How mandatory kindergarten affects maternal labor market outcomes. In: Journal of Population Economics, Jg. 38, H. 2. DOI:10.1007/s00148-025-01099-y

Abstract

"The majority of Swiss children attend mandatory and cost-free kindergarten at age four. We examine the effect of this policy on maternal labor market outcomes. Using administrative data from Switzerland, we exploit the birthday cut-off for kindergarten entry in the same or in the following year and apply a non-parametric regression discontinuity design (RDD). We find that mandatory kindergarten has a statistically significant positive effect on the labour market attachment of previously non-employed mothers, increasing their employment probability by 4 percentage points. In contrast, there are no significant effects on other groups or in the total sample of mothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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García‐Mainar, Inmaculada, Pablo García‐Ruiz & Victor M. Montuenga (2025): Gender and Occupational Prestige. Testing the Devaluation Theory in Spain. In: Gender and Occupational Prestige. Testing the Devaluation Theory in Spain, Jg. 32, H. 5, S. 1982-1993. DOI:10.1111/gwao.13262

Abstract

"The devaluation theory, that is, that occupations where women predominate become less socially valued than those where men are in the majority, has not reached a unanimous conclusion in the empirical literature, especially when prestige is used as an indicator of the valuation of the occupation. The changing economic and social circumstances may influence the fulfillment of this hypothesis over time. Using regression analysis, this article tests the adequacy of the devaluation theory in the Spanish labor market at two points in time, 1991 and 2013. Previously, it also describes and analyzes whether the ordering of occupations has changed substantially in this period, using two different comparable scales. The results confirm a weakening in the support of the devaluation theory such that gender segregation of occupations does not necessarily imply differences in their social valuation. This result can be attributed to (i) the increase of prestige in some feminized occupations and (ii) the increase of women's participation in prestigious occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((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)

Zitatform

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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Giuliani, Giovanni Amerigo & Nicola De Luigi (2025): In-work poverty and family policy in Italy: from a frozen to a thawing landscape? In: Community, work & family, Jg. 28, H. 4, S. 558-578. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2023.2282356

Abstract

"The article investigates in-work poverty (IWP) in Italy through the lens of family policies. Adopting a longitudinal perspective, the work scrutinizes whether and to what extent the configuration of family policy tools - family allowances, leave and ECEC (Early Childhood Care and Education) - has been effective in contrasting IWP in Italy. Furthermore, it probes whether the Italian family policy has reconfigured over time as a tool for countering IWP. The study shows that family policy can be useful both directly - by providing income support for the most disadvantaged families - and indirectly - by fostering the transition to a dual-earner family model. However, the analysis of the Italian case shows that such positive effects are only potential, and not automatic. In Italy, historically, family policy has been scarcely effective. Nevertheless, in the last few years a pattern of slow change has initiated, and its effectiveness as a device to tackle IWP appears to have increased." (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))

Zitatform

Goldstein, Markus, Paula Gonzalez, Talip Kilic, Sreelakshmi Papineni & Philip Wollburg (2025): Breadwinners and caregivers: Examining the global relationship between gender norms and economic behavior. In: Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Jg. 72, H. 2, S. e12406. DOI:10.1111/sjpe.12406

Abstract

"Gender norms are often emphasized to help explain gender gaps in the labor market. We examine global patterns of gender attitudes and norms toward the stereotypical gender roles of the male breadwinner and female caregiver , and broad support for gender equality in opportunities , and study their relationship with economic behavior. Using data collected via Facebook from 150,000 individuals across 111 countries the paper explores how gender beliefs and norms are related to labor supply, household production, and intra-household decision-making power within a country. We provide descriptive evidence that the more gender equitable or counter-stereotypical are beliefs and norms, the more likely women are to work, the more time men spend on household chores, and the higher the likelihood of joint decision-making among married couples. Our findings suggest an underestimation of the support for gender equality globally and the extent of underestimation varies by gender and region. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential entry points for policy to help address gender norms." (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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Gutfleisch, Tamara & Robin Samuel (2025): Gender and unemployment: a vignette experiment on recruiters’ hiring intentions in sex-segregated occupations. In: European Societies, S. 1-35. DOI:10.1162/euso_a_00040

Abstract

"This study investigates the interplay between occupational sex composition and gender-specific unemployment patterns from the perspective of demand-side mechanisms, an area where existing research is scant. Experimental evidence suggests that unemployment is often perceived more negatively for men than women in hiring decisions. However, it is unclear how the disadvantages from unemployment and those associated with applying for gender-atypical jobs combine to (re-)produce gender inequality in re-employment chances. Utilizing secondary data from a multi-country vignette experiment, we examined how recruiters across different sex-segregated occupational fields assess male and female job applicants with unemployment experience. We found gender differences in the effect of unemployment, with disadvantages for men increasing with the share of women in an occupation. While the reverse pattern was observed in occupations with lower shares of women, the gender difference in unemployment effects was somewhat larger for men in female-dominated occupations. This was due to occupational variation in unemployment effects for both genders. However, focusing on applicants meeting the minimum skill requirements, only men's unemployment effect varied across occupational fields. Thus, occupational sex composition is an important factor in recruiter evaluations of unemployed applicants, intensifying the challenge of re-employment, particularly for men in female-dominated occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))