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This study explores the influence of organizational practices on gender in/equality in a unique setting: the reformed Israeli kibbutz. The transition of the kibbutz from all members receiving an allowance to waged labor provides an opportunity to explore the impact of wage determination systems on gender pay inequality. The study uses a mixed-method approach: descriptive statistics of administrative data, in-depth interviews, and a focus group with kibbutz management. The findings demonstrate that a “market-based logic,” embedded with gendered preconceptions of “women’s work,” can seep into an organization through a shift in the wage determination system, and increase gender inequality. The findings also highlight the lack of organizational awareness about the gendered consequences of this shift, or even their uncritical acceptance of the “value hierarchy” as ordained by the market. The study thus supports the theory positing gender as a hidden but integral aspect of reward systems in contemporary labor markets.HIGHLIGHTS The choice of a wage determination system is critical for gender inequality.“Women’s work” is valued higher by analytical job evaluation systems, which reduce gender biases.Market-based wage determinations introduce biases and increase organizational gender inequality.Management prefers market-based wage determinations due to competition and costs.The “free market” not only obscures gender hierarchies but also legitimizes them.The choice of a wage determination system is critical for gender inequality.“Women’s work” is valued higher by analytical job evaluation systems, which reduce gender biases.Market-based wage determinations introduce biases and increase organizational gender inequality.Management prefers market-based wage determinations due to competition and costs.The “free market” not only obscures gender hierarchies but also legitimizes them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of gender equality considerations in economic policy from the perspective of women economists in central economic agencies in government service in Israel. It asks whether and under what circumstances women economists promote policies aiming to reduce gender inequality or benefit women. Using qualitative research tools, the study reveals that women economists view the incorporation of gender equality into economic policy as insignificant and marginal. Gender equality is perceived as a narrow issue, specific and sectoral, while the core issues dealt with by economists are considered broad and universal. The findings are consistent with previous research claiming that placing women in influential positions does not ensure representation of gendered interests, as gender plays a secondary role to training, education, and institutional context. The findings indicate that the claim of neutrality in diverse aspects of economics limits women economists’ activity and thwarts unfettered thinking on economic policy.HIGHLIGHTSIn Israel, gender plays a marginal role in women economists’ policymaking.Spaces for training and learning in economics remain fundamentally gender biased.Neutrality perception limits critical feminist thinking on economic policy.Including feminist perspectives in economic education is vital.In Israel, gender plays a marginal role in women economists’ policymaking.Spaces for training and learning in economics remain fundamentally gender biased.Neutrality perception limits critical feminist thinking on economic policy.Including feminist perspectives in economic education is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early nineteenth century, the utilitarian feminist Anna Doyle Wheeler generated still relevant analysis of the political economy of gender. The feminist literature credits Wheeler and her coauthor William Thompson as the first to appreciate that reproductive labor, however exploited, plays a central role in capitalism. Wheeler convincingly argues why piecemeal reform within capitalism cannot generate equality. The answer: a cooperative economy. This article formalizes two central propositions attributed to Anna Doyle Wheeler: (i) high levels of social welfare require gender equality; and (ii) gender equality requires a cooperative economic system. Conditional on interdependence and perceptions of happiness, there is a fundamental coherence underlying the first proposition. This study explicates the reasoning for the second proposition using Wheeler's insights into social psychology and her understanding of cooperative institutions. Identifying and constructing decentralized, self-governing, and commonly owned institutions that embody Wheeler's broad principles remains a challenge. HIGHLIGHTS Feminist philosopher Anna Doyle Wheeler argued gender equality requires cooperation. Meaningful gender equality demands a social psychology of enlarged self-interest. Cooperative institutions of common property must be decentralized and self-governed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study revisits the puzzle of the gender happiness gap in China based on data from the China General Social Survey between 2008 and 2017. Decomposition analyses in this study indicate that women are happier than men mainly due to women's higher positive responsiveness to happiness determinants (the coefficient effect) rather than a higher level of objective achievements (the composition effect). Women obtain happiness from education despite not having a higher education, and women get more happiness from spousal income instead of personal income. Within families, the study finds that the greater the income gap between husband and wife, the greater the gender happiness gap. To help explain this gap, the study demonstrates that women living under traditional gender norms have higher evaluation of their education when they obtain lower levels of education than those living under egalitarian norms. HIGHLIGHTS In China, women's objective achievements in education and income have improved but remain lower than men's. Women are happier than men due to higher responsiveness to achievements. The income gap between husbands and wives increases women's subjective well-being and reduces men's. The traditional belief that men are more capable leaves women worse off in education. The gender happiness gap is much larger in urban areas and eastern regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding why women are less financially literate than men is crucial for developing effective policies that decrease gender inequalities and improve women's financial literacy, agency, and empowerment. Accordingly, this article adopts a multidimensional approach to measuring financial literacy in developing countries, aggregating three key components of financial literacy, namely financial behavior, financial attitude, and financial knowledge. Using data from Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay, the study finds that there are statistically significant gender differences in these countries, which is confirmed, except in the case of Chile, by an extensive econometric analysis. In turn, a traditional Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition indicates, when considering the three countries as a whole, that 56 percent of the gap can be attributed to unexplained factors, while 44 percent to differences in observable characteristics, implying that men's rates of return on human capital components, in a broad sense, are significantly different from those experienced by women. HIGHLIGHTS A comprehensive approach to financial literacy in Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay assesses gender differences in financial behavior, financial attitude, and financial knowledge. Financial literacy is relatively low across all three countries. In Argentina and Paraguay, the gender gap in financial literacy is driven by financial knowledge. Education and income are the largest contributors to the variance in financial literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study synthesizes evidence on gender dimensions of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) following the COVID-19 pandemic. Women-led SMEs are associated with lower average profits, lower revenues, fewer employees, smaller networks, and higher costs of capital. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender gaps among SMEs and undermined progress toward gender equality. To inform interventions that can support gender-intentional policy and market responses, the study builds on the conceptual model proposed by Andrea Cornwall (2016) to advance the construct of "path-dependent market dynamics," which captures how gendered social structures of market organization and behavior influence actions. Together with gendered legal discrimination, social norms, internalized behaviors, allocation of care work, mobility, and unequal access to financing, these sticky market features and dynamics can limit the effectiveness of economic recovery programs. The study suggests areas for evidence-based experimentation that can guide gender-intentional interventions for SMEs going forward. HIGHLIGHTS During the pandemic, women-led businesses experienced larger earnings losses and higher closure rates than men-led ones. Among barriers for women-led businesses, gendered structures of market organization and behavior are under-studied. Enduring gender norms can limit effectiveness of economic recovery programs. Gender-intentional enterprise programs should include evaluation components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While increased access to household assets has been shown to improve older individuals' autonomy and bargaining power at home, the role of gender hierarchy in shaping differential impacts of household assets has received far less attention. This article explores the gender asymmetry in the association of older people's (age 60 years or more) decision-making power at home and survival probability with their ownership of and managerial control over agricultural land in rural India. Using data from the India Human Development Survey, results find that in multi-generational households, landownership at the household level is associated with higher decision-making power and survival probability for older men but not for older women. Among older women, the relationship between household landownership and decision-making power is positive when they have clearly established titles to the land or managerial control but negative when their names are not on the land title. HIGHLIGHTS Landownership is an important source of old age security in India. Agricultural land in India is typically controlled by the patriarch; women rarely own or control household land. The generational power conferred on older men with landownership does not apply to older women to the same degree. It is crucial to register household land under women's names and recognize women as actual landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the differences in views between men and women Uruguayan economists regarding their opinions about market solutions and government interventions. In line with international evidence, the support for more market-oriented statements is lower among women than men. The study examines the role of age, family background, exposure to economic discussions (proxied by postgraduate education, reading of blogs and press, and academic environment), and personality traits (risk aversion, optimism, and preferences for competition) to explain these gender gaps. The results indicate that gender plays a role in shaping pro-market opinions. The gender differences remain significant after controlling for explanatory variables, though the magnitudes are mild. The findings indicate that achieving gender balance by including women in public debates and decision-making positions would improve the diversity of perspectives in economics. HIGHLIGHTS In Uruguay, women economists are less pro-market than their men colleagues. Personal traits, notably competitiveness, contribute to this gender gap. Including women in decision making improves diversity and quality of public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the gendered impact of school closures on paid work hours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. Using data from the Austrian Corona Panel Project (ACPP) covering generalized school closures from March 2020 to April 2021, the study examines adjustments in work hours by gender and parental status. The descriptive data show general reductions in work time, especially in the first months. From July 2020 onward, however, mothers reduced work hours more than fathers when schools were closed – and they increased time spent on childcare, while fathers reduced theirs. Using OLS and fixed effects models, the study confirms that mothers reduced their work hours during school closures more than any other group. In contrast, fathers reduced their work hours the least – even less than individuals without children. Finally, there is some evidence that school closures capture policy stringency in high-incidence phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Austria, mothers reduced paid work time more than fathers in response to pandemic school closures. In contrast, fathers reduced their work time even less than individuals without children. School closures thus triggered a gendered labor market response among parents. The additional unpaid care work burden on women is a potential mechanism for these effects. COVID-19 policy responses may have exacerbated existing gender differences in the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the evolution of childcare policies in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom during the period 2005–15 in order to observe changes possibly related to economic crisis. Applying the concept of degenderization and the method of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA), the study examines: (1) equality of parental leave entitlements, (2) generosity of parental leave-related benefits, (3) accessibility of childcare services, and (4) length of all available leave schemes, at six points in time. The argument is that changes within this period did not lead to a radical transformation in childcare policy, while those shifts that took place could be more often characterized as degenderizing, contrary to expectations. Finally, the study identified policy clusters: four types of genderization (strong genderization, with care payment, with care parity, and with activation), strong and weak versions of degenderization, as well as a mixed case. HIGHLIGHTS This study traces the evolution of childcare policies across nine EU countries during the period of recession between 2005 and 2015. It uses the concept of "degenderization" to develop a typology of childcare policies. A dynamic analysis reveals that despite austerity measures, policies usually remained stable over time. Moreover, despite the crisis, policies tended to promote gender equality in care. Small steps toward degenderization in care policies over time signal that the gender revolution is not "stalled." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context of unprecedented and interconnected ecological and inequalities crises, many in the Global North are hitching their hopes onto Green New Deals (GNDs). This article argues that feminist analysis is crucial for exposing the flaws in GNDs, and that different kinds of feminist questioning lead to different kinds of policy responses, with very different scales of potential transformative impact. In order to transform the structures and root causes underlying the interconnected crises, it is necessary to go beyond feminist demands for the inclusion of diverse women and for gender equality and rely more on feminism as an analytical tool: a way of asking questions that denaturalize received wisdom and that make visible the ways in which gendered meanings play a formative role in shaping the concepts and paradigms that constitute knowledge of our world. HIGHLIGHTS Intersecting global crises impel the question, "what should the goal of economic life be?" Many climate "solutions" embed the same faulty ways of thinking that caused the crisis. Clean energy for the Global North spells toxic tolls for the Global South. GNDs neglect militarism, despite its key role in driving the climate crisis. GNDs remain rooted in a mindset that separates humanity from nature and will thus fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender-based seat reservation policies are designed to promote gender parity in political representation by overcoming patriarchal social structures. But laws and policy are created by, and exist within, presiding social structures. These existing structures may undermine the efficacy of such policies, especially in regions where strong patriarchal norms persist. This study examines this phenomenon through a case study of the Panchayat Act in two neighboring states in northern India – Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Using primary data from structured interviews conducted over 2007–09, the article contends that the policy is more effective in empowering women leaders in regions where restrictive patriarchal norms are less entrenched. In parts where patriarchal norms are more persistent, the policy achieves comparatively limited success. Thus, gender-based policies must actively address attitudes and systems perpetuating inequality in addition to providing the necessary legal basis for representation to be substantively effective. HIGHLIGHTS In India, gender quotas aim to promote equity in political representation and offset patriarchy. Yet, longstanding patriarchal norms and cultural expectations of how women behave in the public sphere subvert policy reforms. In Indian states with greater degrees of patriarchy, women had little awareness of their legal protections. Gender quotas are more effective when combined with efforts to address the attitudes and systems perpetuating inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's labor market participation in Chile ranks among the lowest in Latin America. In a country where over 90 percent of the population lives in segregated cities, where employment opportunities cluster in affluent neighborhoods, residential sorting has surprisingly been neglected as an explanatory factor. This article addresses this omission by calculating the effects of residential segregation on labor market participation among less-educated caregivers. Using an OLS fixed effects model, the study finds that segregation entails adverse spatial mismatch effects on labor market participation. No other sub-population is affected in this manner. Hence, residential segregation contributes to the consolidation of three types of inequalities. First, it reproduces gendered inequalities within less-educated households. Second, in the context of increasing labor market participation among more-educated women, residential segregation further increases inequalities between low-income and affluent households. Finally, it deepens geographical inequalities between marginalized and non-marginalized households. HIGHLIGHTS Residential segregation has excluded less-educated caregiving women from paid work. Less-educated communities reside in regions with low job density. A spatial mismatch is a gendered phenomenon insofar as mobility is gendered. Segregation does not affect men's or more-educated women's labor force participation. Segregation aggravates economic, geographic, and gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether intersecting identities of race/ethnicity and sex are associated with attitudes toward gender equality policies, using online survey data from a representative sample in the United States carried out in August 2020. Participants (N = 2,443) were categorized as White Male, Black Male, Hispanic Male, White Female, Black Female, and Hispanic Female. Findings reveal that women across racial/ethnic groups and minority men, as compared to White men, have more egalitarian views on the importance of gender equality in policy and politics. While there is general support for women in political leadership, the race/ethnicity by sex differences in attitudes related to gender equality in employment are larger. These findings update and extend prior research on sex differences in gender equality attitudes, including highlighting the presence of a sex and race/ethnicity interaction. HIGHLIGHTS Attitudes are drivers of change when it comes to gender equality. In the US, there is majority support for gender equality, albeit with key gaps by race/ethnicity and sex. Women are more likely than men to hold egalitarian views. Men are more attached to traditional family roles for women, regardless of race. All men tend to relatively gain from patriarchal norms around paid and unpaid work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates gender gaps in access to land ownership and land inheritance in Albanian rural areas by combining a large-scale survey and five in-depth focus groups discussions. The article considers three sets of variables: place-based characteristics; family characteristics; and individual characteristics. Results find that rural societies lack awareness around legal property rights, undermine the confidence of women in myriad ways, and continue to rely on customary laws. Current inequalities are placed in the context of Albania's entrenched patriarchal system. Culture and tradition are as important as, if not more important than, legal frameworks surrounding land ownership and inheritance. The findings bring intersectionality issues into high relief: where patriarchy is combined with poverty, gender inequality is exacerbated. Findings call for a more holistic approach that combines efforts to improve legal literacy, raise awareness among all genders, and alleviate poverty for boosting women's inclusion in the economy. HIGHLIGHTS In Albania, patriarchal customary laws disfavor women when it comes to property ownership, inheritance, and decision making. Women in rural societies, in particular, rely on custom and have low awareness of their legal property rights. Women who are more informed about formal laws view themselves as more equal to men. Where patriarchy is combined with poverty, gender inequality is exacerbated. Education and legal literacy are key to overcoming entrenched patriarchy and fostering women's empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns that started in March 2020 have sparked an increase in domestic labor in many families across the globe. This study focuses on gender differences in the distribution of domestic housework and childcare, as well as how they have impacted couples' conflicts during confinement, in the context of Spain and Italy. It employs a sequential mixed-methods approach in which a quantitative survey was followed by qualitative in-depth interviews. The results of the quantitative study (N = 447) showed that, for women, total household labor performed during confinement led to the perception of an unequal household distribution, which impacted couples' conflicts. In-depth interviews with participants from both countries confirmed the quantitative findings and allowed a nuanced understanding of how conflict negotiations evolved during the confinement. The results provide a comprehensive view of how the pandemic may have worsened women's situation in the household. HIGHLIGHTS Pandemic lockdowns intensified the already unequal distribution of housework in households in Spain and Italy. Women disproportionally spent more hours on childcare and household chores during confinement. Traditional gender norms shaped women's and men's perceptions of unfairness in terms of division of housework. Gender norms also limited women's bargaining power and shaped couples' conflict and negotiation strategies. Policies should aim to alleviate intrahousehold inequality to achieve better work–life balance for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across many countries, girls perform more unpaid work than boys. This article shows how the time young women and girls spend in unpaid household work contributes to the gender pay gap that is already evident by age 22. The study analyzes employment participation, type of employment, and wages using five waves of the Young Lives longitudinal survey for Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Spending longer hours in unpaid household work in adolescence positively predicts later employment participation but has a scarring effect in negatively predicting job quality (that is a job with a private or public organization) and hourly earnings, particularly for women. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions of the gender wage gap show young women's penalty for past household work is due to longer hours of such work rather than a higher penalty for women for a given amount of unpaid work. HIGHLIGHTS Participation in unpaid household work and paid work is gendered from a young age. Time in unpaid household work as children impacts young adults' employment. Time in household work in adolescence is linked to lower job quality in adulthood. Girls' longer hours in household work contribute to the gender wage gap. Girls spend less time than boys in play or leisure at all ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How gender-based differences in time spent on household and labor-market activities affect men's and women's well-being is of growing interest to economists and policymakers. In many countries, women perform more unpaid work than men and have fewer opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty through education and training. This article analyzes the relationship between poverty and gender inequality in time use among monogamous couples in Ghana. A key finding is that women in poor households face heterogeneous levels of inequality in time use, depending on the type of activity, inequality in time use, and characteristics of the household. The study highlights the importance of devising gender-aware policies and altering entrenched cultural stereotypes, thereby helping to reduce inequality between men and women. This should afford more women the opportunity to play a more productive and economically meaningful role in the formal labor market. HIGHLIGHTS In Ghana, poor households face significantly higher gender inequality in time use compared to rich households. Levels of time-use inequality for poor women vary in relation to activity and household characteristics. Policies should prioritize reducing poverty to alleviate intrahousehold inequality. Gender-aware policies should address norms that impede women's labor market participation and autonomous time allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent contributions in international economics have highlighted structural differences between firms actively participating in global markets and firms mostly operating in the domestic economy. Using firm-level data from Vietnam, this study found that foreign and domestic firms with global ties – exporters, multinational enterprises (MNEs), and domestic firms belonging to global value chains (GVCs) – play an important role in reducing gendered differences in employment opportunities in the formal sector, in particular for low-skilled women workers. Women workers are more likely than men workers to be employed in low-wage firms, but this gender gap is lower in MNEs, in particular those belonging to GVCs. This study provides evidence of important within-sector heterogeneity not only based on firms' ownership but also on the intensity of participation in GVCs. HIGHLIGHTS Global economic interactions can shape gender inequalities in the labor markets of developing countries. In Vietnam, firms with complex global networks promote a more gender-balanced development trajectory. Foreign and domestic firms participating in global value chains boost employment opportunities but mostly for low-skilled women. Firms' participation in international markets has limited effects on the reduction of gender inequality in wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroeconomic models and associated policy analyses have long focused exclusively on market production, ignoring gender and care. Decades of feminist economic research, policy analysis, and activism around gender, care, and unpaid work have provided strong intellectual foundations for redressing this lacuna. This special issue represents the collaborative theoretical modeling work of a multidisciplinary group formed to respond to that gap. This introduction to the special issue situates this work in the wider gender and macroeconomics literature, beginning with some notes on the role of mathematical modeling in feminist economics. A key conclusion that emerges from this introductory review is that while some polices, especially greater public funding of care needs, can alleviate the inequities embedded in the gendered provision of care, more equitable and sustainable development and growth are unlikely to result without a transformation of the systems of gender stratification that underlie care provisioning. HIGHLIGHTS Macroeconomic models and policymaking should center the economic and social contributions of caregivers. Care and unpaid work are fundamental to the functioning of the market economy. A transformation of the systems of gender stratification that underlie care provisioning is needed. No single solution exists, but macroeconomic models of care provide steps toward fixing gender inequities in care provisioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do parental caregivers bear the entire cost of caregiving? Standard cooperative models of the household suggest the welfare burden of care would be distributed across household members (for example, husband and wife). This study develops a simple collective model of intrahousehold bargaining to analyze the time and resource allocation decisions associated with providing unpaid care to an elderly parent. The study argues that if bargaining power is endogenously determined or labor markets are rigid, the welfare cost of caregiving can fall disproportionately on the woman partner, resulting in a "triple burden" of market work, home production, and caregiving, in addition to higher levels of unmet care needs. The study provides a numerical example using cross-country European data to demonstrate how a decrease in an adult daughter's bargaining power relative to her partner can increase her share of the welfare burden and the unmet care needs of her parent. HIGHLIGHTS Intrahousehold bargaining determines the welfare costs of unpaid caregiving. Labor market rigidities have nuanced effects on the division of the welfare burden. Flexible hours/leave policies could provide relief to both caregivers and recipients. Lower wage gaps and shifting social norms may promote a more equitable division of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to develop a model to analyze the macroeconomic effects of two dimensions of inequality – gender inequality and functional income distribution – and public spending, in particular on social infrastructure, on output, productivity, and hours of employment of men and women. This study estimates the model econometrically using an IV-GMM estimator and time series data for the period of 1970–2016 for the UK. For the estimation of productivity, the article uses IV-GMM estimations based on panel data for eighteen industries for the period of 1970–2015. The study finds that output in the UK is both gender equality-led and wage-led, and hence generally equality-led. Public social infrastructure investment has a high positive effect on both output and employment. Despite a strong positive effect on productivity, the employment of both men and women increases in the medium run. HIGHLIGHTS Output in the UK is gender equality-led and wage-led; hence the UK is equality-led. An upward convergence in wages by closing gender pay gaps leads to higher output. Public social infrastructure spending has a positive effect on output and productivity. Public social infrastructure leads to higher employment for both men and women. A mix of labor market and fiscal policies can achieve both equality and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the patterns of household-level gender wealth inequality in light of financial sector transformation in the US since the 1980s. Securitization, the subprime lending expansion, and wider liberalization measures influenced wealth disparities by determining access to different types of wealth, asset values, and relative indebtedness. The evolution of the gender wealth gap in the context of these institutional changes is not yet clearly established in the literature. Using the US Survey of Consumer Finances between 1989 and 2019, the study examines changes in wealth inequality between unpartnered male-headed and female-headed households and its determinants. It finds substantial heterogeneity of the gender wealth gap, and within-group inequality for female-headed households, across different categories of marital status, family structure, race/ethnicity, and percentile of wealth distribution. Homeownership is estimated to have an equalizing impact, while differences in employment income, age, self-employment, and ownership of high-yielding assets are associated with increasing wealth disparities. HIGHLIGHTS The study examines the unconditional and conditional wealth gaps across unpartnered households. Gender wealth inequality increased in the subprime era and after the Great Recession. The highest inequality is observed across marital status, family structure, and race. The highest inequality is found among the least wealthy households. Wealth inequality can be lowered by reducing disparities in income and asset ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the American Time Use Survey for 2003–17 to explore gender differences in time allocated toward activities that facilitate immigrant assimilation, including activities outside the home, with non-family members, and in paid work, education, and shopping. The study finds that among the first and 1.5 generations, respectively, wives spend seventy-nine and thirty-one minutes less per day than husbands in market work, education, and shopping, whereas there is no gender gap among second, 2.5, and third-and-higher generations. Moreover, in first- and 1.5-generation families, husbands spend more time on activities outside the home and with non-family members. This pattern suggests that time used in assimilation activities among first- and 1.5-generation families reflects gender inequality, which could increase women's dependence on husbands for assimilation. Women from countries with conservative gender roles allocate less time to assimilation activities, but this association dissipates across generations. HIGHLIGHTS This study investigates whether assimilation increases or reduces gender inequality across immigrant generations. Time allocation is more gendered among first-generation immigrants. There is no such gender gap among second and higher generations. Women from countries with traditional gender norms spend less time on assimilation activities. But this association dissipates across generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional poverty measures have long been criticized as a poor gauge of quality of life. Household-level income or expenditure data used in these measures are silent on intrahousehold inequalities and capture means to an end rather than outcomes and opportunities individuals face. This article constructs a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) to address these problems. It calculates multidimensional poverty for Turkey in four equally weighted dimensions: education, health, employment, and household living conditions. The study introduces employment as a distinct dimension of well-being, which is especially pertinent for the gender gap in poverty in the Turkish context. It finds a significant (30–34 percent) gender poverty gap, which is gradually narrowing over time. However, there is very little convergence between regions. Finally, results show households with multidimensionally poor women and non-poor men as the most common sub-group and an increase in the share of households with no poor members. HIGHLIGHTS The study evaluates the multidimensional poverty of individuals to analyze gender gaps. Employment proxies for ignored functionings like self-respect and social inclusion. Gender poverty gap was between 30 and 34 percent during 2006–15. Gender poverty gap is only closing for the youngest cohorts. Within-household poverty disparities are high and stable during 2006–15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses individual-level wealth data to explore the gender dimensions of asset poverty among the principal adults in Ecuadorean households, the first such study in a developing country. The study departs from conventional practice by analyzing not only sole heads but also partnered men and women heads and show systematic differences by gender, marital status, and household type. Among both sole and partnered heads, women are more likely to be asset poor than men. Further, in contrast to developed countries, asset poverty rates are much higher among partnered men and women than among sole men and women heads, largely because of structural factors that put those in consensual unions at a disadvantage in accumulating assets. The gender gap, however, is much larger among sole heads. In Ecuador, the risk of asset poverty is mainly associated with low levels of education, type of employment, and not having received an inheritance. HIGHLIGHTS This study uses individual-level asset data to explore the extent of asset poverty in Ecuador. Women in Ecuador are more likely to be asset poor compared to men. The gender asset gap is more prominent among sole heads of household. Asset poverty rates are the highest among women in consensual unions. Education, employment, and inheritance significantly explain asset poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of occupational classes in the Gender Wealth Gap (GWG). Despite rising interest in gender differences in wealth, the central role of occupations in restricting and enabling its accumulation has been neglected thus far. Drawing on the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study employs quantile regressions and decomposition techniques. It finds explanatory power of occupational classes for the gender wealth gap, which exists despite accounting for other labor-market-relevant parameters, such as income, tenure, and full-time work experience at different points of the wealth distribution. Wealth gaps by gender vary between and within occupational classes. Particularly, women's underrepresentation among the self-employed and overrepresentation among sociocultural professions explain the GWG in Germany. The study thus adds another dimension of stratification – occupational class – to the discussion on the gendered distribution of wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenthood necessarily increases the scope of unpaid work in households and tends to depress women's employment rates relative to men's. This paper examines the relationship between the use of full-time childcare for children under 3 years of age and employment rates for men and women with one, two, or three or more children under 6 years of age in European households. Panel data from a sample of the (then) twenty-eight European Union member states for the 2005–15 period were analyzed. The results indicate that smaller differences between employment rates of men and women with one, two, or three or more children under 6 years of age are associated with greater use of full-time childcare arrangements for children under the age of 3. HIGHLIGHTS Traditional gender roles impose a greater burden of unpaid work on women than men. Parenthood widens the gap between women's and men's employment rates. The use of childcare reduces gender inequality in the labor market. Part-time work arrangements help women combine parenthood and employment. Long leaves have a negative impact on women's employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the impacts of conflict, resolution, and post-conflict democracy on gender bias. Exploring this question poses two methodological concerns. The first regards selection bias in which countries experience conflict and its resolution. The study addresses this issue using a generalization of the Heckman procedure. The second is that post-conflict democracy is likely endogenous to the level of pre-conflict democracy. This issue is addressed using two-stage least squares. Results show that conflict unambiguously worsens gender outcomes with respect to secondary school enrollment, labor force participation, fertility, and parliamentary representation. However, it does not affect the gap in life expectancy. Conflict resolution improves gender outcomes significantly, but not always by a magnitude that restores pre-conflict levels of equality. Greater post-conflict democratization improves parliamentary representation of women and the gender gaps in life expectancy and secondary school enrollment. However, it worsens the gap in labor force participation. HIGHLIGHTS The study corrects selection bias in conflict and its resolution with a three-step procedure. It instruments for post-conflict democratization using legal origin and geography. Conflict worsens gender inequities in education, the labor force, and representation. Conflict resolution mitigates most conflict-induced inequities, but not fully. Democratization further improves equity in representation and schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows that occupations in South Africa are segregated and stratified by gender. While some women (mostly Black and "Coloured") overwhelmingly fill low-paying jobs, others (mostly White and Indian/Asian, but also Coloured) tend to fill higher-paying professional positions. This paper finds evidence of a long-term reduction in gender segregation and stratification, with women and men entering occupations previously dominated by the other gender, although this trend is sensitive to several data considerations. Most recent evidence, however, points to stagnation in this process. Distinct worker characteristics by gender – including education, location, or age – cannot explain the existing segregation or women's overrepresentation in low-paying jobs, compared with men's representation. They do partially explain the overrepresentation of women in some higher-paying positions and the declining stratification of the labor market by gender. Education is the primary driver for upward mobility for women and gender equality in the South African labor market. Note: This study follows the current South African government's usage of the racial category "Coloured," with the caveat that the term is not in acceptable use outside South Africa. HIGHLIGHTS Gendered occupations and pay gaps in South Africa have not been adequately studied. Black women suffer double labor segregation in South Africa, by gender and by race. Post-apartheid progress in reducing labor segregation has been faster by gender than by race. Improved education offers women a route to better-paid professional occupations Although women now access better jobs, managerial positions remain disproportionately male. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between gender, attitudes, and test scores in mathematics. The study argues that measures of children's capability in mathematics must include some indicators of attitudes toward the subject. These are particularly important when analyzing gender gaps because attitudes toward mathematics differ by gender. To this end, the study first analyzes the gender gap in attitudes and test scores separately using school fixed effects models. Second, it estimates a structural equation model, which takes into account that mathematical capability is a latent construct for which some indicators (test scores and attitudes) are observed. Using data from the Italian National Institute for the Evaluation of Education Systems (INVALSI) for school years 5 and 10 in 2014 and 2015, results confirm that when mathematics capability, including both attitudes and test scores, is measured, the gap between boys and girls changes, and it is therefore relevant to consider both concepts. HIGHLIGHTS Italy has one of the highest gender gaps in mathematics in the OECD. Gender gaps are substantial both in children's attitudes and their test scores. Tackling gender stereotypes may improve women's self-confidence in mathematics and the gender gap in scores. This may also help close the gender gap in STEM occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from Rapid Gender Assessment Surveys investigating the socioeconomic consequences of COVID-19 on women's and men's lives, this study assesses whether the pandemic threatens fragile gains on gender equality in paid and unpaid work. Evidence from eleven countries in Asia-Pacific indicates that the impact of the pandemic goes far beyond health consequences. With children out of school, intensified care needs of elderly and ill family members, and labor markets in turmoil, demands for unpaid domestic and care work have increased substantially. Results show that women are disproportionately shouldering the burden of unpaid care and domestic work triggered by the lockdowns, and they are losing their livelihoods faster than men. Worsening mental health also emerges as a critical area affecting women disproportionately. These findings inform emergency responses for a gender-sensitive recovery, and underscore the need to take radical, positive actions to redress long-standing inequalities in multiple areas of women's lives. HIGHLIGHTS UN Women's Rapid Gender Assessments (RGAs) gave early insights into COVID-19 impacts. Asia-Pacific RGAs show that the crisis had dramatic socioeconomic impacts on women. Women are more likely to experience loss in paid work hours than men. Women and men are doing more unpaid domestic and care work, but women take on the larger share. The emotional and mental health impact of the pandemic is disproportionately falling on women. More gender-responsive surveys and quality administrative sources are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the gender dimension of occupational exposure to contagious diseases spread by the respiratory or close-contact route. It shows that in Europe, women are more exposed to contagion, as they are more likely than men to work in occupations that require high levels of contact and physical proximity at work. Women are also less likely to be able to work remotely, which contributes to their increased exposure. The study finds that gender is a more important factor in workers' exposure to contagion than their education or age. This gender difference in exposure can be largely attributed to patterns of sectoral segregation and to the segregation of women within sectors into occupations that require more interpersonal interactions. Finally, results reveal heterogenous cross-country patterns in gender gaps in exposure to contagion in the workplace, with Nordic, Continental, and Baltic countries showing relatively large gender gaps to the disadvantage of women. HIGHLIGHTS In Europe, gender is more important than education or age in determining workers' levels of exposure to contagion. Women are more exposed to contagion in the workplace than men. Jobs performed by women require more contact and physical proximity at work than jobs performed by men. The gender gap in exposure can be largely attributed to patterns of sectoral segregation. The gender differences are particularly large in the Nordic, Continental, and Baltic countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the reasons for the gender gaps in the South Korean labor market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that 5.5 percent of women are on leave of absence, more than double the percentage of men (2.5 percent). Women have also experienced more unemployment than men. Using a decomposition method, this study finds that one-fifth of the gender difference in leaves of absence is explained by women's concentration in the care and hospitality industries, which have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic. Moreover, women's uneven distribution in part-time jobs also contributes to explaining 16.8 percent of the total gender gap. However, 60.8 percent of gender differences in leaves of absence were unexplained by existing arguments, such as occupational or industrial gender segregation and women's precarious job status. This study shows that this unexplained difference could be caused by the gendered caring role imposed on women. HIGHLIGHTS The COVID-19 pandemic reproduced existing gender inequalities in the labor market in South Korea. Women workers experienced more unemployment and leaves of absence than men workers. Married women workers experienced more adverse outcomes than unmarried women workers. However, married men workers experienced fewer of these outcomes than unmarried men workers. Women's concentration in paid and unpaid care duties were the major explanation for gender gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a unique survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey to analyze men's and women's time use under lockdown. The study finds that while men's participation in unpaid work increased, particularly for men who switched to working from home, the relative increase for women further widened the gender gap in unpaid work. The gender gap in paid work narrowed due to relatively less employment disruption for women and a relatively higher decrease in men's paid work. The total workload of employed women reached levels that make it hard to sustain a decent work–life balance. Disparities in unpaid work among women by education and employment status decreased, reflecting how purchasing power became somewhat irrelevant under the pandemic measures. These findings unveil simultaneously the fragility of the work–life balance conditions faced by employed women and a window of opportunity created by men's increased participation in unpaid work. HIGHLIGHTS During the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, women's unpaid work time almost doubled, while men's quadrupled. Women experienced lower employment disruption and less decrease in paid work time than men. Employed women saw an alarming intensification in their overall workload. Men's unpaid work increased substantially due to working from home and lower employment hours. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for work–life balance policies and for investment in social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deploys a feminist political economy approach centered on social reproduction to analyze the reconfiguration and regeneration of multiple inequalities in households and the labor markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on this approach, the analysis unpacks the multiple trajectories of fragility the current crisis is intervening on and reshaping in the home and in the world of work, and their gendered and racialized features across the world. It shows how the pandemic and the measures to contain it have further deepened the centrality of households and reproductive work in the functioning of capitalism and argues that the transformative potential of the crisis can only be harnessed by framing policy and political responses around social reproduction and its essential contributions to work and life. HIGHLIGHTS A feminist social reproduction approach reveals the COVID-19 crisis as a crisis of work. The crisis is reshaping the organization of production and reproduction in households and global labor markets. This reorganization is exacerbating gender, class, and race inequalities. The pandemic has renewed the centrality of households in welfare provisioning and made social reproduction work visible. An internationalist feminist response would ensure access to services based on the centrality of social reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines population-weighted, sex- and age-disaggregated official COVID-19 mortality data (as of July 25, 2020) from the United States to understand gender gaps (men–women) across age. The analysis yields three key findings: (1) all age groups report about 8 percentage points more deaths among men than women; (2) non-elderly adults (<65 years) have a larger gender gap in reported mortality than elderly (≥65 years) adults; and (3) the gender gap in reported mortality varies across states, with thirteen states reporting more deaths among women than men. Women's lack of access to healthcare and a state's healthcare capacity have a significant correlation with the gender gap in reported mortality for both non-elderly and elderly adults. The findings underscore the possible presence of an underreporting bias against women in the officially reported COVID-19 death tolls in the US. HIGHLIGHTS The COVID-19 gender mortality gap in the US is similar to that of other developed nations. While men are more likely than women to die from COVID-19 infections, the reverse is true in thirteen states. The gap is high in states with low hospital capacity and women's low healthcare access. COVID-19 fatalities among women are more likely to be underreported than those among men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China's transition to a socialist market system, women's labor force participation has declined sharply. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2010, the authors re-examine China's gender gap in labor force participation with a focus on social norms. Probit model estimates of the gender gap in labor force participation probability confirm the contribution of conventional factors such as health and other human capital as important explanations for the resurgent gender gap in China. However, even after extensive controls for human-capital differences, the gap remains mostly unexplained in the data. The Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition analysis confirms that the gender gap in labor force participation is predominantly explained by behavioral differences between women and men. Gender-related community social norms account for 41.4 percent of the unexplained gap. The study results are robust to alternative measures of social norms and additional controls for community characteristics. HIGHLIGHTS Recent studies have examined why women's labor force participation has declined sharply in post–economic reform China, but research on the effects of social norms has been limited. The gender gap in participation remains mostly unexplained by differences in human capital between women and men. Social norms account for almost half of the unexplained portion of the gender gap in labor force participation. Along with expanding women's access to education and improving their health, policies should promote favorable attitudes toward women's employment, particularly during times of economic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the challenges associated with implementing time-use surveys among agricultural households in developing countries and offers advice on best practices for two common measurement methods: stylized questions and time diaries. Using data from Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) surveys in Bangladesh and Uganda, it finds that stylized questions do not always produce shorter interviews compared to time diaries, and recall accuracy may depend on the regularity and saliency of the activity and enumerator abilities. The paper suggests that combining promising methodological innovations from other disciplines with mainstream time-use data collection methods would allow capture of both the quantity and quality of time and provide richer insights into gendered time-use patterns. Broadening the scope of time-use research to other aspects of well-being can help identify how time constraints contribute to gender inequality and inform the design of policies and interventions to relieve those constraints. HIGHLIGHTS Time-use surveys are essential for addressing gender disparities, yet little research has compared time-use survey methods in developing countries. Developing country agricultural contexts present unique logistical challenges to time-data collection, including low literacy and unfamiliarity with clock-oriented time. In Bangladesh and Uganda, there are systematic differences between time-use estimates obtained using stylized questions and time diaries. Men and women experience different emotions toward different types of work, and gender gaps exist in the distribution of pleasant and unpleasant activities. Learning from non-economics disciplines, including research on quality of time, leads to richer insights into gendered time-use patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public procurement is an important part of states' activities and a major market. As the potential of public purchasing to foster gender equality has increasingly come into focus, regulatory policies in a number of countries increasingly draw the link between public procurement and equality. Analyzing the development of regulatory policies relating to gender equality and public procurement in Germany between 1990 and 2016, this article highlights the growing prevalence of such linkages in regulatory policies. This article then analyzes the implementation of equality considerations in public procurement in the specific case of a local council in Germany. The findings highlight the importance not only of the existence of legal regulations but also of their design and suggest that in the case of voluntary regulations, structural incentives may encourage public bodies not to use the existing scope for equality considerations, particularly if they encounter an unfavorable environment. HIGHLIGHTS The EU and member states, including Germany, increasingly aim to use public procurement as a lever to promote (gender) equality. However, the literature suggests low prevalence of equality considerations in public-procurement practices An analysis of gender-equality sensitive procurement in Germany finds the design of legal regulations is as important as their existence. Policymakers should create administrative incentive systems to promote the successful implementation of equality considerations in public procurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving women's agency, namely their ability to define goals and act on them, is crucial for advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women. Yet, existing frameworks for measuring women's agency – both disorganized and partial – provide a fragmented understanding of the constraints women face in exercising their agency, thus restricting the design of reliable and valid interventions and evaluation of their impact. This paper proposes a multidisciplinary framework for capturing individual agency, containing three critical dimensions: goal setting, perceived control and ability to initiate action toward goals ("sense of agency"), and acting on goals. For each dimension, the paper reviews existing measurement approaches and what is known about their relative quality. The study concludes by highlighting that future research to improve the measurement of women's agency should prioritize incorporating different contexts, age groups, and decision-making areas to ensure programming and policies are meaningful to the lives of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the impact of the Child Support Grant (CSG) implemented in South Africa on the labor supply of the parents of beneficiary children. The aim is to assess whether the program improved or lessened gender inequality in the labor market. Using data from a national panel survey and applying a fuzzy regression discontinuity design that exploits an expansion in eligibility due to a discontinuous change in age eligibility, the results show that the CSG had a negative effect on the probability of parents of beneficiary children being employed and mixed effects on the participation in the labor force, with substantial heterogeneity by gender and by other individual and household characteristics. Overall, the evaluation suggests that the program provided support to members of vulnerable households in coping with the constraints of the South African labor market, but it did not reshape existing gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the link between the share of women managers and the size of the firm-level gender pay gap, looking separately at the private and public sectors. Using a large linked employer–employee dataset for Poland and nonparametric and parametric decompositions, the study finds that a greater share of women managers is associated with an increased advantage for women in selected types of public-sector units: the ones in which remunerations of women and men are already equal, and a large share of the workforce is tertiary-educated. The effects are, however, relatively small in size. In private establishments, lower gender wage inequality is associated with higher shares of women workers, but not women managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite having higher average education levels, Nicaraguan women still earn much less than men. Furthermore, the country has one of the highest levels of occupational gender segregation in Latin America. This paper aims to explain the gender income gap in Nicaragua, taking into account individual characteristics, engagement in specific occupations and sectors, and geographical location. Using a multilevel framework, the study finds that while a considerable part of the income gap can be explained by women's employment in occupations and sectors with low remuneration, another substantial part of this gap is attributable to the prevalence of patriarchal gender norms – and thus cannot be explained by human capital factors. These results show that understanding labor market segregation is vital for comprehending the perseverance of the gender income gap, and they further imply that women's progress in breaching the gender stereotypes in Nicaragua is still limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides empirical evidence of the gender gap in retirement savings trajectories using a large longitudinal Australian database. The persistent trend of retirement income policy over recent decades has been to place responsibility for retirement savings accumulation with the individual employee. These plans are fundamentally linked to employment conditions and individual choices, which shape retirement savings trajectories and outcomes. Australia has a mature compulsory system and thus provides insight for countries embarking on similar paths. This study shows that the gender gap in retirement savings is observable from early on in an individual's paid working life and persists over time, providing evidence that women are disadvantaged early in their careers, with few signs of improvement. Men, in contrast, are overrepresented in the upper quartile of growth in retirement savings. This study provides important empirical evidence for policymakers concerned with gender differences in retirement outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite recent progress, women are still disadvantaged by their greater domestic labor commitments and impaired access to well-paid jobs; and, in extreme cases, denied the right to live. This has consequences for the well-being of individuals and economic development. Although tools to evaluate country performance in gender equality, especially composite indicators, have been developed since the 1990s, a historical perspective is lacking. This study introduces a composite index of gender equality covering 129 countries from 1950 to 2003. This index measures gender equality in four dimensions (socioeconomic, health, household, and politics). The index shows substantial progress in gender equality, though there is little evidence that less gender-equal countries are catching up. Goldin's "quiet revolution" hypothesis is tested as an explanation for this observation, but fails to provide a good explanation. Rather, the long-term institutional and historical characteristics of countries are the main obstacles to convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]