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on Gender |
| By: | Teodora Boneva (University of Bonn); Thomas Buser (University of Amsterdam); Armin Falk (briq and the University of Bonn); Fabian Kosse (LMU Munich) |
| Abstract: | We present evidence on the role of the social environment for the development of gender differences in competitiveness and earnings expectations. First, we document that the gender gap in competitiveness and earnings expectations is more pronounced among adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES). We further document that there is a positive association between the competitiveness of mothers and their daughters, but not between the competitiveness of mothers and their sons. Second, we show that a randomized mentoring intervention that exposes low-SES children to predominantly female role models causally affects girls' willingness to compete and narrows both the gender gap in competitiveness as well as the gender gap in earnings expectations. Together, the results highlight the importance of the social environment in shaping willingness to compete and earnings expectations at a young age. |
| Keywords: | competitiveness, socioeconomic status, Inequality |
| JEL: | J16 J13 D63 |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2021-049&r= |
| By: | Katherine B. Coffman; Paola Ugalde Araya; Basit Zafar |
| Abstract: | Many decisions – such as what educational or career path to pursue – are dynamic in nature, with individuals receiving feedback at one point in time and making decisions later. Using a controlled experiment, with two sessions one week apart, we analyze the dynamic effects of feedback on beliefs about own performance and decision-making across two different domains (verbal skills and math). We find significant gender gaps in beliefs and choices before feedback: men are more optimistic about their performance and more willing to compete than women in both domains, but the gaps are significantly larger in math. Feedback significantly shifts individuals' beliefs and choices. Despite this, we see substantial persistence of gender gaps over time. This is particularly true among the set of individuals who receive negative feedback. We find that, holding fixed performance and decisions before feedback, women update their beliefs and choices more negatively than men do after bad news. Our results highlight the challenges involved in overcoming gender gaps in dynamic settings. |
| JEL: | C91 D80 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29382&r= |
| By: | Katherine Lim; Mike Zabek |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study declines in women's labor force participation by race and ethnicity as well as the presence of children. We find that increases in labor force exits were larger for Black women, Latinas, and women living with children. In particular, we find larger increases in pandemic-era labor force exits among women living with children under age 6 and among lower-earning women living with school-age children after controlling for detailed job and demographic characteristics. Latinas and Black women also had larger increases in labor force exits during the pandemic relative to White women. Differences in the presence of children and household structure explain one-quarter of the excess labor force exits among women of color. |
| Keywords: | Women; Labor Force Participation; Race; Ethnicity; Labor Supply; COVID-19 |
| JEL: | H31 I14 I18 J16 J70 |
| Date: | 2021–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2021-67&r= |