Olivetti, Claudia, Petrongolo, Barbara, (2016), “The evolution of the gender gap in industrialized countries”, Centre for Economic Policy Research, January.
Women in developed economies have made major inroads in labor markets throughout the past century, but remaining gender differences in pay and employment seem remarkably persistent. This paper documents long-run trends in female employment, working hours and relative wages for a wide cross-section of developed economies. It reviews existing work on the factors driving gender convergence, and novel perspectives on remaining gender gaps. The paper finally emphasizes the interplay between gender trends and the evolution of the industry structure. Based on a shift-share decomposition, it shows that the growth in the service share can explain at least half of the overall variation in female hours, both over time and across countries.
Relevant Posts
- OECD, (2015), In It Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All, 21 May.
- Eurostat News Release: 8 March 2015: International Women’s Day – Women earned on average 16% less than men in 2013 in the EU, 2 out of 3 managers are men, 2 out of 3 clerical workers are women, 05 March 2015.