Labor market discrimination – are women still more secondary workers?
Abstract
Discrimination based on gender is commonly observed on labor markets, although its scale and symptoms are different with regard to country and are subject to changes over time. Gender-related diverse flows on the labor market constitute one of its symptoms. The paper’s main objective was to answer the question whether women on the labor market were still secondary workers. The analysis was conducted based on general models of flows on the labour market, examining connections between changes in a number of unemployed and changes in a number of employed men and women. There were applied data for eight OECD countries from various regions of the world. The obtained results were highly diversified depending on the analysis period and country. However, they confirmed that in the past women had been more secondary workers despite no differences in the unemployment rate. Gender impact was noticeable especially in the employment decrease periods. For data after the year 1990, gender-related differences disappeared or significantly decreased in four countries (Australia, Denmark, United Kingdom, United States), but in two of them (Canada, South Korea) – differences increased.
First published online 29 October 2020
Keyword : labor market, employment, worker flows, gender, OECD countries, global crises
How to Cite
Rembeza, J., & Radlińska, K. (2021). Labor market discrimination – are women still more secondary workers?. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 22(1), 77-97. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2020.13648
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Hudson, K. (2007). The new labor market segmentation: Labor market dualism in the new economy. Social Science Research, 36(1), 286–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2005.11.005
Jung, H., & Cho, J. (2020). Gender inequality of job security: veiling glass ceiling in Korea. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 25(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860.2019.1631528
Kim, J., Lee, J-W., & Shin, K. (2018). Gender inequality and economic growth in Korea. Pacific Economic Review, 23(4), 658–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0106.12181
Lažetić, P. (2020). The gender gap in graduate job quality in Europe – a comparative analysis across economic sectors and countries. Oxford Review of Education, 46(1), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2019.1687439
McDonald, I. M., & Solow, M. R. (1985). Wages and employment in a segmented labor market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 100(4), 1115–1141. https://doi.org/10.2307/1885677
Mosthaf, A., Schank, T., & Schnabel, C. (2014). Low-wage employment versus unemployment: Which one provides better prospects for women? IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9012-3-21
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Ogawa, S. (2019). Dynamic analysis of a disequilibrium macroeconomic model with dual labor markets. Metroeconomica, 70(3), 525–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/meca.12255
Osterman, P. (1985). An empirical study of labor market segmentation. ILR Review, 28(4), 508–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979397502800402
Pascall, G. (2008). Gender and European Welfare States. In C. Aspalter & P. Abrahamson (Eds.), Understanding European Social Policy. Casa Verde Publishing.
Petrongolo, B., & Pissarides, C. A. (2001). Looking into the black box: A survey of the matching function. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2), 390–431. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.2.390
Powell, L. M. (1997). The impact of child care costs on the labour supply of married mothers: Evidence from Canada. Canadian Journal of Economics, 30(3), 577–594. https://www.jstor.org/stable/136234
Ridgeway, C. L. (1997). Interaction and the conservation of gender inequality: Considering employment. American Sociological Review, 62(2), 218–235. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2657301
Saint-Paul, G. (1996). Dual labor markets: a macroeconomic perspective. MIT Press.
Sánchez‐Mira, N. (2019). Work–family arrangements and the crisis in Spain: Balkanized gender contracts? Gender, Work & Organization, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12417
Seguino, S. (2000). Accounting for gender in Asian economic growth. Feminist Economics, 6(3), 27–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457000750020128
Shimer, R. (2012). Reassessing the ins and outs of unemployment. Review of Economic Dynamics, 15(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2012.02.001
Siebert, H. (1997). Labor market rigidities: At the root of unemployment in Europe. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(3), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.11.3.37
Stephan, G. (2010). Employer wage subsidies and wages in Germany: Empirical evidence from individual data. Zeitschrift für Arbeitsmarkt Forschung, 43(1), 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12651-010-0029-3
Svarer, M. (2011). The effect of sanctions on exit from unemployment: Evidence from Denmark. Economica, 78(312), 751–778. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2010.00851.x
Van den Berg, G. J., & Vikström, J. (2014). Monitoring job offer decisions, punishments, exit to work, and job quality. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 116(2), 284–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjoe.12051
Wachter, M. L. (1972). A labor supply model for secondary workers. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 54(2), 141–151. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1926274
Agarwal, B. (1997). Bargaining and gender relations: Within and beyond the household. Feminist Economics, 3(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457097338799
Albanesi, S., & Sahin, A. (2018). The gender unemployment gap. Review of Economic Dynamics, 30, 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2017.12.005
Amable, B., Demmou, L., & Gatti, D. (2006). Institutions, unemployment and inactivity in the OECD countries (Working paper No. 16). Paris-Jourdan Sciences Économiques.
Azmat, G., Güell, M., & Manning, A. (2006). Gender gaps in unemployment rates in OECD countries. Journal of Labor Economics, 24(1), 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1086/497817
Bachmann, R., & Sinning, M. (2016). Decomposing the ins and outs of cyclical unemployment. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 78(6), 853–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.12133
Bentolila, S., Dolado, J. J., & Jimeno, J. F. (2019). Dual labour markets revisited (CESifo Working Paper No. 7479). https://ssrn.com/abstract=3338834
Bertrand, M., & Hallock, K. F. (2001). The gender gap in top corporate jobs. ILR Review, 55(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390105500101
Blanchard, O. J. (2006). European unemployment: The evolution of facts and ideas. Economic Policy, 21(45), 6–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0327.2006.00153.x
Blanchard, O. J., Diamond, P., Hall, R. E., & Murphy, K. (1990). The cyclical behavior of the gross flows of US workers. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1990(2), 85–155. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534505
Borland, J., & Coelli, M. (2016). Labour market inequality in Australia. Economic Record, 92(299), 517–547. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475–4932.12285
Boston, T. D. (1990). Segmented labor markets: New evidence from a study of four race-gender groups. ILR Review, 44(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979399004400107
Buddelmeyer, H., Wang-Sheng L., & Wooden, M. (2010). Low‐paid employment and unemployment dynamics in Australia. Economic Record, 86(272), 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2009.00595.x
Cappellari, L. (2007). Earnings mobility among Italian low-paid workers. Journal of Population Economics, 20(2), 465–482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-006-0065-z
Dickens, W., & Lang, K. (1985). Testing dual labor market theory: A reconsideration of the evidence (Working Paper No. 1670). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w1670
Eichhorst, W., Marx, P., & Wehner, C. (2017). Labor market reforms in Europe: Towards more flexicure labor markets? Journal for Labour Market Research, 51(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-017-0231-7
Elsby, M. W. L., Michaels, G., & Solon, G. (2009). The ins and outs of cyclical unemployment. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 1(1), 84–110. https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.1.1.84
Fernández-Macías, E., & Vacas, C. (2015). Recent developments in the distribution of wages in Europe. Publications Office of the European Union.
Fortin, N. M. (2005). Gender role attitudes and the labour-market outcomes of women across OECD countries. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(3), 416–438. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/gri024
Gimenez-Nadal, I., & Molina, J. A. (2014). Regional unemployment, gender, and time allocation of the unemployed. Review of Economics of the Household, 12(1), 105–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-013-9186-9
Graham, J., & Shakow, D. M. (1990). Labor market segmentation and job‐related risk: Differences in risk and compensation between primary and secondary labor markets. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 49(3), 307–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.1990.tb02285.x
Hall, R. E., Gordon, A., & Holt, Ch. (1972). Turnover in the labor force. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1972(3), 709–764. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2534130
Heywood, J. S., Siebert, W. S., & Wei, X. (2007). The implicit wage costs of family friendly work practices. Oxford Economic Papers, 59(2), 275–300. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpm006
Hudson, K. (2007). The new labor market segmentation: Labor market dualism in the new economy. Social Science Research, 36(1), 286–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2005.11.005
Jung, H., & Cho, J. (2020). Gender inequality of job security: veiling glass ceiling in Korea. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 25(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860.2019.1631528
Kim, J., Lee, J-W., & Shin, K. (2018). Gender inequality and economic growth in Korea. Pacific Economic Review, 23(4), 658–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0106.12181
Lažetić, P. (2020). The gender gap in graduate job quality in Europe – a comparative analysis across economic sectors and countries. Oxford Review of Education, 46(1), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2019.1687439
McDonald, I. M., & Solow, M. R. (1985). Wages and employment in a segmented labor market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 100(4), 1115–1141. https://doi.org/10.2307/1885677
Mosthaf, A., Schank, T., & Schnabel, C. (2014). Low-wage employment versus unemployment: Which one provides better prospects for women? IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9012-3-21
Mukhopadhyay, M. (2016). Mainstreaming gender or “streaming” gender away: Feminists marooned in the development business. In The Palgrave handbook of gender and development (pp. 77–91). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-38273-3_6
Nickell, S., Nunziata, L., & Ochel, W. (2004). Unemployment in the OECD since the 1960s. What do we know? The Economic Journal, 115(500), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00958.x
Ogawa, S. (2019). Dynamic analysis of a disequilibrium macroeconomic model with dual labor markets. Metroeconomica, 70(3), 525–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/meca.12255
Osterman, P. (1985). An empirical study of labor market segmentation. ILR Review, 28(4), 508–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979397502800402
Pascall, G. (2008). Gender and European Welfare States. In C. Aspalter & P. Abrahamson (Eds.), Understanding European Social Policy. Casa Verde Publishing.
Petrongolo, B., & Pissarides, C. A. (2001). Looking into the black box: A survey of the matching function. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(2), 390–431. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.2.390
Powell, L. M. (1997). The impact of child care costs on the labour supply of married mothers: Evidence from Canada. Canadian Journal of Economics, 30(3), 577–594. https://www.jstor.org/stable/136234
Ridgeway, C. L. (1997). Interaction and the conservation of gender inequality: Considering employment. American Sociological Review, 62(2), 218–235. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2657301
Saint-Paul, G. (1996). Dual labor markets: a macroeconomic perspective. MIT Press.
Sánchez‐Mira, N. (2019). Work–family arrangements and the crisis in Spain: Balkanized gender contracts? Gender, Work & Organization, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12417
Seguino, S. (2000). Accounting for gender in Asian economic growth. Feminist Economics, 6(3), 27–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457000750020128
Shimer, R. (2012). Reassessing the ins and outs of unemployment. Review of Economic Dynamics, 15(2), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2012.02.001
Siebert, H. (1997). Labor market rigidities: At the root of unemployment in Europe. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(3), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.11.3.37
Stephan, G. (2010). Employer wage subsidies and wages in Germany: Empirical evidence from individual data. Zeitschrift für Arbeitsmarkt Forschung, 43(1), 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12651-010-0029-3
Svarer, M. (2011). The effect of sanctions on exit from unemployment: Evidence from Denmark. Economica, 78(312), 751–778. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2010.00851.x
Van den Berg, G. J., & Vikström, J. (2014). Monitoring job offer decisions, punishments, exit to work, and job quality. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 116(2), 284–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjoe.12051
Wachter, M. L. (1972). A labor supply model for secondary workers. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 54(2), 141–151. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1926274