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Explaining the gender gap in job satisfaction

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  • Paul Redmond
  • Seamus McGuinness

Abstract

In general, women report greater job satisfaction than men. The existing literature cannot fully explain the nature of this difference, as the gap tends to persist even when controlling for job characteristics. In this paper, we study job satisfaction using recent data for 28 EU countries. Women, on average, are more satisfied than men and the gap remains even when we account for a wide range of personal, job and family characteristics. However, the gap disappears when we include job preferences, as women place greater importance on work-life balance and the intrinsic desirability of the work.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Redmond & Seamus McGuinness, 2020. "Explaining the gender gap in job satisfaction," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(17), pages 1415-1418, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:27:y:2020:i:17:p:1415-1418
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2019.1686111
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Redmond & Seamus Mcguinness, 2019. "The Gender Wage Gap in Europe: Job Preferences, Gender Convergence and Distributional Effects," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 81(3), pages 564-587, June.
    2. Clark, Andrew E., 1997. "Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 341-372, December.
    3. P. J. Sloane & H. Williams, 2000. "Job Satisfaction, Comparison Earnings, and Gender," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 14(3), pages 473-502, September.
    4. Lutz C. Kaiser, 2007. "Gender-job satisfaction differences across Europe: An indicator for labour market modernization," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(1), pages 75 - 94, October.
    5. Lutz C. Kaiser, 2007. "Gender‐job satisfaction differences across Europe," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 75-94, April.
    6. Keith A. Bender & Susan M. Donohue & John S. Heywood, 2005. "Job satisfaction and gender segregation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 479-496, July.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hirschman, Daniel, 2021. ""Controlling for what?" Folk economics, legal consciousness and the gender wage gap in the United States," SocArXiv j8pra, Center for Open Science.
    3. Aysit Tansel, 2022. "Job Satisfaction, Structure of Working Environment and Firm Size," ERC Working Papers 2202, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Jun 2022.
    4. Andrea Dominguez & Rocío Diez, 2022. "Gender Barriers in Academia: Perceptions of Inequality in Professional Development among Female Academics in the Faculty of Education, University of Alicante, Spain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-12, November.
    5. Bamieh, Omar & Ziegler, Lennart, 2023. "Gender-age differences in hiring rates and prospective wages—Evidence from job referrals to unemployed workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    6. Aslı ERMİŞ-MERT, 2020. "A Multivariate Investigation of Overall Happiness, Job Satisfaction and Income Satisfaction of Women and Men in TurkeyAbstract: This paper examines the factors affecting working women’s and men’s over," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 28(44).
    7. FitzRoy, Felix & Nolan, Michael A., 2020. "Towards Economic Democracy and Social Justice: Profit Sharing, Co-Determination, and Employee Ownership," IZA Discussion Papers 13238, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Harris-Fry, Helen & Lamson, Lauren & Roett, Katelyn & Katz, Elizabeth, 2022. "Reducing gender bias in household consumption data: Implications for food fortification policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    9. Bamieh, Omar & Ziegler, Lennart, 2022. "Can Wage Transparency Alleviate Gender Sorting in the Labor Market?," IZA Discussion Papers 15363, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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