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Winners and Losers: The Consequences of Welfare State Policies for Gender Wage Inequality

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  • Hadas Mandel

Abstract

Cross-national studies of the impact of welfare states on gender inequality tend to overlook socioeconomic divisions among women. This paper challenges the implicit assumption that welfare states have uniform effects on the labour market attainments of all women, arguing that the impact of state intervention is necessarily conditioned by women’s relative advantage or disadvantage in the labour market. Based on micro-datasets from 21 advanced countries, the findings suggest that welfare state policies interact with socioeconomic position in determining women’s economic rewards, tending to penalize highly skilled women while benefiting the less-skilled. Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of social policies in light of the particular groups they benefit, as well as their implications for other groups, the paper concludes that more research is needed to explore differentiated approaches to reconciling work and family, rather than addressing universal work-family tensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Hadas Mandel, 2010. "Winners and Losers: The Consequences of Welfare State Policies for Gender Wage Inequality," LIS Working papers 550, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:550
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    Cited by:

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    2. Eyal Bar-Haim & Louis Chauvel & Janet C. Gornick & Anne Hartung, 2023. "The Persistence of the Gender Earnings Gap: Cohort Trends and the Role of Education in Twelve Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 821-841, February.
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    5. Uribe, Ana Maria Tribin & Vargas, Carmiña O. & Bustamante, Natalia Ramírez, 2019. "Unintended consequences of maternity leave legislation: The case of Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 218-232.

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