IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/apandp/v113y2023p427-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Males Should Mail? Gender Discrimination in Access to Childcare

Author

Listed:
  • Henning Hermes
  • Philipp Lergetporer
  • Frauke Peter
  • Fabian Mierisch
  • Simon Wiederhold

Abstract

This study investigates discrimination against women when searching and applying for childcare in a nationwide field experiment. We send emails from fictitious parents to 9,313 childcare centers in Germany inquiring about access to childcare. We randomize whether the email is sent by the child's mother or father. Our results show that women receive shorter and less positive responses than men. The probability of receiving a response does not differ by gender, highlighting the importance of going beyond response rates to detect discrimination. We provide suggestive evidence that regional differences in gender discrimination are related to gender norms.

Suggested Citation

  • Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Fabian Mierisch & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Males Should Mail? Gender Discrimination in Access to Childcare," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 427-431, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:427-31
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231060
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20231060
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/E191521V1
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20231060.appx
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20231060.ds
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1257/pandp.20231060?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Bergman & Isaac McFarlin Jr., 2018. "Education for All? A Nationwide Audit Study of School Choice," NBER Working Papers 25396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2023. "Discrimination in Universal Social Programs? A Nationwide Field Experiment on Access to Child Care," CEPR Discussion Papers 18113, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 14698, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Jessen, Jonas & Schmitz, Sophia & Waights, Sevrin, 2020. "Understanding day care enrolment gaps," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    5. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    6. Bicchieri, Cristina & Dimant, Eugen & Gächter, Simon & Nosenzo, Daniele, 2022. "Social proximity and the erosion of norm compliance," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 59-72.
    7. Marianne Bertrand, 2020. "Gender in the Twenty-First Century," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 1-24, May.
    8. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2020. "The Gender Gap in Time Allocation in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 13461, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Martin Eckhoff Andresen & Emily Nix, 2022. "What Causes the Child Penalty? Evidence from Adopting and Same-Sex Couples," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(4), pages 971-1004.
    10. repec:bav:wpaper:225_hermesetal is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Fabian Mierisch & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Discrimination on the Child Care Market: A Nationwide Field Experiment," Working Papers 225, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Information about inequality in early child care reduces polarization in policy preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Henning Hermes & Marina Krauß & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2022. "Early Child Care, Maternal Labor Supply, and Gender Equality: A Randomized Controlled Trial," CESifo Working Paper Series 10178, CESifo.
    2. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Does Information about Inequality and Discrimination in Early Child Care Affect Policy Preferences?," IZA Discussion Papers 16759, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Hermes, Henning & Krauß, Marina & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2022. "Early child care and labor supply of lower-SES mothers: A randomized controlled trial," DICE Discussion Papers 394, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    4. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    5. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Mierisch, Fabian & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Information about inequality in early child care reduces polarization in policy preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    6. Steinberg Hannah S. & Schüller Simone & Öztürk Yasmin & Klein Thilo & Schober Pia, 2024. "Alleinerziehende in der Betreuungsplatzvergabe: Status quo und Handlungsempfehlungen," Wirtschaftsdienst, Sciendo, vol. 104(5), pages 336-342, May.
    7. Angerer, Silvia & Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela & Lergetporer, Philipp & Rittmannsberger, Thomas, 2024. "Beliefs about social norms and gender-based polarization of COVID-19 vaccination readiness," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    8. Boneva, Teodora & Golin, Marta & Kaufmann, Katja Maria & Rauh, Christopher, 2022. "Beliefs about Maternal Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 15788, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Zhiyang Jia & Thor O. Thoresen & Trine E. Vattø & Thor Olav Thoresen, 2024. "Explaining the Declining Labor Supply Responsiveness of Married Women," CESifo Working Paper Series 11176, CESifo.
    10. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Fabian Mierisch & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Discrimination on the Child Care Market: A Nationwide Field Experiment," Working Papers 225, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    11. Wonsik Ko & Robert A. Moffitt, 2022. "Take-up of Social Benefits," NBER Working Papers 30148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Jonas Jessen & Christa Katharina Spieß & Sevrin Waights, 2022. "Centre‐Based Care and Parenting Activities," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(6), pages 1356-1379, December.
    13. Angerer, Silvia & Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela & Lergetporer, Philipp & Rittmannsberger, Thomas, 2023. "How does the vaccine approval procedure affect COVID-19 vaccination intentions?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    14. Freundl Vera & Pfaehler Franziska & Schoner Florian & Wößmann Ludger, 2023. "Sinkendes Leistungsniveau, hohe Chancenungleichheit – Stand und Handlungsoptionen für die deutsche Schulbildung," Wirtschaftsdienst, Sciendo, vol. 103(4), pages 233-237, April.
    15. Alessandra Casarico & Salvatore Lattanzio, 2023. "Behind the child penalty: understanding what contributes to the labour market costs of motherhood," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1489-1511, July.
    16. Johannes Baur & Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Fabian Mierisch & Guido Schwerdt & Simon Wiederhold, 2024. "Was weiß die deutsche Bevölkerung über Ungleichheiten im Zugang zu Kitas? Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Befragung," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 77(10), pages 36-38, October.
    17. Fischer, Sandra & Glaser, Stella & Stöbe-Blossey, Sybille, 2024. "Zwischen (Rechts-)Anspruch und Realität: Soziale Selektivität in der Kindertagesförderung," IAQ-Report 2024-06, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ).
    18. Lidia Farré & Cristina Felfe & Libertad González Luna & Patrick Schneider, 2022. "Changing gender norms across generations: Evidence from a paternity leave reform," Economics Working Papers 1812, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    19. Oreffice, Sonia & Sansone, Dario, 2023. "Commuting to work and gender norms by sexual orientation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. Francesca Barigozzi & Helmuth Cremer & Emmanuel Thibault, 2024. "The motherhood wage and income traps," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 1-26, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:427-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.