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Gender and Job Satisfaction in Urban China: The Role of Individual, Family, and Job Characteristics

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  • Ye Luo

Abstract

This study examines gender differences in job satisfaction in urban Chinese, whether individual achieved status, family and household characteristics, and job characteristics explain these differences, and whether these factors are associated with men’s and women’s job satisfaction differently using a national representative sample of 1,641 men and 1,375 women from the 2006 Chinese General Social Survey. Urban Chinese women are less satisfied with their jobs than urban Chinese men. This gender difference is largely explained by women’s underrepresentation in the Chinese Communist Party and their inferior jobs. Family and household characteristics have stronger impact on women’s job satisfaction than on men’s, but achieved status and job characteristics have similar associations with job satisfaction for men and women. These findings suggest that persistent gender inequality is detrimental to women’s well-being at the workplace. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

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  • Ye Luo, 2016. "Gender and Job Satisfaction in Urban China: The Role of Individual, Family, and Job Characteristics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 289-309, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:125:y:2016:i:1:p:289-309
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0837-x
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    2. Giorgio Piccitto & Hans M. A. Schadee & Gabriele Ballarino, 2023. "Job Satisfaction and Gender in Italy: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 775-793, October.
    3. Adolfo C. Fernández Puente & Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez, 2021. "How Gender-Based Disparities affect Women’s Job Satisfaction? Evidence from Euro-Area," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 137-165, July.
    4. Xing Zhang & Micha Kaiser & Peng Nie & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2019. "Why are Chinese workers so unhappy? A comparative cross-national analysis of job satisfaction, job expectations, and job attributes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Jie Li & Wangshuai Wang & Gong Sun & Zhou Jiang & Zhiming Cheng, 2018. "Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi and Job Satisfaction Among Migrant Workers in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 293-307, August.
    6. Hassan Akhtar & Namra Munir & Zahoor Elahi, 2022. "Female Teachers Job Satisfaction and Working Conditions at Boys Primary School," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(4), pages 186-192, December.

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