IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2202.10344.html

Commuting to work and gender-conforming social norms: evidence from same-sex couples

Author

Listed:
  • Sonia Oreffice
  • Dario Sansone

Abstract

We analyze work commute time by sexual orientation of partnered or married individuals, using the American Community Survey 2008-2019. Women in same-sex couples have a longer commute to work than working women in different-sex couples, whereas the commute to work of men in same-sex couples is shorter than the one of working men in different-sex couples, also after controlling for demographic characteristics, partner characteristics, location, fertility, and marital status. These differences are particularly stark among married couples with children: on average, about 3 minutes more one-way to work for married mothers in same-sex couples, and almost 2 minutes less for married fathers in same-sex couples, than their corresponding working parents in different-sex couples. These gaps among men and women amount to 50 percent, and 100 percent, respectively, of the gender commuting gap estimated in the literature. Within-couple gaps in commuting time are also significantly smaller in same-sex couples. We interpret these differences as evidence that it is gender-conforming social norms boosted by parenthood that lead women in different-sex couples to specialize into jobs with a shorter commute while their male partners or spouses hold jobs with a longer commute.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonia Oreffice & Dario Sansone, 2022. "Commuting to work and gender-conforming social norms: evidence from same-sex couples," Papers 2202.10344, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2202.10344
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2202.10344
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lídia Farré & Jordi Jofre-Monseny & Juan Torrecillas, 2023. "Commuting time and the gender gap in labor market participation," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 847-870.
    2. Heather Antecol & Michael D. Steinberger, 2013. "Labor Supply Differences Between Married Heterosexual Women And Partnered Lesbians: A Semi-Parametric Decomposition Approach," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 783-805, January.
    3. repec:oup:qjecon:v:136:y:2021:i:1:p:381-426. is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Gutierrez, Federico H., 2018. "Commuting Patterns, the Spatial Distribution of Jobs and the Gender Pay Gap in the U.S," GLO Discussion Paper Series 282, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Siminski, Peter & Yetsenga, Rhiannon, 2020. "Rethinking Specialisation and the Sexual Division of Labour in the 21st Century," IZA Discussion Papers 12977, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2010. "Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 228-255, July.
    7. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2021. "Does Biology Drive Child Penalties? Evidence from Biological and Adoptive Families," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 183-198, June.
    8. Borghorst, Malte & Mulalic, Ismir & van Ommeren, Jos, 2024. "Commuting, gender and children," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    9. Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn, 2000. "Power Couples: Changes in the Locational Choice of the College Educated, 1940–1990," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1287-1315.
    10. Christopher Carpenter, 2004. "New Evidence on Gay and Lesbian Household Incomes," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(1), pages 78-94, January.
    11. Petter Lundborg & Erik Plug & Astrid Würtz Rasmussen, 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1611-1637, June.
    12. Crane, Randall, 2007. "Is There a Quiet Revolution in Women's Travel? Revisiting the Gender Gap in Commuting," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt8nj9n8nb, University of California Transportation Center.
    13. Black, Dan A. & Kolesnikova, Natalia & Taylor, Lowell J., 2014. "Why do so few women work in New York (and so many in Minneapolis)? Labor supply of married women across US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 59-71.
    14. Nikolay Angelov & Per Johansson & Erica Lindahl, 2016. "Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Pay," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(3), pages 545-579.
    15. Black, Dan & Gates, Gary & Sanders, Seth & Taylor, Lowell, 2002. "Why Do Gay Men Live in San Francisco?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 54-76, January.
    16. bunten, devin michelle & Fu, Ellen & Rolheiser, Lyndsey & Severen, Christopher, 2024. "The Problem Has Existed over Endless Years: Racialized Difference in Commuting, 1980–2019," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    17. Dan A. Black & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2007. "The Economics of Lesbian and Gay Families," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 53-70, Spring.
    18. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2021. "Culture and the cross-country differences in the gender commuting gap," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    19. Curtis J Simon, 2019. "Migration and career attainment of power couples: the roles of city size and human capital composition," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 505-534.
    20. Oreffice, Sonia, 2011. "Sexual orientation and household decision making.: Same-sex couples' balance of power and labor supply choices," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 145-158, April.
    21. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    22. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    23. Marianne Bertrand & Patricia Cortes & Claudia Olivetti & Jessica Pan, 2021. "Social Norms, Labour Market Opportunities, and the Marriage Gap Between Skilled and Unskilled Women [Economics and Identity]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(4), pages 1936-1978.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Oreffice, Sonia & Sansone, Dario, 2023. "Commuting to work and gender norms by sexual orientation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Cai, Huan & Dong, Lu & Xie, Jian, 2025. "The Digital Second Shift: Gender Gap in Parenting App Usage in China," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 765, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    3. Moberg, Ylva, 2016. "Does the gender composition in couples matter for the division of labor after childbirth?," Working Paper Series 2016:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    4. de la Vega, Noa, 2022. "The differential effect of childbirth on men's and women's careers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Olivetti, Claudia & Pan, Jessica & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "The evolution of gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    6. Jon H Fiva & Max-Emil M King, 2024. "Child Penalties in Politics," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(658), pages 648-670.
    7. Sun, Ang & Xia, Fang & Zhang, Xuan, 2025. "The motherhood penalty on health: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    8. Artmann, Elisabeth & Oosterbeek, Hessel & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2022. "Household specialization and the child penalty in the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Michael E. Martell & Peyton Nash, 2020. "For Love and Money? Earnings and Marriage Among Same-Sex Couples," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 260-294, September.
    10. Aguilar-Gomez, Sandra & Arceo-Gomez, Eva O. & De la Cruz Toledo, Elia, 2026. "Inside the black box of child penalties: Unpaid work and household structure," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    11. Markus Nagler & Johannes Rincke & Erwin Winkler, 2024. "Working from home, commuting, and gender," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Borghorst, Malte & Mulalic, Ismir & van Ommeren, Jos, 2024. "Commuting, gender and children," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    13. Gloria Moroni & Cheti Nicoletti & Kjell Salvanes & Emma Tominey, 2025. "Gender equality through marriage," CEPEO Working Paper Series 25-16, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Dec 2025.
    14. Estefanía Galván & Cecilia García‐Peñalosa, 2025. "Interactions among gender norms: Evidence from US couples," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 72(1), February.
    15. Nieto, Adrián, 2021. "Native-immigrant differences in the effect of children on the gender pay gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 654-680.
    16. Alexander Ahammer & Ulrich Glogowsky & Martin Halla & Timo Hener, 2023. "The Parenthood Penalty in Mental Health: Evidence from Austria and Denmark," CESifo Working Paper Series 10676, CESifo.
    17. Lergetporer, Philipp & Rittmannsberger, Thomas & Werner, Katharina & Zeidler, Helen, 2025. "Anchoring Effects in the Elicitation of Multidimensional Beliefs: Evidence from a Representative Survey Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 17931, IZA Network @ LISER.
    18. Ali M. Ahmed & Lina Andersson & Mats Hammarstedt, 2011. "Inter‐ and Intra‐Household Earnings Differentials among Homosexual and Heterosexual Couples," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 258-278, July.
    19. Emily Nix & Martin Eckhoff Andresen, 2019. "What Causes the Child Penalty? Evidence from Same Sex Couples and Policy Reforms," Discussion Papers 902, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    20. Josef Montag, 2015. "What Drives the Gender Gap? An Analysis Using Sexual Orientation," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 577-608, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:arx:papers:2202.10344. 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: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    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.