IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_12551.html

It’s a Man’s World: Culture of Abuse, #Metoo and Worker Flows

Author

Listed:
  • Cyprien Batut
  • Caroline Coly
  • Sarah Schneider-Strawczynski

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the #MeToo movement in the workplace, drawing on French survey data on harassment behaviours and administrative data on worker flows. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that, following the #MeToo movement, women began leaving high-risk workplaces at a significantly higher rate. This increase is mainly driven by women who quit their jobs. Both men and women who exit high-risk plants subsequently adjust their job search strategies toward less toxic workplaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Cyprien Batut & Caroline Coly & Sarah Schneider-Strawczynski, 2026. "It’s a Man’s World: Culture of Abuse, #Metoo and Worker Flows," CESifo Working Paper Series 12551, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12551
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifo.de/DocDL/cesifo1_wp12551.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maëlle Stricot, 2024. "Le traitement judiciaire des violences sexuelles et conjugales en France," Institut des Politiques Publiques halshs-04563109, HAL.
    2. Andreas Madestam & Daniel Shoag & Stan Veuger & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2013. "Do Political Protests Matter? Evidence from the Tea Party Movement," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(4), pages 1633-1685.
    3. Olle Folke & Johanna Rickne, 2022. "Sexual Harassment and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market [High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 137(4), pages 2163-2212.
    4. Wasow, Omar, 2020. "Agenda Seeding: How 1960s Black Protests Moved Elites, Public Opinion and Voting," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(3), pages 638-659, August.
    5. Antoine Bertheau & Edoardo Maria Acabbi & Cristina Barceló & Andreas Gulyas & Stefano Lombardi & Raffaele Saggio, 2023. "The Unequal Consequences of Job Loss across Countries," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 393-408, September.
    6. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(5), pages 1306-1355.
    7. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Soumyajit Mazumder, 2018. "The Persistent Effect of U.S. Civil Rights Protests on Political Attitudes," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(4), pages 922-935, October.
    9. Hong Luo & Laurina Zhang, 2022. "Scandal, Social Movement, and Change: Evidence from #MeToo in Hollywood," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1278-1296, February.
    10. John M. Abowd & Francis Kramarz & David N. Margolis, 1999. "High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 251-334, March.
    11. Pauline Carry, 2022. "The Effects of the Legal Minimum Working Time on Workers, Firms and the Labor Market," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-04067393, HAL.
    12. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    13. Nina Roussille, 2024. "The Role of the Ask Gap in Gender Pay Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 139(3), pages 1557-1610.
    14. Maëlle Stricot, 2024. "Le traitement judiciaire des violences sexuelles et conjugales en France," Post-Print halshs-04563109, HAL.
    15. Laura Hospido & Luc Laeven & Ana Lamo, 2022. "The Gender Promotion Gap: Evidence from Central Banking," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(5), pages 981-996, December.
    16. David Card & Alexandre Mas & Jesse Rothstein, 2008. "Tipping and the Dynamics of Segregation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 177-218.
    17. Fernández, Raquel, 2007. "Women, Work and Culture," CEPR Discussion Papers 6153, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Reny, Tyler T. & Newman, Benjamin J., 2021. "The Opinion-Mobilizing Effect of Social Protest against Police Violence: Evidence from the 2020 George Floyd Protests," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 115(4), pages 1499-1507, November.
    19. Ashesh Rambachan & Jonathan Roth, 2023. "A More Credible Approach to Parallel Trends," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(5), pages 2555-2591.
    20. Abi Adams-Prassl & Kristiina Huttunen & Emily Nix & Ning Zhang, 2024. "Violence against Women at Work," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 139(2), pages 937-991.
    21. Amory Gethin & Vincent Pons, 2024. "The Limited Effects of U.S. Protests," NBER Working Papers 32342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. repec:hal:psewpa:halshs-04563109 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Andreas Olden & Jarle Møen, 2022. "The triple difference estimator [Semiparametric difference-in-differences estimators]," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 25(3), pages 531-553.
    24. Pauline Carry, 2022. "The Effects of the Legal Minimum Working Time on Workers, Firms and the Labor Market," Working Papers hal-04067393, HAL.
    25. Feng Chen & Wei Long, 2024. "Silence breaking: sex crime reporting in the MeToo era," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-30, March.
    26. Jiafeng Chen & Jonathan Roth, 2024. "Logs with Zeros? Some Problems and Solutions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 139(2), pages 891-936.
    27. Lins, Karl V. & Roth, Lukas & Servaes, Henri & Tamayo, Ane, 2024. "Sexism, culture, and firm value: evidence from the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122737, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    28. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    29. John C. Haltiwanger & Henry R. Hyatt & Lisa B. Kahn & Erika McEntarfer, 2018. "Cyclical Job Ladders by Firm Size and Firm Wage," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 52-85, April.
    30. Raquel Fernández, 2007. "Alfred Marshall Lecture Women, Work, and Culture," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(2-3), pages 305-332, 04-05.
    31. Emma Duchini & Clémentine Van Effenterre, 2024. "School Schedule and the Gender Pay Gap," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(4), pages 1052-1089.
    32. David Card & Fabrizio Colella & Rafael Lalive, 2025. "Gender Preferences in Job Vacancies and Workplace Gender Diversity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 92(4), pages 2437-2471.
    33. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391951, HAL.
    34. Raquel Fernandez, 2007. "Women, Work, and Culture," NBER Working Papers 12888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    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. Cagatay Bircan & Guido Friebel & Tristan Stahl, 2025. "Gender Promotion Gaps in Knowledge Work: The Role of Task Assignment in Teams," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2518, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    2. Olivetti, Claudia & Pan, Jessica & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "The evolution of gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    3. Petter Lundborg & Johan Vikström & Negar Khaliliaraghi, 2026. "Gender Gaps Under Comparable Tasks: Evidence from Quasi-Random Assignment," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26028, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    4. Adnan, Wifag & Miaari, Sami H., 2018. "Voting patterns and the gender wage gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 222-247.
    5. Tommaso Giommoni & Enrico Rubolino, 2024. "The Cost of Gender Identity Norms: Evidence from a Spouse Tax Credit," CESifo Working Paper Series 11311, CESifo.
    6. Helppie-McFall, Brooke & Parolin, Eric & Zafar, Basit, 2025. "Career expectations and outcomes: Evidence (on gender gaps) from the economics job market," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    7. Hannah Illing & Hanna Schwank & Linh T. Tô, 2024. "Hiring and the Dynamics of the Gender Gap," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 339, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    8. Giulia Briselli & Libertad González Luna, 2025. "Are men’s attitudes holding back fertility and women’s careers? Evidence from Europe," Economics Working Papers 1916, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    9. Cavapozzi, Danilo & Francesconi, Marco & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2021. "The impact of gender role norms on mothers’ labor supply," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 113-134.
    10. Francesconi, Marco & Nicoletti, Cheti & Cavapozzi, Danilo, 2021. "The Impact of Gender Role Norms on Mothers’ Labor Supply," CEPR Discussion Papers 15957, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Roeder, Kerstin, 2018. "Women's career choices, social norms and child care policies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 162-173.
    12. Riccardo Leoncini & Mariele Macaluso & Annalivia Polselli, 2024. "Gender segregation: analysis across sectoral dominance in the UK labour market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(5), pages 2289-2343, November.
    13. Benjamin Lochner & Christian Merkl, 2026. "Gender-Specific Application Behaviour, Matching, and the Residual Gender Earnings Gap," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 136(673), pages 97-124.
    14. Ghazala Azmat & Vicente Cuñat & Emeric Henry, 2020. "Gender Promotion Gaps: Career Aspirations and Workplace Discrimination," Working Papers hal-03874257, HAL.
    15. Cody Cook & Rebecca Diamond & Jonathan V Hall & John A List & Paul Oyer, 2021. "The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence from over a Million Rideshare Drivers [Measuring the Gig Economy: Current Knowledge and Open Issues]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(5), pages 2210-2238.
    16. Bastani, Spencer & Giebe, Thomas & Guertler, Oliver, 2024. "Overconfidence and gender gaps in career outcomes: insights from a promotion signaling model," Working Paper Series 2024:21, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    17. Johnsen, Julian & Ku, Hyejin, 2020. "Competition and Career Advancement: The Hidden Costs of Paid Leave," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 13/2020, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    18. Oscar Nupia Mart√≠nez & Carlos Andr√©s √Ålvarez Gallo, 2024. "The Impact of Massive Protests on Individual Attitudes," Documentos CEDE 21190, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    19. Filip Pertold & Sofiana Sinani & Michal Soltes, 2023. "Gender Gap in Reported Childcare Preferences among Parents," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp770, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    20. Spencer Bastani & Thomas Giebe & Oliver Gürtler, 2023. "Overconfidence and Gender Equality in the Labor Market," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 220, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

    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:ces:ceswps:_12551. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.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.