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Gender Gaps in Spain: Family Issues and the Career Development of College Educated Men and Women

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  • González de San Román, Ainara

    (University of the Basque Country)

  • de la Rica, Sara

    (University of the Basque Country)

Abstract

Our goal in this paper is to focus on highly educated men and women and try to explore the trade-offs between family and working career in Spain, where changes in female behavior with respect to the labor market have been relatively recent but rather important. We compare male and female behavior with respect to labor supply and labor performance along their life cycle for different birth cohorts to explore the connection between family and work over time. Our results indicate that family plays a crucial role as a source of gender differences in the labor market in Spain. By 2008, children are the main determinant of the observed gap in labor supply between college men and women. Furthermore, with respect to hours worked, children are also an important determinant for the decision of college-educated mothers to choose to work part-time. However, children do not seem to contribute to explain the observed gender wage gap (5%) between college men and women.

Suggested Citation

  • González de San Román, Ainara & de la Rica, Sara, 2012. "Gender Gaps in Spain: Family Issues and the Career Development of College Educated Men and Women," IZA Discussion Papers 6978, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6978
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    family and work; career development; gender gaps; Spain;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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