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Do Female–Owned Employment Agencies Mitigate Discrimination and Expand Opportunity for Women?

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Listed:
  • Jennifer Hunt
  • Carolyn Moehling

Abstract

We create a dataset of 14,000 help–wanted advertisements placed by U.S. employment agencies in 1950 and 1960, when help–wanted advertisements specified gender, and collect information on agency ownership. Female–owned agencies specialized in vacancies for women, expanding access of female job–seekers to agency services. They also advertised more skilled occupations to women than did male–owned agencies, leading to 5% higher wages for women. But they advertised more clerical jobs to men, contributing to 17% lower male wages. However, the gender wage gap within agency was the same for female-and male–owned agencies, suggesting no mitigation of discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Hunt & Carolyn Moehling, 2024. "Do Female–Owned Employment Agencies Mitigate Discrimination and Expand Opportunity for Women?," NBER Working Papers 32383, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32383
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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