Gender and the labor market: What have we learned from field and lab experiments?

Abstract

We discuss the contribution of the experimental literature to the understanding of both traditional and previously unexplored dimensions of gender differences and discuss their bearings on labor market outcomes. Experiments have offered new findings on gender discrimination, and while they have identified a bias against hiring women in some labor market segments, the discrimination detected in field experiments is less pervasive than that implied by the regression approach. Experiments have also offered new insights into gender differences in preferences: to gain less from negotiation, women appear to have lower preferences than men for risk and competition and may be more sensitive to social cues. These gender differences in preferences also have implications in group settings, whereby the gender composition of a group affects team decisions and performance. Most of the evidence on gender traits comes from the lab, and key open questions remain as to the source of gender preferences-nature versus nurture, or their interaction-and their role, if any, in the workplace.JEL classification: J16, J24, J71, C91, C92, C93

The Gender Wage Gap Among College Graduates in Italy

“…Recently, additional explanations have been explored, focusing on the impact of gender differences in "soft" skills (Bertrand 2011;Azmat and Petrongolo 2014): (i) risk aversion; (ii) attitude towards competition; (iii) propensity to bargaining; (iv) personality traits and non-cognitive skills, such as selfesteem, "big-five" personality traits, and locus of control; (v) norms and gender identity; and (vi) preferences. How much preferences and personality traits have biological roots ("nature") or are due to social factors ("nurture") is being still under debate (see Cobb-Clark 2016 for a review), but overall it seems that the two explanations complement one another, rather than competing with one another (Bertrand 2011).…”

Labor Market Outcomes of Youth and Women in Newly Industrialized and Developing Countries

“…And while individual and employment characteristics (e.g., education, occupation, and industry) largely explain such differences, a significant proportion still remains unexplained. Azmat and Petrongolo (2014) find that while experimental approach has helped identify discrimination in hiring and examine gender differences in individual preferences (e.g., bargaining, social, risk, competition) that affect job choice and labor market outcomes, less studies have examined the interaction between gender composition and behavior of groups. Moreover, there is a lack of direct evidence from actual workplaces and little is known about whether policy affects preferences.…”

Biology and Gender in the Labor Market

“…4 Bertrand (2011) provides an excellent overview of new perspectives on the role of gender in labor market outcomes. In addition, the following are important reviews of gender differences in i) risk aversion Grossman 2008a, Azmat andPetrongolo 2014); ii) competitive behavior (Booth 2009, Niederle andVesterlund 2011); iii) preferences (Croson and Gneezy 2009); and iv) gender identity (Akerlof and Kranton 2000).…”