Revisiting the gender job satisfaction paradox: The roots seem to run deep

Abstract

Using the Canadian General Social Survey of 2016, a large nationally representative dataset, this article estimates the gender job satisfaction gap. This unique dataset allows to control for nearly all the variables previously suggested to explain the well-documented higher job satisfaction of women, such as task characteristics, job flexibility and the quality of social relations at work. Accounting for all these variables, the gender gap in favour of women remains in the aggregate sample. But, when the sample is partitioned by age and educational attainment, among the youngest and the most educated workers, the gender job satisfaction gap is found to be statistically insignificant. In addition, these data allow for the inclusion of subjectively experienced intrinsic job rewards, such as sense of pride and accomplishment from work, rarely available in social surveys. With the inclusion of these variables, the gender job satisfaction gap loses its statistical significance across all age groups and educational attainment levels, except for those with a graduate university degree. For the latter group, the gender job satisfaction gap is actually reversed in favour of men. Consistently, an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of the gender job satisfaction gap indicates that the 'explained' component of the gender gap substantially increases with the inclusion of intrinsic job rewards. The implications are discussed.

Job satisfaction among university graduates in Chile

“…The research findings contradict the hypothesis put forward. However, they are consistent with an increasing number of studies that report a shrinking gap in job satisfaction between men and women, in this case showing an increase in job satisfaction for men (B€ onte and Krabel, 2014;Corominas Rovira et al, 2012;Dilmaghani, 2022). This situation may be attributed to the higher levels of gender equity that higher education systems around the world have achieved.…”

“…The salary gap between men and women is small at the beginning of their job trajectory but grows rapidly over time. Graduates' age has been related to job satisfaction in studies in Canada (Dilmaghani, 2022) and Argentina (Gallegos Mardones and Campos Requena, 2019).…”

Is multidimensional precarious employment higher for women?

“… 5. This same approach has been applied in similar contexts for the decomposition of the gender gap in different aspects such as job satisfaction (Dilmaghani, 2021). …”

Health-Related Quality of Life and Work Satisfaction in Working-Aged Adults Pre- and Post-Cochlear Implant: A Longitudinal Study

“…Thus, CIs may impact the degree of work satisfaction depending on whether work tasks rely on communication and hearing ability. Social desirability bias and gender bias may also have impacted outcomes since aggregate data have shown that women typically report higher job satisfaction [ 29 ]. Another aspect that may have influenced the results is that there may be important cultural differences across the included countries that might have played a role in the outcomes.…”