Gender unemployment gaps in the EU: blame the family

0468881 - NHÚ 2017 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Bičáková, Alena
Gender unemployment gaps in the EU: blame the family.
IZA Journal of European Labor Studies. Roč. 5, č. 22 (2016), s. 1-31. E-ISSN 2193-9012
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP402/12/G130
Institutional support: RVO:67985998
Keywords : gender unemployment gap * family leave * gender discrimination
Subject RIV: AH - Economics

There are considerable differences in gender unemployment gaps across the EU. We use labor force survey data on 21 countries to perform a series of data decompositions and show that the cross-country variation in gender unemployment gaps is primarily driven by the differences in female labor force participation behavior after childbirth, namely, the family leave duration and the subsequent attachment of women to the labor force. Further, in countries where a high share of women permanently withdraw from the labor force after childbirth, the size of gender differences in unemployment strongly correlates with the Eurobarometer measure of perceived overall gender discrimination. Our findings suggest that family leave policies and institutions that facilitate the leave to work transition and the work-family balance are crucial to tackle the gender differences in unemployment in countries where the female unemployment rate exceeds that of men.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0266699