GLOBAL INFLUENCES ON GENDER INEQUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN KOREA

Abstract

AbstractDo multinational enterprises (MNEs) transfer gender‐equal employment practices across borders? Using firm‐level data for Korea, a country with low gender equality, we find evidence that MNEs bring their home countries' gender norms in employment with them. Foreign‐acquired firms report 2–12 percentage‐points higher female shares of permanent main‐task workers at firm headquarters compared with nonacquired firms and the differential increases with the level of gender equality in the MNEs’ home countries. We estimate that 1 to 7 percent of the productivity increase caused by foreign acquisition can be attributed to workforce reorganization that may reduce gender‐based misallocations of talent.