Women, Men, and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

We examine job satisfaction to determine whether gender differences found by previous researchers could be explained by constraints imposed by the specifications used. Applying those specifications to recent US data yields results similar to those previously found. However, clarification comes from applying specifications that allow for gender differences in sample selectivity and in the relative weights (β′s) of personal/job characteristics in evaluating satisfaction. We find that gender differences in the job satisfaction of married workers can largely be attributed to gender differences in β′s. However, more work is necessary to understand gender differences in job satisfaction among unmarried workers.