Women’s Employment, Wages, and the Household

Abstract

Gender inequality in the labour market is interconnected with unequal sharing of care responsibilities by gender at home. While the unequal treatment of men and women in the labour market is illegal, gender gaps in employment and earnings are a persistent feature of labour markets. It is challenging to distinguish women’s true preferences for combing work and family life from employers’ discrimination against women. Women’s preferences for staying at home, working part-time, or in non-standard employment forms are often believed to drive gender inequalities in the labour market. This view contradicts the finding that gender imbalances in combing work and care are often reflected in lower well-being of mothers and children. This article reviews a selection of papers on gender gaps in employment, earnings and well-being published recently by JFEI and prospects avenues for future research.