Exposure to Female Colleagues Breaks the Glass Ceiling - Evidence from a Combined Vignette and Field Experiment

Increased diversity in the workforce can lead to either more or less discrimination. We study discrimination among recruits in the Norwegian Armed Forces during boot camp. In a vignette experiment female candidates are perceived as less suited to be squad leaders than their identical male counterparts. Adding positive information leads to higher evaluations of the candidates, but does not reduce the amount of discrimination. The boot camp provides an ideal setting for studying inter-group contact. We find that intense collaborative exposure to female colleagues reduces discriminatory attitudes: Male soldiers who were randomly assigned to share room and work in a squad with female soldiers during the recruit period do not discriminate in the vignette experiment

How well do European child-related leave policies support the caring role of fathers?

Our chapter analyses the extent to which European countries (1) recognize the caring responsibilities of fathers toward their children and (2) value fathers' caring role. To do so, we analyze the designs of individual leave policies and reflect on them by assessing available data on leave uptake by fathers in 13 European countries. Our results show that there is great variation in child-related leave designs across Europe. Our findings, in line with previous work, underscore the importance of generous individual non-transferable leave entitlements. Moreover, our findings bring forward aspects of leave designs that are rarely discussed when considering fathers' leave uptake. Our results indicate that generous non-transferable leave rights should be paired with (a) clearly defined leave periods for fathers, (b) individual entitlement to benefits, and (c) greater scope for flexibility to increase the attractiveness of child-related leave and to strengthen fathers' position when negotiating their childcare leave.</p

Change in the Gender Division of Domestic Work after Mummy or Daddy Took Leave: An Examination of Alternative Explanations

This study investigates how the duration of child care leave taken by mothers and fathers relates to changes in couples' division of housework and child care after postnatal labour market return in Germany. It explores whether take-up of child care related leave may impact the gender division of domestic work beyond the period of leave and examines three theoretical explanations: 1) development of domestic work skills, 2) bargaining power based on economic resources, and 3) adaptations in gender role or parenting identities. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1992-2012) on 797 and 762 couples with a first or second birth, respectively, we applied OLS regression models with lagged dependent variables in combination with Heckman selection correction. The results suggested that dual-earner couples where mothers took longer leaves experienced a greater shift towards a gender-traditional division of domestic labour after childbirth even in the medium-term after labour market return. The linear relationship and stronger effects on the division of child care than for housework lent support to identity-based explanations. Paternal leave take-up was associated with a more equal division of housework and child care after first births but not after second birth transitions. The relationship with the leave duration was less clear. In terms of explaining the mechanisms for fathers, the findings provided greatest support for explanations relating to domestic skills development possibly in combination with changes in fathering identities

African mining, gender, and local employment

We use the rapid expansion of mining in Sub-Saharan Africa to analyse local structural shifts and the role of gender. We match 109 openings and 84 closings of industrial mines to survey data for 800,000 individuals and exploit the spatial-temporal variation. With mine opening, women living within 20 km of a mine switch from self-employment in agriculture to working in services or they leave the work force. Men switch from agriculture to skilled manual labor. Effects are stronger in years of high world prices. Mining creates local boom-bust economies in Africa, with permanent effects on women's labor market participation