Gender Gaps From Labor Market Shocks

Authors

Ria Ivandić, University of Oxford and London School of EconomicsFollow
Anne Sophie Lassen, Copenhagen Business SchoolFollow

Series

Upjohn Institute working paper ; 23-387

**Published Version**

In Labour Economics 83: 102394

DOI

10.17848/wp23-387

Issue Date

August 2023

Abstract

Job loss leads to persistent adverse labor market outcomes, but assessments of gender differences in labor market recovery are lacking. We utilize plant closures in Denmark to estimate gender gaps in labor market outcomes and document that women face an increased risk of unemployment and lose a larger share of their earnings in the two years following job displacement. When accounting for observable differences in human Capital across men and women, half of the gender gap in unemployment remains. In a standard decomposition framework, we document that child care imposes an important barrier to women’s labor market recovery regardless of individual characteristics.

Sponsorship

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Early Career Research Award No. 22-58161-07

Subject Areas

LABOR MARKET ISSUES; Job security and unemployment dynamics; Dislocated workers; Work and family balance; UNEMPLOYMENT, DISABILITY, and INCOME SUPPORT PROGRAMS; Unemployment insurance; Early childhood; Childcare / Child care