IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v28y2021i6p2180-2198.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender differences in solo self‐employment: Gendered flexibility and the effects of parenthood

Author

Listed:
  • Lauren Bari
  • Tom Turner
  • Michelle O'Sullivan

Abstract

With greater flexibility and control over the timing and conditions of work, solo self‐employment (without employees) is seen as offering a potential solution to work‐family conflict. This study examines whether this flexibility manifests itself in gendered trends among the self‐employed as self‐employed women undertake a larger share of unpaid domestic and caring work compared to their male and wage‐and‐salaried counterparts. The findings are based on data from the Irish national Labor Force Survey. We find that self‐employed women are more likely to work reduced hours, to work from home and for reasons associated with caring or family responsibilities than both self‐employed men and women in wage‐and‐salaried work. Flexibility factors are stronger determinants of self‐employed status for women than men. While gender differences exist regardless of parental status, they are widest among self‐employed parents of preschool children.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren Bari & Tom Turner & Michelle O'Sullivan, 2021. "Gender differences in solo self‐employment: Gendered flexibility and the effects of parenthood," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 2180-2198, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:6:p:2180-2198
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12724
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12724
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12724?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paula England, 1982. "The Failure of Human Capital Theory to Explain Occupational Sex Segregation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 17(3), pages 358-370.
    2. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    3. Ahmad M.I & Almamri A, 2014. "Statistical Models for Mobile Telephony Growth in Oman," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 6(3), pages 121-127.
    4. Andrew Henley, 2017. "The post-crisis growth in the self-employed: volunteers or reluctant recruits?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(9), pages 1312-1323, September.
    5. Unido, 2014. "World Statistics on Mining and Utilities 2014," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15926.
    6. Carlianne Patrick & Heather Stephens & Amanda Weinstein, 2016. "Where are all the self-employed women? Push and pull factors influencing female labor market decisions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 365-390, March.
    7. Janice Byrne & Salma Fattoum & Maria Cristina Diaz Garcia, 2019. "Role Models and Women Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial Superwoman Has Her Say," Post-Print hal-02572644, HAL.
    8. Thomas Leoni & Martin Falk, 2010. "Gender and field of study as determinants of self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 167-185, February.
    9. Russell, Helen & McGinnity, Frances & Fahey, Éamonn & Kenny, Oona, 2018. "Maternal employment and the cost of childcare in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS73.
    10. Rachel Connelly, 1992. "Self-employment and providing child care," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 29(1), pages 17-29, February.
    11. Janna Besamusca, 2020. "The short or long end of the stick? Mothers’ social position and self‐employment status from a comparative perspective," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 1285-1307, November.
    12. Solomon Polachek, 2003. "How the Human Capital Model Explains Why the Gender Wage Gap Narrowed," LIS Working papers 375, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    13. Dawson, Christopher & Henley, Andrew & Latreille, Paul L., 2009. "Why Do Individuals Choose Self-Employment?," IZA Discussion Papers 3974, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Cody Cook & Rebecca Diamond & Jonathan V Hall & John A List & Paul Oyer, 2021. "The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence from over a Million Rideshare Drivers [Measuring the Gig Economy: Current Knowledge and Open Issues]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(5), pages 2210-2238.
    15. Aidis, Ruta & Wetzels, Cécile, 2007. "Self-Employment and Parenthood: Exploring the Impact of Partners, Children and Gender," IZA Discussion Papers 2813, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Meredith Nash & Brendan Churchill, 2020. "Caring during COVID‐19: A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 833-846, September.
    17. Greg Hundley, 2001. "Why Women Earn Less Than Men in Self-Employment," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(4), pages 817-829, October.
    18. Horemans, Jeroen & Marx, Ive, 2017. "Poverty and Material Deprivation among the Self-Employed in Europe: An Exploration of a Relatively Uncharted Landscape," IZA Discussion Papers 11007, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Frances J. Milliken & Madeline K. Kneeland & Elinor Flynn, 2020. "Implications of the COVID‐19 Pandemic for Gender Equity Issues at Work," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(8), pages 1767-1772, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Torres-Higuera, Paula, 2024. "Warm Days, Warmer Homes? Effects of Temperature Shocks on Time Allocation," Documentos CEDE 21133, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bari Lauren, 2020. "Who are solo self-employed women? Analysis of the trends and characteristics of solo self-employed women in Ireland 2003–2019," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 40(1), pages 42-60, July.
    2. Carl Magnus Bjuggren & Magnus Henrekson, 2022. "Female self-employment: prevalence and performance effects of having a high-income spouse," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 163-181, June.
    3. Zhengyu Cai & Heather M. Stephens & John V. Winters, 2019. "Motherhood, migration, and self-employment of college graduates," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 611-629, October.
    4. Takanori Adachi & Takanori Hisada, 2017. "Gender differences in entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship: an empirical analysis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 447-486, March.
    5. Thorsten Konietzko, 2015. "Self-Employed Individuals, Time Use, and Earnings," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 64-83, March.
    6. Yannis Georgellis & Howard Wall, 2005. "Gender differences in self-employment," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-342.
    7. Alan Manning & Joanna Swaffield, 2008. "The gender gap in early-career wage growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(530), pages 983-1024, July.
    8. Molina, José Alberto & Montuenga, Víctor M., 2008. "The Motherhood Wage Penalty in a Mediterranean Country: The Case of Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 3574, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Nadia Simoes & Nuno Crespo & Sandrina B. Moreira, 2016. "Individual Determinants Of Self-Employment Entry: What Do We Really Know?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 783-806, September.
    10. Conen, Wieteke & Schippers, Johannes Jan & Schulze Buschoff, Karin, 2016. "Self-employed without personnel between freedom and insecurity," WSI Studies 05, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    11. Solomon W. Polachek & Jun Xiang, 2009. "The Gender Pay Gap across Countries: A Human Capital Approach," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Bögenhold, Dieter & Fachinger, Uwe, 2014. "Rationality of Self-Employment: Do Female and Male Entrepreneurs Differ?," MPRA Paper 58116, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Spitze, Glenna & Loscocco, Karyn, 1999. "Women's position in the household," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 647-661.
    14. Daniel Lechmann & Claus Schnabel, 2012. "Why is there a gender earnings gap in self-employment? A decomposition analysis with German data," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-25, December.
    15. Barbara R. Bergmann, 1998. "Two Cheers for CSWEP?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 185-189, Fall.
    16. Irani Arráiz, 2018. "Time to share the load: gender differences in household responsibilities and business profitability," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 57-84, June.
    17. Theranda Beqiri, 2016. "Labour Market Trends in Transition Economies with Emphasis on Gender Inequalities," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 12(4), pages 72-85, August.
    18. Daniel Graeber & Alexander S. Kritikos & Johannes Seebauer, 2021. "COVID-19: a crisis of the female self-employed," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1141-1187, October.
    19. Yana Gallen, 2018. "Motherhood and the Gender Productivity Gap," Working Papers 2018-091, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    20. Gema Álvarez & Carlos Gradín & Mª Soledad Otero, 2013. "Self-Employment: Transition And Earnings Differential," Revista de Economia Aplicada, Universidad de Zaragoza, Departamento de Estructura Economica y Economia Publica, vol. 21(2), pages 61-90, Autumn.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:6:p:2180-2198. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.