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Workplace Presenteeism, Job Substitutability and Gender Inequality

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  • Ghazala Azmat

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEP - LSE - Centre for Economic Performance - LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Lena Hensvik

    (Uppsala Universitet [Uppsala])

  • Olof Rosenqvist

    (IFAU)

Abstract

This paper explores how the parenthood wage penalty is partially explained by an increased within-couple gap in job uniqueness (i.e., the within-establishment substitutability of workers). Uniqueness is rewarded with higher wages, but it requires worker presenteeism (i.e., the lack of unpredictable work absences), which entails a higher cost of childbearing. Using a within-couple event study approach, we show that after the arrival of the first child, women take more days of absence than men and their likelihood of holding jobs with low substitutability decreases. We find that 15 years after childbearing, the male-female gender gap in holding a (higher-paying) unique jobs increases by 6 percentage points. The results suggest that structural changes towards greater work flexibility, making it less costly for workers in unique jobs not to be present, can help to reduce the parenthood wage penalty.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghazala Azmat & Lena Hensvik & Olof Rosenqvist, 2023. "Workplace Presenteeism, Job Substitutability and Gender Inequality," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03873809, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03873809
    DOI: 10.3368/jhr.1121-12014R2
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03873809
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    Cited by:

    1. Rita Ginja & Arizo Karimi & Pengpeng Xiao, 2023. "Employer Responses to Family Leave Programs," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 107-135, January.
    2. Boring, Anne & Brown, Jennifer, 2024. "Gender and choices in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1ta425q4ev9o6a76uep4hjlunc is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Julian V Johnsen & Hyejin Ku & Kjell G Salvanes, 2024. "Competition and Career Advancement," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(5), pages 2954-2980.
    5. Azmat, Ghazala & Boring, Anne, 2020. "Gender Diversity in Firms," IZA Policy Papers 168, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. repec:hal:journl:hal-03383112 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1ta425q4ev9o6a76uep4hjlunc is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Koopmans, Pim & van Lent, Max & Been, Jim, 2024. "Child Penalties and the Gender Gap in Home Production and the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 16871, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Work absence; Job substitutability; Gender wage inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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