Social Norms and Gendered Occupational Choices of Men and Women: Time to Turn the Tide?

Patricia Palffy, Patrick Lehnert and Uschi Backes-Gellner
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Patricia Palffy: University of Zurich

No 15704, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We analyze the relationship between social gender norms and adolescents' occupational choices by combining regional votes on constitutional amendments on gender equality with job application data from a large job board for apprenticeships. Results show that adolescent males in regions with stronger traditional social gender norms are more likely to apply for typically male occupations. This finding does not hold for females, suggesting that incentivizing men to break the norms and choose gender-atypical occupations (e.g., in healthcare) can be even more effective in accelerating advancement toward gender equality in the labor market than incentivizing women to choose STEM occupations.

Keywords: social norms; occupational gender segregation; occupational choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J16 J24 M59 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62 pages
Date: 2022-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hea, nep-lab and nep-soc
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Published - published in: Industrial Relations , 2023, 62 (4), 380-410

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Related works:
Journal Article: Social norms and gendered occupational choices of men and women: Time to turn the tide? (2023)
Working Paper: Social Norms and Gendered Occupational Choices of Men and Women: Time to Turn the Tide? (2022)
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