Social norms and gender discrimination in the labor market: An agent-based exercise

Coralia Azucena Quintero Rojas and Lari Artur Viianto

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The incorporation of women into the labor market remains a challenge for most countries; likewise, gender gaps are observed in indicators such as employment, unemployment and participation. In this paper we study the role of social norms in the labor market performance per gender; that is, how gender gaps arise from conservative gender roles. To this end, we construct an agent-based model where discrimination appears when information on job vacancies is transmitted within a social network with preference to a given gender. Networks are defined by size, closeness and links per family. Our results show that: Social networks enhance the chance of getting a job. Discrimination deepens gender gaps. Discrimination does not favor the employment situation of households, since the share of non-income households (both members unemployed) is not reduced. Rather, discrimination reduces the number of two-income households in favor of the single-income households where only the man is employed.

Keywords: social networks; social norms; gender inequality; discrimination; labor markets; economic systems. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C63 D85 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen, nep-hme, nep-lma, nep-soc and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:96752

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