Transforming Gendered Labor Markets to End Discrimination

Diane R. Elson ()
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Diane R. Elson: University of Essex

Chapter 4 in Handbook on Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action, 2023, pp 69-84 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter sets out the foundations for a feminist understanding of labor market discrimination. It is argued that labor markets are gendered institutions operating at the intersection of the sphere of production and the sphere of reproduction. Gender discrimination in labor markets needs to be understood not as a residual nor as irrational but as rooted in institutional structures and the unequal gender division of paid and unpaid work. Data on gender gaps in labor markets needs careful interpretation as a reduction in gender gaps does not necessarily imply an improvement in women’s empowerment or well-being. The relation between discrimination and economic efficiency is complex. Labor market institutions which are biased against women may, in some circumstances, and in respect of some objectives, be micro-efficient, but they are not, in the long run, macro-efficient, especially with respect to achievement of broader social objectives beyond short-run profitability. Labor markets can be transformed through public policy and collective action so that discrimination is eliminated in ways that promote improvements in both quality and productivity of employment.

Keywords: Gender; Labor market; Discrimination; Economic efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-19-4166-5_4

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-4166-5_4

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