Women’s voice at work and family-friendly firms

Jose Garcia-Louzao and Ruben Perez-Sanz ()
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Ruben Perez-Sanz: Universitat de Barcelona & AQR-IREA

SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, 2025, vol. 16, issue 3, No 9, 699-717

Abstract: Abstract This paper exploits a unique and novel census of administrative records covering all firm-level collective agreements signed in Spain between 2010 and 2018 to examine whether the gender composition of worker representation aligns with the type of workplace policies negotiated with management. We compare firms that are subject to the same labour regulations but differ in terms of the presence of female representatives on employee bargaining committees. Firms with female worker representatives are more likely to include family-friendly policies in the agreement; by contrast, we find only mild positive effects for practices promoting gender equality and no differences for broader employment conditions such as wages or hours. These associations remain robust across alternative empirical specifications and matching exercises. Together, the findings suggest that the presence of women at the bargaining table can shape the content of workplace policies, particularly in ways that address work–family balance.

Keywords: Women representation; Bargaining; Family-friendly firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J32 J53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Related works:
Working Paper: Women’s Voice at Work and Family-Friendly Firms (2024)
Working Paper: Women’s Voice at Work and Family-Friendly Firms (2024)
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DOI: 10.1007/s13209-025-00323-y

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