From Pink-Collar to Lab Coat: Cultural Persistence and Diffusion of Socialist Gender Norms

Naomi Friedman-Sokuler and Claudia Senik ()
Additional contact information
Naomi Friedman-Sokuler: Bar-Ilan University [Israël]
Claudia Senik: PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, SU - Sorbonne Université

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: We study vertical transmission and societal diffusion of gender norms using the large immigration wave from the former Soviet Union (FSU) to Israel in the early 1990's. Tracking the educational choices of an entire cohort, born in 1988–89, we compare gender gaps among immigrants from the FSU versus natives and immigrants from other countries. We find smaller gender gaps among FSU immigrants in both traditionally male-dominated STEM fields and female-dominated pink collar jobs, e.g., education and social work. These patterns are largely driven by the behavior of FSU women and are not explained by early achievement levels or comparative advantage. Leveraging variation in the concentration of FSU immigrants across middle schools, we find that among natives, gender gaps narrow with the exposure to FSU immigrants, reflecting a shift in the choice patterns of native women towards STEM and away from pink collar fields.

Keywords: Culture; Gender; Education; STEM; Occupational choice; Immigration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Journal of Population Economics, 2025, 38 (1), pp.11. ⟨10.1007/s00148-025-01065-8⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04928811

DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01065-8

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().