Gender Differences in Rates of Job Dismissal: Why Are Men More Likely to Lose Their Jobs?

Roger Wilkins () and Mark Wooden

No 6225, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Empirical studies have consistently reported that rates of involuntary job separation, or dismissal, are significantly lower among female employees than among males. Only rarely, however, have the reasons for this differential been the subject of detailed investigation. In this paper, household panel survey data from Australia are used that also find higher dismissal rates among men than among women. This differential, however, largely disappears once controls for industry and occupation are included. These findings suggest that the observed gender differential primarily reflects systematic differences in the types of jobs into which men and women select.

Keywords: involuntary job separations; gender differentials; dismissals; HILDA Survey; Australia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J63 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2011-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hme, nep-hrm, nep-lab, nep-lma and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published in: Industrial Relations, 2013, 52 (2), 582-608

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