The Gender-Career Estimation Gap

Lutz C. Kaiser ()
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Lutz C. Kaiser: North Rhine-Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

No 8185, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The paper discusses gender differences with regard to the self- and reciprocal estimation of career expectations. Firstly, the theoretical background and the literature are identified. Within this frame, the instance of self-under-estimated career prospects of female workers and statistical discrimination in the labor market are described. Both aspects are jointly assessed as a self-fulfilling prophecy-phenomenon redounded to women's disadvantage on the labor market. Secondly, the empirical part analysis the respective self- and reciprocal estimation of female and male career prospects for public sector workers in Germany. The results display obvious discrepancies between self- and reciprocally estimated career expectations that constitute a gender-career estimation gap. As the German public sector contains specific devices to equalising career chances of male and female employees, the findings even underpin the insistency of under-estimated career prospects of female workers despite the existing public sector regime of equality. Finally, approaches of how to equalize male and female career chances are critically reviewed.

Keywords: self- and reciprocal estimation of career opportunities; self-fulfilling prophecy; statistical discrimination; gender-career estimation gap; public sector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J24 J4 J71 J78 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2014-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-lab and nep-lma
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: M. Connerley, J. Wu (eds.), The Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women, Springer 2016, 429-448

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