Gender gaps in wages and managerial positions: Do family-oriented policies contribute to achieving gender equality among european university graduates?

• Ainhoa Herrarte ^[1] ; Fernando Bellido Gómez-Salcedo ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
  2. [2] Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Madrid, España

     
• Localización: Revista de economía mundial, ISSN 1576-0162, Nº 62, 2022, págs. 105-124
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.33776/rem.vi62.5486
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Brechas de género en salarios y puestos directivos: ¿contribuyen las políticas de conciliación laboral y familiar a alcanzar la igualdad de género entre los titulados universitarios europeos?
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Este artículo analiza la brecha salarial de género y en el acceso a puestos directivos entre titulados universitarios de 12 países europeos y explora la capacidad de las políticas de conciliación laboral y familiar para reducir dichas brechas. Utilizando la base de datos REFLEX y aplicando el algoritmo coarsened exact matching para construir una muestra equilibrada de hombres y mujeres con las mismas características académicas (área de estudio, realización de prácticas, resultados académicos, etc.). Los resultados muestran que las características del programa de estudios ejercen un papel importante en los resultados laborales de los titulados y que las brechas de género tienden a estrecharse una vez incorporadas en las estimaciones. Encontramos que las diferencias de género en el salario por hora y en el acceso a empleos con salarios muy altos son menores en aquellos países con mayor duración del permiso de paternidad y tasas más elevadas de matriculación de niños de 0-3 años en guarderías. Por el contrario, los resultados muestran que las políticas de conciliación laboral y familiar ejercen escaso efecto para superar las limitaciones a las que se enfrentan las mujeres para acceder a puestos de alto nivel, caracterizados por requerir elevados niveles de compromiso y disponibilidad.

  • English

    This article analyzes the gender gap in wages and access to managerial positions among university graduates in 12 European countries and explores the capability of work-family balance policies to close these gaps. Using the REFLEX database, we apply the coarsened exact matching algorithm to construct a balanced sample of women and men with the same academic characteristics (field of study, internships, and academic achievement, among others). The analysis reveals that the academic program characteristics play a relevant role in labor market outcomes as the gender gaps diminish when controlling for academic features. We find that gender differences in hourly wages and access to top wages are smaller in countries with longer paid paternity leaves and larger enrollment rates of children aged 0-3 years in preschools. In contrast, work-family reconciliation policies have little effect on the constraints women face in accessing high-level positions that require strong commitment and availability.

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