When asked by the Editor-in-Chief to revisit the state of women and work after a decade, interest was intense to learn about the changes that had ensued during that period of time. What became readily apparent is that an entire issue of the journal needed to be devoted to this topic and that the addition of the concept of culture would provide a broader and more complete overview of women and work. Women and work are intricately associated. Whether paid or unpaid for the work they do, women fill many worker roles. Women’s lives have changed in the past decade but they have also remained the same in many ways. While women account for 51% of the United States population, they comprise 60% of the labor force, continuing to work in traditional ‘female’ occupations [1]. Dilemmas surrounding unpaid work persist, as does the lack of validation of the pivotal roles women play in society. The primacy of family and the care giving it denotes in the lives of women figure prominently in their efforts to balance the competing demands family life presents with their working lives. A number of work alternatives women utilize to achieve this dynamic balance are cited in this special edition. Issues of health, sexual harassment and the ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon are described. The growing entrepreneurial spirit of women starting their own businesses is also discussed. Many of the above issues are impacted by additional cultural factors (other than gender) such as class, ethnicity, role expectations, age, and ability. Often, ‘culture’ is viewed as only relating to race and ethnicity. However, the editors of this special issue use the broader definition that “includes demographic variables such as age, gender, and place of residence: status variables such as social, educational, and economic levels; and affiliation variables.” [2, p. 279] By identifying the characteristics above as important aspects of study, and intentionally examining them in relation to women and their work, the complexity of the intersections of gender, culture, and work are revealed. With an expanding awareness of the effects of diversity in a culture and on the health of society, the editors sought articles that would inform the audience about women, work, and culture. Women’s lives do intersect within the larger culture around various aspects of work. This special edition is devoted to increasing awareness of some of the issues involved in this intersection. MacRae begins the issue with a comprehensive retrospective review of the status of women over the past decade. In an examination of current issues such as health status and work options, including factors such as the ‘glass ceiling’, entrepreneurship, management opportunities, and unpaid work. MacRae compares the issues of today’s working women with those of ten years ago and finds some, but not nearly enough, positive changes. The next few articles describe the roles of women and the impact on work. Hakansson, Eklund, Lidfeldt, Nerbrand, Samsioe and Nilsson present a study on occupational roles among middle-aged women which explores the stability of the pattern of health/work and sickness absence over a three year period. Results indicated that healthier women experienced a more valued

Women, work and culture.

We survey households about their expectations of the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, in real time and at daily frequency. Our baseline question asks about the expected impact on output and inflation over a one-year horizon. Starting on March 10, the median response suggests that the expected output loss is still moderate. This changes over the course of three weeks: At the end of March, the expected loss amounts to some 15 percent. Meanwhile, the pandemic is expected to raise inflation considerably. The uncertainty about these effects is very large. In the second part of the paper we feed the survey data into a New Keynesian business cycle model. Because the economic costs of the pandemic have not fully materialized yet but are nonetheless (a) anticipated and (b) uncertain, private expenditure collapses, thereby amplifying and bringing forward in time the economic costs of the pandemic. The short-run economic impact of the pandemic depends critically on whether monetary policy accommodates the drop in the natural rate of interest or not.

https://www.clevelandfed.org/~/media/content/newsroom and events/publications/working papers/2020/wp2012.pdf

News and Uncertainty about COVID-19: Survey Evidence and Short-Run Economic Impact

We study the distributional consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts on employment. Using CPS data on stocks and flows, we show that the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities. Although employment losses have been widespread, they have been substantially larger in lower-paying occupations and industries. Individuals from disadvantaged groups, such as Hispanics, younger workers, those with lower levels of education, and women, have suffered both larger increases in job losses and larger decreases in hiring rates. Occupational and industry affiliation can explain only part of the increased job losses among these groups.

/pdf/the-heterogeneous-labor-market-impacts-of-the-covid-19-4330dphgdw.pdf

The Heterogeneous Labor Market Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT:Compared with previous recessions, the recession induced by COVID-19 had a greater impact on women's employment and labor force participation relative to men. But the big divide was less between men and women than it was between the more and the less educated. Contrary to many accounts, women did not exit the labor force in large numbers, and they did not greatly decrease their hours of work. The aggregate female labor force participation rate did not plummet. That said, the ability to balance caregiving and work differed greatly by education, occupation, and race. The more educated could work from home. Those who began the period employed in various in-person service occupations and establishments experienced large reductions in employment. Black women experienced a more negative impact beyond other factors considered, and the health impact of COVID-19 is a probable reason. The estimation of the pandemic's impact depends on the counterfactual used. The real story of women during the pandemic is that employed women who were educating their children and working adult daughters who were caring for their parents were stressed because they were in the labor force, not because they left.

/pdf/understanding-the-economic-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-3vrqj0o9.pdf

Understanding the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Women

The authors study the distributional consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on employment, both during the onset of the pandemic and over subsequent months. Using cross-sectional and matched longitudinal data from the Current Population Survey, they show that the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities. Although employment losses have been widespread, they have been substantially larger—and more persistent—in lower-paying occupations and industries. Hispanics and non-White workers suffered larger increases in job losses, not only because of their over-representation in lower-paying jobs but also because of a disproportionate increase in their job displacement probability relative to non-Hispanic White workers with the same job background. Gaps in year-on-year job displacement probabilities between Black and White workers have widened over the course of the pandemic recession, both overall and conditional on pre-displacement occupation and industry. These gaps are not explained by state-level differences in the severity of the pandemic nor by the associated response in terms of mitigation policies. In addition, evidence suggests that older workers have been retiring at faster rates. 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00197939221076856

Heterogeneous Labor Market Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We examine the impact of the global recession triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic on women's versus men's employment. Whereas recent recessions in advanced economies usually had a disproportionate impact on men's employment, giving rise to the moniker "mancessions," we show that the pandemic recession of 2020 was a "shecession" in most countries with larger employment declines among women. We examine the causes behind this pattern using micro data from several national labor force surveys, and show that both the composition of women's employment across industries and occupations as well as increased childcare needs during closures of schools and daycare centers made important contributions. While many countries exhibit similar patterns, we also emphasize how policy choices such as furloughing policies and the extent of school closures shape the pandemic's impact on the labor market. Another notable finding is the central role of telecommuting: gender gaps in the employment impact of the pandemic arise almost entirely among workers who are unable to work from home. Nevertheless, among telecommuters a different kind of gender gap arises: women working from home during the pandemic spent more work time also doing childcare and experienced greater productivity reductions than men. We discuss what our findings imply for gender equality in a post-pandemic labor market that will likely continue to be characterized by pervasive telecommuting.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/dp14223.pdf?abstractid=3813650&mirid=1

From Mancession to Shecession: Women's Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions

We examine the impact of the global recession triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic on women's versus men's employment Whereas recent recessions in advanced economies usually had a disproportionate impact on men's employment, giving rise to the moniker "mancessions," we show that the pandemic recession of 2020 was a "shecession" in most countries with larger employment declines among women We examine the causes behind this pattern using micro data from several national labor force surveys, and show that both the composition of women's employment across industries and occupations as well as increased childcare needs during closures of schools and daycare centers made important contributions While many countries exhibit similar patterns, we also emphasize how policy choices such as furloughing policies and the extent of school closures shape the pandemic's impact on the labor market Another notable finding is the central role of telecommuting: gender gaps in the employment impact of the pandemic arise almost entirely among workers who are unable to work from home Nevertheless, among telecommuters a different kind of gender gap arises: women working from home during the pandemic spent more work time also doing childcare and experienced greater productivity reductions than men We discuss what our findings imply for gender equality in a post-pandemic labor market that will likely continue to be characterized by pervasive telecommuting

/pdf/from-mancession-to-shecession-women-s-employment-in-regular-22amywc1xw.pdf

We document a substantial positive correlation of employment status between mothers and their children in the United States, linking data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults. After controlling for ability, education and wealth, a one-year increase in a mother’s employment is associated with six weeks more employment of her child on average.

/pdf/the-intergenerational-correlation-of-employment-is-there-a-2v04x9rpzm.pdf

The Intergenerational Correlation of Employment: Is There a Role for Work Culture?

We study the long-term fiscal implications of childcare subsidies through their impact on maternal labour supply. Taking human capital accumulation into account, we explicitly capture life-cycle career aspects in a dynamic structural household model of female labour supply and childcare decisions: higher labour supply of mothers today can result in higher future earnings. In our dynamic structural model, we allow households to be heterogeneous in their taste for home produced childcare, their taste for leisure and in their access to informal childcare (e.g. by grandparents). Using German survey data, we provide a structural estimate of the degree to which childcare subsidies are dynamically self-financing through higher labour income tax revenue. Further, we explore how the marginal fiscal returns of childcare subsidies depend on the group of families targeted (e.g. low income, single parents, number of children).

The fiscal return to childcare policies

We document a substantial positive correlation of employment status between mothers and their offspring in the United States, linking data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults. Relative to a never employed mother, one who is employed throughout her working-age life increases the probability of her offspring's employment by 11 per- cent in each given year, after controlling for ability, education, fertility, and wealth. The intergenerational transmission of maternal employment is stronger to daughters than to sons, and it is higher for low-educated and low-income mothers. Investigat- ing potential mechanisms, we provide suggestive evidence for a role-model channel, through which labor force participation is transmitted. Offspring, especially daugh- ters, seem to emulate the example of their mother when they observe her working. By contrast, we are able to rule out several alternative candidate explanations such as network effects, occupation-specific human capital and local conditions of the labor market.

David Koll

Papers

From Mancession to Shecession: Women's Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions

From Mancession to Shecession: Women's Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions

The Intergenerational Correlation of Employment: Is There a Role for Work Culture?

The fiscal return to childcare policies

The Intergenerational Correlation of Employment