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The cost to act 'girly': gender stereotypes and educational choices
Marta Favera, University of Essex
This paper suggests that at the origin of gender segregation in the labour market there is a problem of educational choice. Women are under-represented in many technical degrees, which lead to higher-paid occupations. Economic models assuming that students maximize their own utility function on the basis of expected pecuniary pay-off are not able to explain why there are such gender differences. A possible explanation could be that students are likely to follow gender stereotypes i.e. to make choices which are considered appropriate by the society for a person of their gender. I integrate the sociological concept of gender identity into an economic model of educational choices. I investigate whether boys and girls follow gender-stereotyped trajectories in education and whether the salience of gender identity varies across ethnic groups. I test the hypothesis that singlesex school attenuate the gender-stereotypes burden. I use the National Pupils Datasets which includes all pupils in state maintained schools in England, and I focus on lower and upper secondary education. The longitudinal setting allows me to identify when gender stereotypes start affecting educational choices. I find that stereotypes affect educational choices since the age of 14 and girls are more likely than boys to follow a stereotyped path. Furthermore, the intensity of gender stereotypes differs across ethnic groups due to cultural differences and different gender roles. Finally, I find that attending a single-sex school leads to less stereotyped choices, especially for girls and during sixth form.
Email: mfavar@essex.ac.uk
A step forwards? The impact of New Labour's family policy on maternal employment in the UK
Helen Graham, University of Edinburgh
Background/motivation Although the gender pay gap has narrowed in recent years, a persistent disparity remains. Human capital perspectives imply that the gap can be `explained' by the impact of childbearing on women's labour market activity, but this does not explain why mothers respond to childbearing in this way. Statement of problem/purpose This research focusses on the role of policy on the division of paid work and care in couple households. Specifically, it seeks to understand the impact on mothers' labour force participation of key policy changes introduced by New Labour around financial support to families. Have these reforms changed the way that mothers employment changes in response to childbearing? Methods Using data from the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study, the study compares two cohorts of British mothers who were in their early thirties during the New Labour and (Thatcher) Conservative eras respectively. Propensity Score Matching is used to make comparisons between women with the same human capital attributes and family responsibilities – in other words, a similar propensity to work under standard human capital models – but making their employment decisions in different policy environments. Results Controlling for propensity to work, mothers in the younger cohort are more likely to be in work, but those in work are more likely to be in part-time jobs. Conclusion The results suggest that policy reforms have supported maternal employment, but not necessarily full-time work. This is important because the lower average hourly pay of part-time work is a major contributor to the gender pay gap.
Email: helen.graham@ed.ac.uk
Have Changes in Women's Status Led to Gains in Child Nutrition in Bangladesh?Radheeka R. Jayasundera, Lynne M. Casper, University of Southern California
Previous research demonstrates that if resource allocation preferences differ among household members, individuals with the most power have the highest probability of realizing their preferences (Haddad et al 1997). Other studies indicate that children receive more resources and fare better when women have more power to exert their preferences (Schultz 1993; Ramalingaswami et al 1996). Household members may derive power from multiple sources such as education and employment. Since the 1990s researchers have noted massive improvements in women's education, employment, total fertility rate and median age at first marriage in Bangladesh. Such improvements in women's socio-demographic status are positively correlated with women's household decision-making power (Jayasundera 2011). According to human capital literature, these improvements should also have a profound impact on child nutrition. We use cross-sectional data from the 1999 and 2007 Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys (BDHS) and employ multivariate regression methods to test whether increases in women's status, as measured by improvements in socio-demographic characteristics, are associated with gains in child nutrition. Our analytical sample comprises children less than five years, resulting in sample sizes of 5,375 in 1999 and 6,150 in 2007. We use a child's height-for-age Z-score (haz) to measure long-term nutritional status; a child is classified as "stunted" if the haz is below 2 standard deviations from the median of the WHO international growth reference. We use a child's weight-for-height Z-score (whz) to measure short-term nutritional status; a child is considered "wasted" if whz is below 2 standard deviations of the WHO reference.
Email: jayasund@usc.edu
The gender disparity in HIV infection in Kenya: evidence from the DHS
Monica Magadi, City University
Women in sub-Saharan Africa bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infections, which is exacerbated by their role in society and biological vulnerability. Kenya typifies the situation in sub-Saharan Africa, with marked gender disparities, especially among younger adults. In this paper, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of the gender disparity in HIV infection in Kenya. The specific objectives are to (i) examine the role of HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behaviour factors on the gender disparity; and (ii) establish how the gender disparity in HIV infection varies across districts in Kenya. The study is based on secondary analysis of recent Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2003 and 2008. The analysis involves multilevel logistic regression analysis with particular consideration to contextual community/district variations in the gender disparity. The modelling introduces HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behaviour factors in successive stages to understand how the gender disparity is modified by these factors. The findings show interesting patterns, confirming marked gender disparities and significant sub-national variations. However, the role of HIV awareness or sexual behaviour factors in the gender disparity is not evident. In particular, controlling for sexual behaviour factors is associated with an increase in the gender disparity.
The results are useful in establishing the extent to which increased HIV/AIDS awareness or change in sexual behaviour could reduce the gender disparity in HIV infection in country, and therefore, inform efforts to curb the spread of the epidemic among vulnerable sub-groups of the population.
Email: m.magadi@city.ac.uk