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Cross-national analysis of gender differences in job satisfaction

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  • HAURET Laetitia
  • WILLIAMS Donald R.
Abstract
Research over the past two decades has found significant gender differences in subjective job-satisfaction, with the result that women report greater satisfaction than men in some countries. This paper examines the so-called “gender paradox” using data from the European Social Survey for a subset of fourteen countries in the European Union. We focus on the hypothesis that women place higher values on certain work characteristics than men, which explains the observed differential. Using estimates from Probit and ordered Probit models, we conduct standard Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions to estimate the impact that differential valuations of characteristics have on the gender difference in self-reported job satisfaction. The results indicate that females continue to report higher levels of job satisfaction than do men in some countries, and the difference remains even after controlling for a wide range of personal and job characteristics and working conditions. The decompositions suggest that a relatively small share of the gender differential is attributable to gender differences in the weights placed on working conditions in most countries. Rather, gender differences in job characteristics contribute relatively more to explaining the gender job-satisfaction differential.

Suggested Citation

  • HAURET Laetitia & WILLIAMS Donald R., 2013. "Cross-national analysis of gender differences in job satisfaction," LISER Working Paper Series 2013-27, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    • Handle: RePEc:irs:cepswp:2013-27
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    2. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood & Parvinder Kler & Gareth Leeves, 2018. "Paradox Lost: The Disappearing Female Job Satisfaction Premium," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 484-502, September.
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    12. Asuyama, Yoko, 2021. "Determinants of job interestingness: Comparison of Japan and other high-income countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    13. Stephan Humpert, 2014. "Working time, satisfaction and work life balance: A European perspective," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 64(4), pages 3-17, October-D.
    14. Laetitia Hauret & Ludivine Martin & Nessrine Omrani & Donald R Williams, 2022. "How do HRM practices improve employee satisfaction?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 972-996, May.
    15. Yi-Jung Wu & Xiaojie Xu & Jingying He, 2021. "Gender, Educational Attainment, and Job Quality in Germany, Sweden, and the UK: Evidence from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, November.
    16. Tina Haussen & Marcus Schlegel, 2020. "Unemployment reduction through solo self-employment: A gender question?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 3085-3105, December.
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    19. Wanger, Susanne, 2017. "What makes employees satisfied with their working time? : The role of working hours, time-sovereignty and working conditions for working time and job satisfaction," IAB-Discussion Paper 201720, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    20. Kadir Atalay & Garry Barrett, 2022. "Retirement routes and the well-being of retirees," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2751-2784, November.
    21. Krzywdzinski, Martin & Lechowski, Grzegorz & Mählmeyer, Valentina, 2019. "Lean Work and Gender Inequalities: Manufacturing Consent at a Multinational Car Plant in Provincial Russia," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(2), pages 123-141.
    22. Sean O’Brady & Virginia Doellgast, 2021. "Collective Voice and Worker Well‐being: Union Influence on Performance Monitoring and Emotional Exhaustion in Call Centers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 307-337, July.

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    Keywords

    job satisfaction; gender; Oaxaca decomposition;
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