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Winners and Losers: The Consequences of Welfare State Policies for Gender Wage Inequality

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  • Hadas Mandel
Abstract
Cross-national studies of the impact of welfare states on gender inequality tend to overlook socioeconomic divisions among women. This paper challenges the implicit assumption that welfare states have uniform effects on the labour market attainments of all women, arguing that the impact of state intervention is necessarily conditioned by women’s relative advantage or disadvantage in the labour market. Based on micro-datasets from 21 advanced countries, the findings suggest that welfare state policies interact with socioeconomic position in determining women’s economic rewards, tending to penalize highly skilled women while benefiting the less-skilled. Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of social policies in light of the particular groups they benefit, as well as their implications for other groups, the paper concludes that more research is needed to explore differentiated approaches to reconciling work and family, rather than addressing universal work-family tensions.

Suggested Citation

  • Hadas Mandel, 2010. "Winners and Losers: The Consequences of Welfare State Policies for Gender Wage Inequality," LIS Working papers 550, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:550
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Fallon, Kathleen M. & Mazar, Alissa & Swiss, Liam, 2017. "The Development Benefits of Maternity Leave," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 102-118.
    5. Guangye He & Xiaogang Wu, 2021. "Family status and women’s career mobility during urban China’s economic transition," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(8), pages 189-224.

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