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  5. Women and Work: Macro Policies, Shocks and the Gendered Nature of Work
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Women and Work: Macro Policies, Shocks and the Gendered Nature of Work

Paper Session

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM (EST)

Hosted By: Union for Radical Political Economics & International Association for Feminist Economics
  • Chair: Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, Rutgers University

Essential, Exposed and Still Unequal: Women, Work and COVID-19 in the United States

Randy Albelda
,
University of Massachusetts-Boston 

Abstract

Covid-19 had provided an opportunity to better see gender and racial inequality in the United States.  Women were more likely to be essential workers and at the same time more likely to be laid off or furloughed than men.  This occurred on top of their primary role of caregiving when child care and all levels of education became remote. This experience has been both amplified and intensified for women of color because of racial segregation, unequal health access and use, and large racial disparities in  resources (especially wealth), making communities of color sites of higher levels of covid exposure and reduced resources, exacerbating racial and income inequality among women (and men) in the United States. This paper explores the implications of gendered paid and unpaid work in covid, with particular attention on racial and income inequality among women and the role of federal, state and local governments (as well as their uneasy relationship among these level of the state) in reducing and/or reproducing that inequality.  This will be done conceptually but also empirically using available government spending and labor force data.  The paper includes a discussion of various policy agendas promoted to reduce gender and racial inequality in the United States both prior to and during covid-19.  

Industrial Policy and Gender Inclusivity

Stephanie Seguino
,
University of Vermont

Abstract

The economics of development and structural change highlight the importance of industrialization as a means for countries to move from poverty to higher living standards and well-being. Industrial policy—that is, an articulated path to industrialization and the production of higher valued-added goods and services—is a means to achieve that goal. A key question is how to make industrial policy gender-inclusive, given that gender job segregation is prevalent, with women less likely to gain employment in capital- and knowledge-intensive and or as researchers and scientists. This chapter begins by providing evidence of gender disparities that have emerged in the process of structural change and industrial upgrading. It then explores research on the benefits of gender inclusion for the success of industrial policies and gender equality. And finally, we discuss solutions to the impediments women face in equitably sharing in the benefits of industrial upgrading. Tools adopted by governments to incentivize firms to cooperate with the strategic goals of industrial policies can be adapted to also promote gender inclusion, enhancing the efficacy of those policies. 

The Macroeconomics of Women’s Economic Empowerment: A Macro-Micro Analysis of Gender Segregation and Job Quality in Developing Countries

Elissa Braunstein
,
Colorado State University

Abstract

This study uses micro-data from the World Bank’s I2D2 dataset to generate country-level estimates of gender segregation by industry and occupation as well as the gender distribution of job quality (using pay and working hours as proxies) for a sample of nearly 50 developing countries. Using a stratification framework, it then evaluates how macroeconomic structure and policy, including measures of global integration, trade liberalization, fiscal stance,  and capital mobility affect gender segregation in labor markets and the distribution of “good jobs” versus “bad jobs”, with consequences for the bargaining power of labor and its share of national income.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Gendered Division of Paid and Unpaid Work: Evidence from India

Ashwini Deshpande
,
Ashoka University

Abstract

Examining high frequency national-level panel data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on paid work (employment), unpaid work (time spent on domestic work) and incomes, this paper examines the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the gender gaps in paid and unpaid work through the lockdown and recovery phases. The first month of the national lockdown, April 2020, saw a large contraction in employment for both men and women, where more men lost jobs in absolute terms. Employment has recovered by August 2020 for men. However, for women, the likelihood of being employed is 9.5 percentage points lower than that for men, compared to the pre-pandemic period. Men spent more time on housework in April 2020, but by August the average male hours had declined, though not to the pre-pandemic levels. Time spent with friends fell sharply for both men and women in April, to recover in August, but not to the pre-pandemic levels. The paper also examines available income data to find the sharpest contraction of incomes in the rural sector for both men and women.

Work Time Matters for Mental Health: A Gender Analysis of Paid and Unpaid Labor

Chiara Piovani
,
University of Denver

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of work time on mental health from a gender perspective in the United States. Specifically, it examines the impact of both paid and reproductive/unpaid work time on the mental health outcomes of men and women. The analysis uses the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey data for 2013-2014 and takes into account various forms of work (e.g. paid, housework, care labor, etc.) while controlling for employment characteristics, economic and social buffers, education and demographic factors. In the United States, women constitute close to half of the paid labor force, but also keep holding the lion share of unpaid work. Evaluating the relationship between mental health and both productive and reproductive work is critical to understand the impact of gender norms – and subsequent social division of labor – on mental health outcomes, and to develop effective public policies towards gender equity and social well-being.
Discussant(s)
James Heintz
,
University of Massachusetts Amherst
JEL Classifications
  • E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
  • B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches