Labour force participation and occupational outcomes among Italian women

• Main Author: Sasso, Alessandro
• Other Authors: Popli, Gurleen ; Brown, Sarah
• Published: University of Sheffield 2018
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.767267

This thesis is made of three related yet independent empirical studies, exploring the determinants of different labour market outcomes among women, using Italian data. The first study investigates the determinants of the reservation wage gap between unemployed women and men, using data drawn from the Italian Labour Force Survey (LFS). The results indicate that a large part of the gender reservation wage gap is explained by different job preferences between males and females, and by unobserved factors which may be associated with occupational discrimination. These factors shed light on the different employment rates between males and females. The second study uses the Italian Sample Survey on Births to investigate the effect of housework and childcare on female labour force participation, and the relationship between child care and occupational attainment. The findings show that those mothers who receive help with housework and childcare are more likely to be employed three years after the birth of the child. In addition, the use of paid childcare options (nursery or baby-sitters) is positively associated with being employed in managerial positions, but negatively related to non-standard forms of employment such as temporary and part-time employment. In a country characterized by a lack of family-friendly policies, motherhood appears still to be a limiting factor for the career of women. The third study uses the Italian LFS to investigate the determinants of self-employment and different types of self-employment among women. It also examines the determinants of hours worked and satisfaction with respect to hours worked of self-employed females. Our findings show little evidence of gender differences in the determinants of self-employment. However, women are less likely to work in self-employment categories that involve management of other employees. The determinants of hours worked differ between self-employed men and self-employed women. For example, the number of children is inversely associated with the hours worked by self-employed women but positively related to the hours supplied by self-employed men. This is consistent with the traditional division of household work in Italian families. Finally, mothers working as employees are less satisfied with hours when they work long hours compared to those without children, whereas the opposite is found among self-employed women. Self-employment may offer the flexibility that helps Italian women to reconcile career with childcare responsibilities.