Gender inequality in paid and unpaid work: essays on education, family, and neighbourhood influences

This thesis consists of three standalone papers which explore how primary and secondary socialization through peer and family influences contribute to gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work. Chapter 1 examines the association between neighbourhood co-ethnic concentration and employment rates of mothers from ethnic minority groups. I find that a higher proportion of co-ethnic neighbours is associated with lower employment rates for Pakistani and Black Caribbean mothers, even after controlling for income, education, and pre-existing gender role attitudes. The results point to the influence of broader environmental factors - beyond individual and household characteristics - in shaping maternal labour supply decisions of ethnic minority women, and suggest that localized social networks may influence their labour supply decisions through others channels beyond just the transmission of gender norms. Chapter 2 evaluates the causal impact of attending university on gender role attitudes surrounding female labour force participation. Using an instrumental variable strategy to address endogeneity concerns due to non-random selection into higher education, I find that university education significantly reduces support for the traditional male-breadwinner model and the idea that full-time employment clashes with women’s family responsibilities. Finally, Chapter 3 examines the impact of child gender on couples’ housework hours. Results show that men who co-reside with at least one daughter in the household perform fewer hours of housework per week relative to men who only have sons, and this relationship is stronger when the oldest daughter living in the household is at least 11 years old. The impact of child gender on mothers’ housework hours is less conclusive. Additional analysis using the 2014 British Time Use Survey indicates that total housework does not differ significantly in households with daughters, suggesting that my results may be driven by a transfer of housework responsibilities from fathers to daughters as daughters grow older.