More or Less: Behind the Stats Greedy jobs and the gender pay gap
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Oct 14, 2023 Harvard professor Claudia Goldin, Nobel Economics Prize winner, discusses her groundbreaking research on women's employment and the persisting gender pay gap. Topics include factors influencing women's pay, the impact of 'greedy jobs' on gender equality, and the potential for redefining jobs post-pandemic.
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Eureka Moments In Archives
- Claudia Goldin found crucial historical documents in archives that sparked her research into labour markets and women's work.
- She describes these "eureka moments" of pulling mildewed documents from dusty basements as formative to her career.
Pay Differences Emerge With Parenthood
- Goldin frames the gender pay gap by asking why anyone is paid what they are, linking pay to education, technology and household decisions.
- She shows early-career pay is similar by gender but diverges sharply after parenthood.
Pill Opened Career Paths
- Goldin and Lawrence Katz studied how access to the contraceptive pill in the 1970s changed women's education and career choices.
- They found liberalised pill access caused large numbers of women to enter medicine, law and other demanding fields within a decade.