Bound by Tradition: Cultural Gender Norms and Occupational Choice.

Autor/in	Irmert, Natalie
Institution	Lunds Universitet / Nationalekonomiska Institutionen
Titel	Bound by Tradition: Cultural Gender Norms and Occupational Choice. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Von Traditionen geprägt: Kulturelle Geschlechternormen und die Berufswahl.
Quelle	Lund (2026), 80 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	Working papers / Department of Economics, Lund University. 2026,05
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monografie
Schlagwörter	Kultur; Soziale Anerkennung; Soziale Norm; Soziale Wahrnehmung; Frau; Frauenberuf; Geschlechterrolle; Zweite Generation; Segregation; Erwerbstätiger; Berufswahl; Männerberuf; Internationaler Vergleich; Arbeitspapier; Auswirkung; Geschlechtsspezifik; Tradition; Welt; Einwanderer; Herkunftsland; Italien; Polen; Schweden
Abstract	"This paper investigates whether cultural gender norms about occupations, defined as a society's perception of what is appropriate work for men and women, contribute to persistent gender-stereotypical occupational choice. Using large-scale international survey data and high-quality administrative records, I study whether second-generation immigrant men (women) are less likely to work in an occupation that is perceived as female (male)-typical work in their country of ancestry. I find robust evidence that men, but not women, adhere to occupation-specific cultural gender norms: men are less likely to work in an occupation that is perceived as female work in their country of ancestry, while there is no such effect for women. To investigate mechanisms behind this result, I design an international survey experiment. The results corroborate the gender asymmetry found in the observational data and reveal a social perception penalty for men in heavily female-dominated occupations, but no comparable consistent penalty for women in male-dominated fields. Taken together, the findings of this paper suggest that persistent social norms are a key factor behind the slow integration of men into female-dominated occupations." The study refers to the period 2001-2025 (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Erfasst von	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg
Update	2026/4