Women from poor backgrounds are less likely to be unemployed than men, says US study

American women who grew up in poverty are less likely to be unemployed than their male counterparts, according to new research.

The study, published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), found that 72% of women from the poorest backgrounds in Washington, DC were in work at the age of 30, compared to just 56% of men.

Among higher income percentiles, men were more likely to be employed at age 30 than women, and both men and women were more likely to be in work overall.

The authors found that the gender gap was largest among single-parent families and poor neighbourhoods, concluding that: “gender gaps in adulthood have roots in childhood, perhaps because poverty and exposure to disadvantaged neighborhoods during childhood are particularly harmful for boys.”

Lead researcher Raj Chetty of Stanford University commented that: “There's quite consistent evidence throughout life that boys seem more sensitive [to the effects of poverty] than girls. What we’re documenting here is that this shows up even when you’re 30 years old.”

Martin Biewen has written for IZA World of Labor about poverty persistence and poverty dynamics. Noting that a significant part of poverty at any given point in time is transitory rather than persistent, he argues that: “Policies that promote education, employment, and attachment to work will be most effective in reducing persistent poverty, along with policies that strengthen family and job stability (such as childcare subsidies).”

The NBER working paper, Childhood Environment and Gender Gaps in Adulthood, can be downloaded here.

Related article:
Poverty persistence and poverty dynamics by Martin Biewen