Introduction

This book examines the various ways in which economic outcomes differ for women and men and seeks to identify the reasons for these differences. The fact that economic activities differ by gender has traditionally been attributed—only partly correctly—to the advantages of a sexual division of labor. It has been argued that, because women perhaps have an advantage over men in looking after children when they are young, it has been beneficial for both men and women for the former to engage in paid employment while the latter concentrate on (unpaid) housework. But technology, fertility choices, market opportunities, and social norms have changed all of that in the past few decades. Women now have more freedom and more time available for education, for paid employment, and more generally for careers. Yet outcomes in the household and in the market are often markedly worse for them than for men with similar economic qualifications. In this book we seek to understand why this is so, why gender matters in the economic realm. We shall see how small differences and relatively minor advantages (such as physical strength for men) can be magnified to produce striking differences in outcomes by gender. These have been translated into economic differences. But, as we shall also see, economics is by no means the sole reason for gender disparities. Socialization, culture, biology, history, and religion have played roles in bringing about gender inequities.

Although the subject matter of this book is extremely important, interest in it among mainstream economists has been surprisingly recent. Only in the past few decades have scholars in economics started addressing these issues systematically. It is not the case that there was no interest at all prior to this. Powerful voices in the past brought attention to important gender issues. Ardent feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Mill and her husband John Stuart Mill, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, among many others, sought through their writings to level the gender playing field along many dimensions. But mainstream economists did not follow their cue. However, in recent decades—partly under the influence of feminist economists who have questioned male-centered presumptions in economics—the profession has seriously turned its attention to issues pertaining to gender.

As a result, the literature on gender and its role in economics has been transformed. In the early days of formal analysis in this area, the labor supply activity of women was in the foreground and occupied almost the entire scope of the field. Recently, however, many aspects of women's economic lives have been investigated, and it has become clear that their labor supply captures only one facet—though a very important one—of their economic well-being. Today the numerous topics pertaining to the economics of gender that are being investigated almost defy classification. Nevertheless, it is possible to organize the research in a manner that communicates the core factors that determine the well-being of women. Furthermore, although it is impossible to present a single overarching model that addresses all the diverse issues, it is possible to communicate the sort of models that are best suited to analyzing them. These, in fact, are the ultimate twin goals of this book.

The problems confronting women in the developed and the developing worlds can be quite different, and so this book treats the core concerns in both. To a certain extent, some of the problems of women in poor countries today are similar to those that were faced by women in the rich countries when those countries were at the corresponding stage of development. However, culture matters, and so does history. Therefore, the lessons learned from the rich countries cannot be directly applied to poor countries. Nevertheless, at a broad level there are some similarities. For eons, the lives of women the world over have been dominated by decisions made by men—by patriarchy, in other words. In the rich countries patriarchy has certainly been retreating for at least a century, though it has hardly vanished. In the poor countries today, the pace of retreat has been much slower. In this book we shall see how crucially important economic opportunities for women are in undermining patriarchy. However, although economic development certainly improves the condition of women, it cannot by itself eliminate the gender differences in outcomes.

This book is set out in four modules. In the first module ("Fundamental Matters," comprising Chapters 2 and 3), we deal with core mechanisms—the economic, psychological, and social factors that determine gender differences in behavior. In the second ("Gender in Markets," Chapters 4–6), we discuss how gender plays out in market activities. In the third ("Marriage and Fertility," Chapters 7–9), we discuss gender issues pertaining to the economics of marriage and family. And finally, in the last module ("Empowering Women," Chapters 10 and 11), we discuss what enhances the autonomy of women in their struggle for equality with men. In the rest of this chapter, I outline with a broad brush the sorts of issues that are dealt with in depth in the rest of this book.

When economic outcomes are different for women than for men, not all of these may be due to differences in the constraints they face, the skills they possess, or the discrimination they may encounter. It is conceivable that, in similar circumstances, the economic behavior of women may differ from that of men. For example, in the context of negotiations, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever (2003) have documented the fact that women, in contrast to men, frequently receive less because they don't ask for more. This can have serious long-term consequences. A lower starting salary would contribute to a substantial wage gap in a few decades even if salaries were to subsequently increase at the same rate. Whether women have different attitudes and behaviors in the economic realm and, if so, whether they respond to the way they are viewed and how this works to their disadvantage, is the subject matter of Chapter 2. In particular, we shall discuss the role of nature and nurture (including socialization) in determining behavior.

A large part of the gender gap in average wages is due to the fact that, across the world, the top executive positions are occupied mostly by men; relatively few women find their way to the top. See Figure 1.1...