The workshop is a joint initiative by the Institute for Employment Research, Statistics Norway and Norwegian School of Economics.
Gender equality is one of the most important social goals of our time. The labour market participation of women and the reconciliation of family and work life represent central dimensions in achieving more equality in labour markets. Inequality at work and in family relations can be analysed both from the individual and the firm perspective. The primary goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers who address novel questions related to family, household and labour economics using Norwegian or German register data. The secondary objective of the workshop is to bring together junior and senior researchers, in an informal setting, to discuss what we have learned from working with register data and the possibilities such data provide for new research.
The workshop focuses on Norway and Germany, which are two countries with high gender equality when it comes to education and labour force participation, but still high degrees of gender segregation regarding occupation and industries. Remarkable differences between these economies remain in terms of the gender wage gap and family-work balance. Germany is among the countries with the largest gender pay gap in Europe (21 percent in 2017; Eurostat 2019). Norway is among the three countries with the highest gender equality in the world (World Economic Forum). Norway has also been the first country to enact a gender quota-law regarding board positions and has introduced specific programs to increase the share of female entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the share of women in top general manager positions is only around 7 percent. This raises questions about the efficiency of gender equality and family policies, directed either at individuals, households or the formal labour market, e.g. with respect to how firms are organised to achieve inclusive work-life. For contributory sessions, we particularly invite junior researchers and researchers in economics and sociology to submit their research. Submissions to the workshop should be on Family, Household and Labour Economics including topics, such as:
Due to the developments in the COVID19 pandemic, the workshop will be conducted online.