Job Satisfaction and Advanced Career Opportunities for Women: An Empirical Investigation of Workers in Six Formerly Socialist Economies
43 Pages Posted: 29 May 2012
Date Written: May 2012
Abstract
Does gender equality in the workplace have consequences for job satisfaction? We use data collected from workers in six formerly socialist economies (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Serbia) to investigate the link between the perceived chance that a woman would hold a senior-level position at the firm and job satisfaction. In several groups of survey participants, such a link exists and is positive. Although part of the effect is due to worker personality/attitudes and firm characteristics, the total effect cannot be explained by these factors. Indeed, our results indicate that workers often enjoy higher job satisfaction because they perceive the lack of glass ceiling as a signal of improved own career opportunities. Moreover, it appears that some survey participants enjoy working at the firms that promote gender balance at the top. Generally, the effects are larger and more often statistically significant among men. We talk about possible explanations for these findings. Cross-country differences and policy implications are also discussed.
Keywords: job satisfaction, gender, glass ceiling, transition economies, perceptions
JEL Classification: J16, J28, J7, P31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation