Gender Differences in the Labour Market and Household Behaviour

Dear Colleagues,

Gender differences in labor market outcomes and household behavior remain among the most persistent and consequential forms of inequality worldwide. Despite remarkable improvements in female educational attainment and labor force participation, large gaps continue to exist in wages, job quality, career advancement, training opportunities, time allocation and family formation. Meanwhile, households are undergoing profound demographic and social transformations: fertility decline, delayed marriage, changing partnership patterns and evolving norms surrounding parenting and caregiving. Understanding how these labor market and household dynamics interact—and how they differ by gender—is crucial for explaining contemporary forms of inequality and designing effective policy responses.

This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality empirical, conceptual and review contributions that study gender differences at the intersection of labor markets and household decision-making. We are particularly interested in research that moves beyond documenting gaps to identify the underlying mechanisms through which institutions, workplace practices and family constraints jointly shape gendered outcomes over the life cycle. We also welcome studies that examine the role of gender norms, social expectations and beliefs in shaping both labor market behavior and household decision-making. Contributions may focus on topics such as precarious and nonstandard employment, overwork and long hours, discrimination, wage setting, on-the-job training and career mobility, as well as household behaviors including fertility intentions, marriage and partnership formation, parenting, caregiving and the intra-household allocation of time and resources. Papers that analyze the role of labor market institutions and family policies, such as parental leave, childcare provision, tax and welfare systems and flexible work arrangements, are also encouraged.

The Special Issue seeks to complement and extend the existing literature in labor economics, family economics and gender studies by emphasizing integrated analytical frameworks that link labor market conditions to household responses and vice versa. While a large body of work studies workplace inequality and family behavior separately, fewer studies explicitly analyze their dynamic feedback effects—for example, how job insecurity affects fertility and marriage, how family responsibilities shape training and promotion, or how dating and mating markets interact with labor market prospects. We are also interested in work that examines the dynamic and long-run consequences of these interactions, including cumulative career trajectories, intergenerational mobility and child outcomes. By collecting such contributions in one venue, this issue will highlight new empirical evidence, foster cross-field dialog and encourage new theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding gender gaps.

We welcome studies using diverse methodologies, including quasi-experimental designs, structural models, field and survey experiments, administrative or large-scale survey data and comparative or cross-country perspectives. Submissions covering diverse institutional settings, including low- and middle-income countries, are welcome, especially where labor market informality and household structures generate distinct gendered dynamics. Together, the papers in this Special Issue will advance understanding of the origins, dynamics and consequences of gender differences and provide insights relevant for labor market regulation, family policy and broader gender-equality initiatives.

Contributions have to follow one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper or review) of the journal and address the topic of the Special Issue.

Dr. Castiel Chen Zhuang
Dr. Saizi Xiao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• gender gaps
• labor market inequality
• precarious employment
• overwork
• discrimination
• wages
• on-the-job training
• job mobility
• human capital investment
• fertility intention
• marriage
• dating and mating markets
• parenting
• household decision-making
• work-family balance
• applied microeconomics