The not-so-gendered labor market consequences of criminal legal contact

• In Event: 20417 - Gender and Work at the Margins: Criminalization, Legislation, and Local Context

Abstract

Research consistently finds that criminal legal contact, such as felony conviction, has negative effects on employment and income in both the short and long term. However, previous research has largely focused on the consequences of contact for men. As women have experienced growing exposure to the criminal legal system, it is increasingly important to document the labor market consequences of criminalization for women. In this paper, we leverage linked administrative criminal, education, and employment records to estimate the effects of criminal legal contact on employment and earnings among women and men. Findings show that despite receiving less severe sanctions than men following an arrest, women experience just as severe declines to their employment and earnings. These findings highlight the importance of criminal records to the life chances of women and draw attention to how gender disparities across institutions interact to reproduce inequality in the labor market.

Authors

• Lindsay Bing, University of Alberta

• Kylie Jaeyun Yim, University of Texas-Austin

• Becky Pettit, University of Texas-Austin