Perceived Penalties for Women at Work: Evidence from a Conjoint Survey Experiment in China

• In Event: Sociology of Sex and Gender Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8. Gendered Work Trajectories and Labor Market Inequality

Abstract

Prior research on labor market gender inequality using observational data is limited in identifying causal effects, while field experiments typically emphasize hiring outcomes. Using a conjoint survey experiment in China, we examine how worker attributes (gender, family situation, occupation, age, education, and work experience) shape perceived promotion prospects, social status, layoff risk, and overtime availability. Results show women are perceived to have lower promotion prospects, lower status, lower overtime availability, and higher layoff risk. Married women without children face an anticipated motherhood penalty: the anticipation of their imminent motherhood leads to lower perceived promotion prospects and higher perceived layoff risk. Women in male-dominant occupations are devalued, seen as less promotable and at higher layoff risk. For both genders, education and work experience boost status and promotion, but career prospects fall sharply around age 40. These findings reflect a multidimensional, gendered pattern of workplace perceptions.

Authors

• Cheng Cheng, Singapore Management University

• Yang Zhou, Central University of Finance and Economics