how does globalization help in narrowing the gender gap
Answers
The gender gap’s persistence and globalisation
The power of observable characteristics in explaining the gender wage gap has decreased over time. More and more women get higher education and combine family life with having a career.1 Yet, there is still a gender wage differential, even in gender equal societies such as the Nordic countries. As argued by Goldin (2014), the gender wage gap persists partially because firms have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who work long and particular hours. Differences in pay between genders may also be due to differences in flexibility and commitment. Moreover, if women are less committed and flexible, globalisation may exacerbate the gender wage gap, because it increases the value of worker flexibility to firms.
By the virtue of being exposed to higher competition, exporters require greater commitment to work and greater flexibility of their employees. For instance, working for an exporting firm may require taking late night phone calls to communicate with customers in different time zones and international travel arranged at a short notice. The employees may be expected to be available around the clock seven days a week in case of unexpected problems arising on the production line or shipments being delayed. If commitment is not easily observable and women are perceived to be less committed workers than men, exporters will statistically discriminate against female employees and will exhibit a higher gender wage gap than non-exporters. This is likely to be true particularly among highly skilled employees.