Master Seminar University of Würzburg (summer term 2024)

Gender Differences in Labor Markets

Introduction

Despite progress in recent decades, labor market outcomes differ by gender: women have on average lower wages and they are less represented in top management and leadership, for example. In this seminar, we will examine potential explanations for and policies aiming at reducing gender differences in labor markets.

Participants are provided with eight topics to choose from (a more detailed version with references will be provided to all registered students):

  1. Networks and promotions
  2. Gender board quotas
  3. The motherhood penalty
  4. Individual contribution to team work
  5. Gender differences in self-promotion
  6. Wage bargaining and the gender pay gap
  7. Take-up of parental leave among fathers
  8. Origins of the gender earnings gap

In February 2023, all registered students will be asked for their preference and students will be assigned to each of the topics.

The course gives 10 ECTS. Students will need to write a term paper, present it in the seminar, present a shorter comment on another student’s presentation, and participate in the discussion. The course language is English.

Organization

Contact

The course is led by Associate Professor Jan Sauermann, IFAU Uppsala. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to talk via zoom, please do not hesitate to send an email (jan.sauermann@ifau.uu.se).

Guidelines and format

Term paper

Each student needs to write and hand in a term paper. The studies in the outline are only the first step. Careful literature search and critical reading of the literature will be an integral part of the students’ work. For the term paper itself, it is very important to critically discuss the existing literature as well as theoretical concepts and empirical strategies. Students may use gather data to support arguments but can also entirely rely on arguments from articles.

Regarding the formal requirements, the Chair has provided formal references (pdf). To clarify, I will add some common remarks here as well (list will be updated):

  • Term papers need to be written in English
  • Term papers may at most be 20 pages of text. This includes any tables and figure, but excludes table of contents, assurance, and references.
  • Please use in-text citations (such as “as shown by Mayer (2008)” or “text here (Mayer, 2008).”). Most of the assigned papers follow this style.

Presentation

Each student needs to present his/her term paper. The presentation needs to be done in English. In the case that two students are assigned to the same topic, both students should together present their thesis in a joint presentation. Each presentation is supposed to be no longer than 15 minutes.

  • There is no need to submit the slides before or after the seminar
  • Students can use handouts but this is no requirement

Comment

Each student needs to comment on other term paper. There is no need to submit comments in written form. Slides can be useful for presenting the comment (but are not required). The comments are only about 5 minutes so there is not much time. The idea of the comment is to first give a (very) short summary and then to add own ideas, critical questions or additional input for example from your own topic. Comments should be critical yet polite. Optimally, the comments together with the term paper presentation can stimulate a discussion in which all students can participate.

Discussion

After the term paper presentation and comment, the floor is open for all to ask questions or add own thoughts to the topic. Fair and constructive comments and contributions are a public good for the entire group.

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