The Gender Gap in Labor Market Participation and Employment: A Cohort Analysis for West Germany

Labor market participation rates of West German females hav risen during the last decades,whereas participation rates of males hav declined or remained stable. Nevertheless,differences in aggregate gender speci?c participation rates remain. The purpose of this paper is to compare life cycle participation and employment pro ?les of West German males and females of different skill levels. Going beyond the descriptiv cross tabulations of participation and employment rates by year,skill level,and sex, this paper uses a model which simultaneously takes into account the effects of time, age, and birth cohort membership. The estimation results allow for the construction and comparison of gender and skill speci?c life cycle participation and employment pro ?les. Even though the gap in average participation and mployment rates has narrowed over time, the results con?rm a persistent gender gap in the pattern of labor market participation and employment over the life cycle.

Fitzenberger, Bernd, Reinhold Schnabel and Gaby Wunderlich (2001), The Gender Gap in Labor Market Participation and Employment: A Cohort Analysis for West Germany, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 01-47, Mannheim.