D4 Published development or research report or study
Gender, Education, and Work: Labour Market Outcomes in Care and Non-Care Fields in Italy and Finland
Authors: Kulić, Nevena; Prix, Irene; Galos, Diana Roxana
Publication year: 2025
Series title: INVEST Working Papers
Number in series: 139
ISSN: 2737-0534
eISSN: 2737 - 0534
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ptxka_v1
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ptxka_v1
A substantial body of research indicates that graduates’ field of study is a key predictor of the gender wage gap. While previous studies often compare groups based on women's minority status in a given field, we reframe this by distinguishing between care and non-care fields—defined by their links to stereotypically feminized characteristics. Using administrative data from Italy and Finland, we firstly investigate whether gender gaps in wages and other significant aspects of jobs differ between graduates of care- and non-care related fields of study. Second, adopting a comparative perspective, we further examine whether these gender gaps vary between Italy and Finland, two countries with different levels of gender inequality. Findings support the gender comparative advantage argument that women experience smaller gaps in outcomes when graduating from care-oriented fields than other fields, narrowing disparities in employment, wages, and job authority, and eliminating gender disparities in access to high-service occupations. Analyses are broadly consistent across Italy and Finland, suggesting limited cross-country variation in gender gaps in outcomes when comparing care and non-care fields.
Funding information in the publication:
Nevena Kulić’s contribution was partially supported by an individual fellowship from the Cluster
“Politics of Inequality, University of Konstanz. Irene Prix’s contribution was supported by the
INVEST Research Flagship Centre funded by the Research Council of Finland (decision number: 345546)