The Global Compact and Gender Inequality: A Work in Progress

an article by Maureen A. Kilgour (Université de Saint-Boniface, Winnipeg, Canada) published in Business & Society Volume 52 Number 1 (March 2013)

Abstract

A number of international organisations have identified eliminating gender inequality as a critical element in poverty reduction and development.

Given that the Global Compact (GC) was launched, in part, to work toward the achievement of these goals, this article argues that the GC should pay significant attention to gender inequality in its learning network.

The article discusses the findings of a review of the GC learning network, which reveals that the issue of gender inequality was missing from its agenda in its first decade.

The author suggests explanations for this finding, including the lack of participation by women’s organisations in the GC learning network, the lack of a gender discourse in corporate social responsibility initiatives generally, and the GC’s focus on the business case, which may deflect attention from gender inequality where no clear business case can be made.

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Long-distance moves and labour market outcomes of dual-earner couples in the UK and Germany

a research paper by Philipp M. Lersch published in the SOEP papers series

Abstract

Chances are high that partners in dual-earner couples do not receive equal occupational returns from long-distance moves, because job opportunities are distributed heterogeneously in space.

Which partners are more likely to receive relatively higher returns after moves?

Recent research shows the stratification of returns by gender and highlights the importance of gender roles in mobility decisions.

I extend past literature in two ways.
First, while past research mostly examined partners separately, I directly test for gender differences in matched pairs of women and men in dual-earner couples and account for the non-independence of both careers.
Second, I compare evidence from the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany to shed light on the effects of institutional and normative contexts.

For my analysis, I draw longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1991-2008).

My results show that women in dual-earner couples are temporarily adversely affected in their careers by long-distance moves in the UK and West Germany after controlling for various characteristics of both partners.

Women in East Germany are not affected by long-distance moves.

Moves do not change wage rates significantly for women and men that stay in employment in both countries.

Full text (PDF 45pp)

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