In our latest episode of Talking Economics, we met with Barbara Pertold-Gebicka, a CERGE-EI alumna and Assistant Professor at the Institute of Economic Studies of Charles University, to explore family economics and gender wage gaps.

Barbara emphasized that her research aims to understand behaviors within societal and political contexts: “It’s about understanding the behavior of people, given the setup in which they live. We are understanding how people act in a given context.”

She has examined how long parental leaves in the Czech Republic impact women’s careers, noting that extended leaves can result in lower occupational positions and wages for mothers. Contrast this with other countries, where shorter leaves with job protection showed more positive labor market outcomes.

Barbara’s research highlights the challenges faced by mothers re-entering the workforce after long breaks, and the influence of social norms and childcare availability on employment decisions: “In my research with Vojtěch Bartoš (a CERGE-EI alumnus and Senior Assistant Professor at the University of Milan), we investigated how employers view job applications from women with two, three, four-year-old children. We see a big gap in their perception, with employers being much more likely to employ mothers of older children.”

Job flexibility plays a role in mitigating the gender wage gap, she explained, in that flexible jobs can help women balance work and family duties more effectively. The shift towards remote work during the pandemic has introduced greater flexibility, potentially benefiting mothers by reducing commuting time and broadening job opportunities, in turn helping to decrease the gender wage gap.

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