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Exploring the gender gap in welfare attitudes: relational skills and perceptions of pay equity (Socio-Economic Review, 2022)

In-Hyee Hwang, Hyunji Lim, Cheol-Sung Lee

Author
In-Hyee Hwang, Hyunji Lim, Cheol-Sung Lee

Title 
Exploring the gender gap in welfare attitudes: relational skills and perceptions of pay equity (Socio-Economic Review,)

Year
2022

Abstract
This article introduces a new aspect of skill profiles, ‘relational skills’, to examine
how occupation-oriented relational skills can activate different perceptions of pay
equity between genders and influence support for the welfare state. Relational
skills refer to the degree of which a worker possesses skills pertaining to human
interactions to those regarding the operation of machines or tools. We examine how
relational skill ratio differently influences perceptions of justice in the pay system
for men and women and how this shapes their welfare attitudes. By analyzing
levels of support for redistribution in 30 OECD member countries targeted by the
International Social Survey Program in 2009, we find the gender divide in social policy
preferences to be the widest in high relational skill occupations. We argue that
this divide is associated with the significant contrast between men and women in
whether they perceive their pay to justly reflect their efforts and skills. Our findings
suggest that women’s perceptions of discriminatory wage scales and support
for the welfare state will be most prominent in occupations that present evaluation
ambiguities or gender ascriptions that challenge women from breaking the glass
ceiling.
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