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Attitudes toward Women’s Layoffs during Recessions: Evidence from Chinese Firms

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Sociological research has identified persistent disadvantages that face women in hiring and promotion opportunities in firms. This article extends this research on gender inequality to examining firm preferences for women’s layoffs when faced with the prospect of an economic recession. Drawing on nationally representative microdata on workers in China, this article reveals that these preferences differ by firm type. Men in state firms report significantly higher odds of preferring to lay off women first, but this effect is even stronger in private firms. As symbols of economic stability, state firms are prohibited from conducting layoffs, creating insulated organizational cultures with traditional gender role beliefs that are resistant to change. Meanwhile, private firms are governed by a firm logic of profit maximization that creates more precarity among workers and compels them, men and even women, to embrace layoffs of fellow women workers to protect themselves.

Source: Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

DOI: 10.1177/23780231241266733

Author: Anson Au

Institution: Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Language: English

Topic: Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,000