Module: Seminar for Study Focus (Seminar zum Vertiefungsmodul)
Topics: In this seminar, we will examine multiple dimensions of women’s roles in economics and business. Why do women still earn less than men? Why do they retire with on average less than 40% retirement income compared to men? What is the added value for companies to have more women on board and in leadership positions? And what would actually need to change — in companies, in politics, and in society — to reduce still persisting gender-based inequalities?
Gender disparities in earnings, working hours, and career trajectories still persist in labor markets. The unequal distribution of unpaid household and care work constrains women’s labor market participation even further. At the same time, increased gender diversity could have positive effects on firms, for example on ESG performance. This seminar investigates the structural mechanisms behind the “gender pay gap” and the resulting “pension gap” as well as the “gender care gap”. We will discuss whether increased gender diversity can measurably improve organizational outcomes, including firm performance and ESG performance of companies. The goal of this seminar is however not only to understand the complexity of gender-based disparities, but also to come up with ideas of how to solve them. In this class, we will critically assess which policy instruments could indeed shift the balance and provide a solution: from expanding childcare provision to rethinking how household and care work is shared, all the way to debating whether gender quotas in corporate leadership can actually deliver meaningful change and break the so called “glass ceiling”.
Assessment and contribution to module mark: Seminar paper, presentation
Schedule:
· 8.10.: 09:45 – 11:15 (zoom)
· 2.11: 09:45 – 13:15 (zoom)
· 5.11.: 09:45 – 13:15 (zoom)
· 26.11.: 09:45 – 13:15 (zoom)
· 5.12.26: 08:00 – 17:00 Uhr (classroom)
SWS and CPs: 2 SWS / 3 CPs
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Maria Lehner
Language: The course language is English
Registration: via moodle; please note that this seminar is not open to students who have participated in the seminar “Women in Economics and Business” as part of the course “Wissenschaftliche Methoden/Scientific Methodology”!
- Dozent/in: Maria Lehner