Women, Men, and Job Satisfaction

Several studies have investigated job satisfaction for men, and some have investigated the difference in job satisfaction between men and women.  The studies which investigate the difference in job satisfaction between men and women primarily focus on attempting to explain why job satisfaction is greater for women than men, particularly when women are, on average, paid less than men. Some of the implications of these studies are that desegregation would actually lower satisfaction for men and women, or that women value job flexibility more and choose to dominate workplaces that provide such flexibility.  All of these studies use data sets from 1997 or earlier, many utilize data from other countries, and some limit the sample to only white men and women.  The present study will examine the difference in job satisfaction for men and women for more recent data, 2006.  A preliminary examination shows little or no difference in job satisfaction for men and women in this more recent data set.  It is hypothesized that while there may have been a difference in job satisfaction in earlier years, that the last ten years have seen tremendous changes in the role of families and work, which has contributed to the narrowing of the difference in job satisfaction for men and women.  It may be that women are now less satisfied with their work, or it may be that men are more satisfied with their work.  This may be due to how women and men value different factors which contribute to job satisfaction.   This study will utilize the 2006 General Social Survey to examine the differences, if any, in job satisfaction for men and women, as well as how men and women value different characteristics which contribute to job satisfaction. The data being used is for the United States, and includes men and women of all races. Ordered Probits will be used to estimate job satisfaction (which is a categorical variable, ranging from very satisfied to very unsatisfied) for men and women. The authors may also use an earlier year of data from the GSS for comparison. Given that the preliminary results indicate little difference in job satisfaction for men and women, it is hypothesized that the differences in how men and women value different job characteristics, such as flexibility on the job, has changed in recent years.