How gender shapes job loss and job searching

Abstract

Prior research on unemployment has paid little attention to women's unemployment experiences. I draw on my study of in-depth interviews and observations of US families experiencing unemployment to illuminate the gendered experience of unemployment. First, men and women interpret job loss differently, with both seeing it as a business decision, but women additionally seeing it as a negative statement on their professional worth. Second, men's and women's job loss is understood differently in their families. In men's families, it is seen as an urgent problem, and resources are directed to help men find new jobs; this is not the case for women. Third, men and women search for jobs differently. Getting a new job remains a central preoccupation for men, but some women indicate a detachment from the labor force. My study demonstrates that we need to continue to pay attention to the gendered implications of employment insecurity.