The job satisfaction gender gap among young recent university graduates : Evidence from Catalonia

The present paper focuses on the gender differences in job satisfaction reported by recent university graduates in Catalonia (Spain). The data allows to distinguish five areas of job satisfaction: work content, promotion possibilities, earnings, applicability of acquired knowledge, and job security. The empirical analysis shows that there is a gender gap in job satisfaction and that this can be (largely) attributed to the worse employment conditions women face. This is surprising given the nature of the sample, i.e. very young and highly educated. The paper concludes that while young women’s expectations have risen, their labor market achievements have not improved at the same pace. The data set consists of more than 3,000 individuals who graduated in 1997-1998 and were interviewed in 2000.