Description:
Job loss leads to persistent adverse labor market outcomes, but assessments of gender differences in labor market recovery are lacking. We utilize plant closures in Denmark to estimate gender gaps in labor market outcomes and document that women face an increased risk of unemployment in the two years following job displacement. We decompose the gender gap and show that human capital explains half of women’s increased risk of unemployment. In addition, childcare imposes an important barrier to women’s labor market recovery regardless of individual characteristics. Gender differences in sorting across occupations and sectors prior to displacement play a very minor role