Does Menstruation Explain Gender Gaps in Work Absenteeism?

25 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2010 Last revised: 24 Feb 2023

See all articles by Jonah E. Rockoff

Jonah E. Rockoff

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Mariesa A Herrmann

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Date Written: November 2010

Abstract

Ichino and Moretti (2009) find that menstruation may contribute to gender gaps in absenteeism and earnings, based on evidence that absences of young female Italian bank employees follow a 28-day cycle. We analyze absenteeism of teachers and find no evidence of increased female absenteeism on a 28-day cycle. We also show that the evidence of 28-day cycles in the Italian data is not robust to the correction of coding errors or small changes in specification. We show that five day workweeks can cause misleading group differences in absence hazards at multiples of 7, including 28 days.

Suggested Citation

Rockoff, Jonah E. and Herrmann, Mariesa A, Does Menstruation Explain Gender Gaps in Work Absenteeism? (November 2010). NBER Working Paper No. w16523, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1708765

Jonah E. Rockoff (Contact Author)

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Mariesa A Herrmann

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. ( email )

P.O. Box 2393
Princeton, NJ 08543-2393
United States
609-716-4544 (Phone)

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