The Distribution of Nonwage Benefits: Maternity Benefits and Gender Diversity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Tim; Makridis, Christos A.; Ouimet, Paige; Simintzi, Elena
• 署名单位: Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah; Columbia University; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhac039
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 194
• 关键词: world-war-ii; medical-care; wage; IMPACT; LABOR; performance; TRENDS; women; predictors; leadership

摘要

Why do firms offer nonwage compensation instead of the equivalent amount in financial compensation? We argue that firms use nonwage benefits, specifically female-friendly benefits, such as maternity leave, to increase gender diversity by efficiently attracting women. Using Glassdoor data, we show that firms offer higher-quality maternity leave benefits in labor markets in which female talent is relatively scarce. This result also holds more generally when examining all female-friendly nonwage benefits and is not present when looking at gender-neutral benefits. Moreover, using staggered adoption of state laws, we show that voluntary provision of these benefits can increase firm value.