Daughters like mothers? New evidence of inter-generational transmission of labor market stereotypical behavior

Recent literature provides evidence of inter-generational correlation regarding gender-stereotypical behavior in the labor market. There are two potential explanations for this pattern: selection and causality. Relying on identification through second moments, we reveal a striking result among female adolescents in Germany and Australia. The apparent positive correlation between mothers and daughters is entirely driven by selection, suggesting that sticky gender norms are responsible for persistent gender segregation in the labor market. Most surprisingly, we find that causality operates in the opposite direction, suggesting that the mother holding a non-stereotypical job may have an ambiguous effect on the daughter’s occupational choice. Our findings have important implications for policymakers and identify new directions for future research. We highlight the need to investigate the mechanisms of transmission further to design policies that are successful at closing the remaining gaps. Our findings also suggest that policies designed to foster balanced gender compositions may fall short of achieving the desired inter-generational spillovers unless fundamental shifts in underlying gender norms occur.