Gender, Educational Attainment, and Job Quality in Germany, Sweden, and the UK: Evidence from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey

Abstract

This research aims to explore the relationships between gender, educational attainment, and job quality, including work autonomy, work intensity, and job satisfaction across Germany, Sweden, and the UK. The European Working Conditions Survey 2015 was used to achieve this research objective. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis were used to determine how educational level plays an important role in creating gender differences in job quality across three countries. The findings show that receiving postsecondary education can improve work autonomy for both German and Swedish women. However, postsecondary education has different impacts on gender gaps in job quality in these countries. While postsecondary education lowers the gender gap in work autonomy and intensity in Sweden, postsecondary education increases the gender gap in work autonomy and intensity in Germany. Postsecondary education does not significantly decrease gender differences in job satisfaction in Germany or Sweden or any of our job quality measures in the UK. These findings challenge the commonly held belief that higher education has a positive effect on job quality. In fact, gender norms and national institutional factors may also play important roles in this relationship.