@misc{6d45a5a6-a51e-4704-b0a8-04c8cea7c545,
  abstract     = {{This paper investigates whether cultural gender norms about occupations, defi ned as a<br/>society’s perception of what is appropriate work for men and women, contribute to persis-<br/>tent gender-stereotypical occupational choice. Using large-scale international survey data<br/>and high-quality administrative records, I study whether second-generation immigrant men<br/>(women) are less likely to work in an occupation that is perceived as female (male)-typical<br/>work in their country of ancestry. I fi nd robust evidence that men, but not women, adhere<br/>to occupation-specifi c cultural gender norms: men are less likely to work in an occupation<br/>that is perceived as female work in their country of ancestry, while there is no such eff ect<br/>for women. To investigate mechanisms behind this result, I design an international survey<br/>experiment. The results corroborate the gender asymmetry found in the observational data<br/>and reveal a social perception penalty for men in heavily female-dominated occupations,<br/>but no comparable consistent penalty for women in male-dominated fi elds. Taken together,<br/>the fi ndings of this paper suggest that persistent social norms are a key factor behind the<br/>slow integration of men into female-dominated occupations.}},
  author       = {{Irmert, Natalie}},
  keywords     = {{occupational choice; social norms; epidemiological approach; J16; J24; J62}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2026:5}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Bound by Tradition: Cultural Gender Norms and Occupational Choice}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/251349055/WP26_5.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}