In contrast to previous economic recessions where the employment of male workers was affected more strongly than the employment of female workers, the pandemic-led recession had a bigger negative impact on female employment. This is partly because service industries, such as restaurants and hospitality as well as the public sector, which have higher female employment shares and more stable employment over the business cycle, took the biggest hit of the pandemic. Moreover, as most states closed schools and daycare facilities during the pandemic, many working mothers were forced to withdraw from the labor force. As the pandemic hurt women more than men in the labor market, and women experience lower labor force participation and a pay disadvantage, it is vital to identify factors that can mitigate such labor market gender disparity.
This study examines how labor unions affect gender inequality in labor market outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is an exogenous and unexpected shock to the labor market, providing an ideal setting for causal analysis on a national scale. Based on the Current Population Survey (CPS) between 2015 and 2021, I employ the difference-in-difference method, using union workers as the treatment group and non-union workers as the control group, to estimate the gendered union effects on labor market outcomes of union workers.
I find that union workers were better able to secure jobs compared to non-union workers, and this union employment advantage was greater for female workers than for male workers. Female union workers were able to maintain their pre-pandemic level union wage premium whereas male union workers earned a reduced union wage premium. There exists a large heterogeneity in the gendered union effect on employment and real wages by worker characteristic. In terms of COVID-specific labor market conditions, I find that union workers were less likely to telework but more likely to receive pay for the hours they did not work due to the pandemic, and this pattern is more evident for female workers.