1
Introduction
Sociologists of work and stratification have studied why different groups have
disparate opportunities, incomes, and returns on human capital. One expects those who are low
in this scheme of stratification to report low satisfaction with their jobs. Women in the United
States, who often hold jobs that pay less than men’s and are often unsupported in their efforts to
balance work and family, report levels of job satisfaction that meet and exceed those of men.
This is referred to as the gender paradox in job satisfaction.
The gender paradox might be harmful for women. If women are highly satisfied with
their jobs, they have little motivation to demand workplace improvements, both on individual
and aggregate levels. Satisfaction with their jobs may also keep women from pushing harder to
get to higher levels. The gender paradox also has implications for men. Women are increasing
their levels of education, and are becoming a formidable presence in the workforce. Women
may ultimately have an edge over equally qualified men, if willing to work for less; men would
need to accept less themselves to compete. This would decrease the quality of job rewards for
all workers.
We must ask, what makes these women so satisfied? It is important to identify the
underlying causes of job satisfaction to better understand the gender paradox. Several
sociologists have worked to understand the influences of gender on job satisfaction (Andrisani
1978, Cassidy and Warren 1991, Hodson 1989, Lambert 1991, Rosenfeld 1980, Weaver 1978).
Work to date has not fully explored the interplay between job values and job rewards, and little
work has examined the gender paradox cross-nationally. This raises many questions: does the
gender paradox present itself in other countries? Do women in different countries value
Page 1 of 21 
Convention