Gender differences in the economic, psychological and social effects of plant closings in an expanding economy

Abstract

The experiences of women and men workers displaced from jobs in 1989 by three plant closings in Indiana were examined. The focus was on three interrelated hypotheses concerning gender differences in the economic, psychological, and social effects of job loss. Questionnaires were sent to workers shortly after the closings and twelve months after the closings. Findings on economic effects indicated no gender difference in reemployment. When reemployed, both men and women suffered wage loss, but women lost less proportionately, due to their lower absolute wages prior to the closings. No gender differences were found in psychological effects and family relationships. Displaced women workers were somewhat more alienated from social institutions and more likely to support government actions to remedy unemployment.