Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK

Gedikli, Cigdem; Popli, Gurleen; Yilmaz, Okan

doi:10.1093/oep/gpag019

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Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK

Cigdem Gedikli

, Gurleen Popli, Okan Yilmaz

Oxford Economic Papers

Swansea University Authors: Cigdem Gedikli , Okan Yilmaz

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DOI (Published version): 10.1093/oep/gpag019

Abstract

Despite substantial increases in women’s labour force participation in the UK, large disparities remain across ethnic groups. This article examines the sources of these gaps, assessing the relative importance of individual, household, structural, and cultural factors. Beyond the well-established rol...

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Published in:	Oxford Economic Papers
ISSN:	0030-7653 1464-3812
Published:	Oxford University Press (OUP) 2026
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71921

first_indexed	2026-05-18T16:01:45Z
last_indexed	2026-06-05T10:51:47Z
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spelling	2026-06-04T12:20:57.4304754 v2 71921 2026-05-18 Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK c83614936b5df640b1409eda0676aa44 0000-0002-0055-6397 Cigdem Gedikli Cigdem Gedikli true false bb42de9bf10d32bda4695327b3aa0470 0000-0002-0553-8518 Okan Yilmaz Okan Yilmaz true false 2026-05-18 CBAE Despite substantial increases in women’s labour force participation in the UK, large disparities remain across ethnic groups. This article examines the sources of these gaps, assessing the relative importance of individual, household, structural, and cultural factors. Beyond the well-established role of human capital, we find that integration-related factors, household composition, family structure, and gender norms play a significant role, particularly for South Asian women. In contrast, over and above structural elements, more egalitarian gender attitudes help explain higher participation among Caribbean women. We also find that the influence of gender norms varies depending on economic constraints. These findings emphasize the need for targeted, group-specific policies to reduce persistent ethnic gaps in women’s employment and promote more inclusive labour markets. By focusing on participation as the first barrier, the article sheds light on the entry point for ethnic minority women, informing future research and policy on broader labour market inequalities. Journal Article Oxford Economic Papers 0 Oxford University Press (OUP) 0030-7653 1464-3812 ethnicity, female, labour force participation, gender norms, Gelbach decomposition 26 5 2026 2026-05-26 10.1093/oep/gpag019 COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust in the form of the Research Fellowship awarded to Gurleen Popli (grant number: RF-2020–225\7). 2026-06-04T12:20:57.4304754 2026-05-18T07:33:36.6217210 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Accounting and Finance Cigdem Gedikli 0000-0002-0055-6397 1 Gurleen Popli 2 Okan Yilmaz 0000-0002-0553-8518 3 71921__36863__08ff6337964e464c991c90fd50b4b121.pdf 71921.VoR.pdf 2026-06-04T12:17:52.4674761 Output 1181663 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s) [2026]. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
title	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
spellingShingle	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK Cigdem Gedikli Okan Yilmaz
title_short	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
title_full	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
title_fullStr	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
title_full_unstemmed	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
title_sort	Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK
author_id_str_mv	c83614936b5df640b1409eda0676aa44 bb42de9bf10d32bda4695327b3aa0470
author_id_fullname_str_mv	c83614936b5df640b1409eda0676aa44_*_Cigdem Gedikli bb42de9bf10d32bda4695327b3aa0470_*_Okan Yilmaz
author	Cigdem Gedikli Okan Yilmaz
author2	Cigdem Gedikli Gurleen Popli Okan Yilmaz
format	Journal article
container_title	Oxford Economic Papers
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publishDate	2026
institution	Swansea University
issn	0030-7653 1464-3812
doi_str_mv	10.1093/oep/gpag019
publisher	Oxford University Press (OUP)
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department_str	School of Management - Accounting and Finance{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Accounting and Finance
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description	Despite substantial increases in women’s labour force participation in the UK, large disparities remain across ethnic groups. This article examines the sources of these gaps, assessing the relative importance of individual, household, structural, and cultural factors. Beyond the well-established role of human capital, we find that integration-related factors, household composition, family structure, and gender norms play a significant role, particularly for South Asian women. In contrast, over and above structural elements, more egalitarian gender attitudes help explain higher participation among Caribbean women. We also find that the influence of gender norms varies depending on economic constraints. These findings emphasize the need for targeted, group-specific policies to reduce persistent ethnic gaps in women’s employment and promote more inclusive labour markets. By focusing on participation as the first barrier, the article sheds light on the entry point for ethnic minority women, informing future research and policy on broader labour market inequalities.
published_date	2026-05-26T09:53:59Z
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Decomposing ethnic gaps in women’s labour force participation: evidence from the UK

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