Jobless men and women: A comparative analysis of job search intensity, attitudes toward unemployment, and related responses

The study examined gender differences in job search intensity, attitudes toward unemployment, and related responses among a sample of 594 Israelis. It was hypothesized that gender-based differences would be fewer among respondents with high levels of education than among those with low levels of education. At all levels of education, men spent more time searching for work and perceived the state of unemployment as more stigmatic. In contrast, women at all levels of education were more likely to believe that intensive job search efforts will result in finding employment. In addition, the women were more likely to reject jobs due to conflict with family responsibilities and lack of extrinsic job rewards. Moreover, atypical gender characteristics of occupations may constitute a reason for rejecting potential employment among both sexes, although this tendency was more prevalent among the women. No significant differences were found between the sexes in psychological responses of unemployment, although the women reported a more severe decline in health than did the men. Widowed and divorced respondents expressed more negative responses toward unemployment than did married and never-married respondents.