GLOBAL INFLUENCES ON GENDER INEQUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN KOREA

Do multinational enterprises (MNEs) transfer gender-equal employment practices across borders? Using firm-level data for Korea, a country with low gender equality, we find evidence that MNEs bring their home countries' gender norms in employment with them. Foreign-acquired firms report 2-12 percentage-points higher female shares of permanent main-task workers at firm headquarters compared with nonacquired firms and the differential increases with the level of gender equality in the MNEs' home countries. We estimate that 1 to 7 percent of the productivity increase caused by foreign acquisition can be attributed to workforce reorganization that may reduce gender-based misallocations of talent.