Many studies have shown that men suffer more than women from unemployment in terms of subjective wellbeing. However, we do not know why this is the case.   In this paper we ask whether gender differences in life satisfaction associated with the experience of unemployment can be attributed to differences between men and women in attitudes to gender roles and in work identity.
We find large differences among men, who experience larger negative effects of unemployment if they hold egalitarian rather than traditional gender role attitudes, and if they have strong rather than weak work identity. Among women, it is those holding traditional gender role attitudes who experience larger negative effects of unemployment.

Longhi S., Nandi A., Bryan M., Connolly S. Gedikli C. (2024) Life Satisfaction and Unemployment – The role of Gender Attitudes and Work Identity, Scottish Journal of Political Economy.

Earlier versions also appeared as:
Unhappiness in Unemployment: Is it the Same for Everyone?  Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series no. 2018007.
Research Report on Gender and Unemployment for the What Works Wellbeing Centre.