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Title: The Gendered Effect of Incarceration on Wages
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Remster, Brianna
Hodges, Melissa J.
The Gendered Effect of Incarceration on Wages
Presented: Montreal, QC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Incarceration/Jail; Wage Penalty/Career Penalty

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Despite a growing body of research on the consequences of incarceration, most systematic studies are limited to men. This shortcoming persists notwithstanding several theoretical traditions suggesting that women may experience the consequences of incarceration differently than men. A primary example is research on the incarceration wage penalty; studies find that men who have been incarcerated earn less over time than never incarcerated men. Yet women have different amounts of human and social capital and work experience and may face greater stigma post release than men. This study addresses this gap in the literature by assessing (1) whether women experience an incarceration wage penalty and how it compares to men's and (2) whether wage penalty mechanisms differ for women compared to men. Using data uses from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), we find that women experience a stronger wage penalty for incarceration than men. Moreover, the mechanisms work differently. Consistent with prior work, human capital explains the bulk of the penalty for men, while a larger residual penalty suggests that stigma is more important for women. These results illustrate the need for applying a gendered lens to consequences of incarceration research.
Bibliography Citation
Remster, Brianna and Melissa J. Hodges. "The Gendered Effect of Incarceration on Wages." Presented: Montreal, QC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2017.