Malin Backman defends her doctoral thesis

Malin Backman’s thesis examines women in the labor market, focusing on the impact of technological innovation and gender dynamics.

The first chapter focuses on digital skill requirements in female-dominated clerical jobs. Despite a significant increase in digital demands, such as proficiency with specific software, the share of women among new hires has remained stable. This indicates that women adapt to evolving job requirements, and firms do not necessarily favor men for these roles as tasks become more digitally intensive.

The second part investigates the impact of robot and software technology on the U.S. gender wage gap. Malin finds that automation has contributed to narrowing the gap by displacing male-dominated jobs. As tasks performed by industrial robots, for example, expand, male workers are pushed into lower-paying jobs. In contrast, female-dominated occupations are less affected by automation, experiencing fewer declines in labor demand. As artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace in the labor market, one can use these results to extrapolate the potential effects of AI implementation on gender equality.

The final chapter examines gender bias in student evaluations of teaching (SETs). Through a randomized, double-blind experiment, Malin and her co-authors found no significant difference in evaluation scores between male and female teachers. This result contrasts with prior studies, including non-experimental and single-blind research.

Opponent: Associate Professor Kristiina Huttunen, Aalto University

Grading committee:

Senior lecturer Karin Edmark, Research Institute of Industrial Economy, Stockholm University

Associate Professor Emma von Essen, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University

Associate Professor Georg Graetz, Department of Economics, Uppsala University

Supervisors:

Professor Oskar Nordström Skans, Department of Economics, Uppsala University

Associate Professor Arizo Karimi, Department of Economics, Uppsala University