Perceptions of Workplace Gender Discrimination and Fertility Intentions among Married Working Women in Korea: Insights from Asymmetric Fixed Effects Models

Previous research has established a link between perceived workplace gender discrimination (WGD) and adverse psychological health outcomes. However, the influence of perceived WGD on fertility intentions has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived WGD and fertility intentions, particularly separating the effects of both increases and decreases in perceived WGD. Data from two waves of the Youth Panel, a nationally representative sample of young population (N = 638), were analyzed. This study employed an asymmetric fixed effects (FE) model to investigate the potentially asymmetric effect of increases and decreases in perceived WGD on fertility intentions, while also accounting for unobserved individual heterogeneity. The standard FE model revealed a negative association between perceived WGD and fertility intentions. Contrastingly, the asymmetric FE model indicated that only an increase in perceived WGD was significantly associated with a decrease in fertility intentions, whereas a decrease in perceived WGD did not demonstrate a significant association. Furthermore, when stratified by childbirth experience, the negative relationship between an increase in perceived WGD and fertility intentions was significant only for women without previous childbirth experience. These findings underscore the importance of considering factors such as the work environment and family life to better understand women’s fertility intentions.