Affiliations: Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, The University
of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland | Administration of Occupational Safety and Health,
Reykjavík, Iceland | Faculty of Nursing, The University of Iceland,
Reykjavík, Iceland
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To analyze gender differences in levels of psychological
distress, financial strain, lay off experiences and job search activity among
unemployed and re-employed individuals who were laid-off due to the collapse of
the financial sector in Iceland in 2008. PARTICIPANTS: The study is based
on questionnaires distributed to 759 former financial sector employees;
426 responses were received giving a 62.6% response rate. METHODS: The groups of unemployed and re-employed woman and men are compared using separate
multivariate binary models to control for mediating factors. RESULTS: The analysis reveals gender differences in demographic factors and jobs held prior
to lay-off. More women than men were psychologically or finically distressed
and claimed being shocked by the lay-off. A higher proportion of men than women
were re-employed at the time of this study. The main difference between those
re-employed and unemployed was lower financial strain among those re-employed
for both men and women in this sample. CONCLUSION: The study does not support the traditional view of men having more difficulties in the lay-off
process than women. This calls for a rethinking regarding gender in lay-off and
unemployment. A gender-based analysis is needed when considering the
ramifications of losing a job and job search activity in the lay-off process.
