Egalitarian penalty or reward? A longitudinal study of adolescent gender attitudes and adulthood income

Studies often attribute the persistent gender pay gap to different labor force experiences between men and women. Yet, attitudes formed in earlier life stages also critically shape individual outcomes. Using longitudinal data from Taiwan, this study examines whether and how adolescents’ gender attitudes are related to income in young adulthood. We test two pathways that mediate this relationship at different time points: the attitude continuity pathway from adolescence to young adulthood, hypothesized by the path-dependence theory, and the occupational pathway during young adulthood, hypothesized by the gender socialization perspective. The findings show that girls with egalitarian attitudes are rewarded, as both pathways facilitate higher income in adulthood. However, boys with egalitarian attitudes are simultaneously rewarded and penalized based on different occupational characteristics, resulting in an overall null effect. This study highlights the importance of adolescent gender attitudes and the differential consequences for men and women in the labor market.