How Deep Are the Roots of Female Empowerment? Population Diversity and Gender Inequality

Abstract

I study the impact of population diversity, determined predominantly over the prehistorical out‐of‐Africa migration process of anatomically modern humans, on present‐day gender inequality. Leveraging variations across countries and individuals residing in the same country but descending from different prehistorically indigenous ethnic groups, I find that deep‐rooted population diversity negatively affects women's economic and political empowerment. I provide several explanations for this finding. First, preindustrial societies with higher interpersonal diversity tended to experience early technological development, which primarily translated into fertility growth associated with lower women's social status during the Malthusian epoch. Second, population diversity was conducive to economic specialization, which co‐evolved with and amplified the traditional gendered division of labour particularly in preindustrial societies with long agricultural histories. Finally, the early formation and prevalence of unequal gender roles in preindustrial times would gradually increase intergenerationally transmitted cultural beliefs about gender inequality, leading to wide and persistent disparities in gender roles across the contemporary world.