How many gaps are there? : investigating the regional dimension of the gender commuting gap

This paper investigates the gender gap in commuting by differentiating between the place of residence and work in urban and rural regions. Using administrative geo-referenced data for Germany and applying decomposition techniques, we provide evidence for a triple gap in commuting to the disadvantage of women. Apart from the overall gap, the regional disaggregation uncovers a further gap among workers commuting between rather than within regions, with the highest gap among commuters between rural regions. Occupational segregation and establishment size are the most relevant factors for explaining the gender commuting gaps.