Abstract
This study investigated gender-differentiated patterns of employee attrition and their downstream labor market consequences using a multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Drawing on a sample of 860 formally employed men and women who had recently exited employment across public, private, and non-governmental organization (NGO) sectors, the study examined whether the psychosocial drivers of attrition intention — job dissatisfaction, caregiving/family burden, and career advancement barriers — operated differently for men and women, and whether attrition translated into different post-exit labor market outcomes by gender. Data were analyzed using univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate chi-square and independent-samples t-tests, multivariate binary logistic regression with a sensitivity analysis incorporating a gender-by-caregiving-burden interaction term, and multi-group SEM comparing structural path coefficients between male and female sub-samples. The overall attrition rate was significantly higher among women (63.6%) than men (29.5%) (chi2 = 97.80, p < 0.001). Multi-group SEM results revealed that while job dissatisfaction was a comparatively stronger driver of attrition intention among men (beta = 0.395, p < 0.001 versus beta = 0.253, p < 0.001 for women), caregiving/family burden (beta = 0.465, p < 0.001) and career advancement barriers (beta = 0.422, p < 0.001) were substantially stronger drivers among women than men (beta = 0.136, p = 0.004 and beta = 0.195, p < 0.001, respectively). Women who attrited experienced significantly longer post-exit unemployment durations and steeper wage losses upon re-employment than men. The multivariate logistic regression confirmed that gender remained a significant predictor of attrition after adjusting for age, tenure, dependents, education, and sector, and the sensitivity analysis indicated that the raw gender effect was substantially attenuated once its interaction with caregiving burden was modeled, suggesting that caregiving responsibilities substantially mediate the gender-attrition relationship. The study concluded that attrition among women was structurally rooted in unequal caregiving demands and constrained career mobility rather than job dissatisfaction alone, with material and compounding consequences for their labor market reintegration. Targeted workplace flexibility policies, structured caregiving support, and transparent promotion pathways are recommended to narrow the gender attrition gap and mitigate its labor market costs.