A central paradox in studies of gender and job satisfaction is why women's job satisfaction is not lower than men's, given that women's jobs are often inferior in terms of pay, autonomy, and promotional opportunity (Chiu, 1998). However, very few researchers have made an explicit attempt to explain this paradox. Also, much of the research on job satisfaction and gender has been conducted in the United States.

Using the data set on work orientations from the 1997 International Social Survey Program, Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza (2000) showed that in most countries women were actually less satisfied than men, whereas in the Great Britain and the United States women had much higher job satisfaction levels than men among the 21 countries. Thus it seems that the gender/job-satisfaction paradox is not a worldwide but an Anglo-Saxon phenomenon.

Moreover, a very limited number of studies have focused on job satisfaction in Asian countries. Bilgic (1998) did not find clear gender differences in overall job satisfaction in Turkey, but did find clear and significant gender differences related to pay satisfaction and satisfaction with the physical environment. The Turkish women expressed less satisfaction with their pay and working environments than the men did. Khaleque and Rahman (1987) found that there were significant differences between some demographic variables (age, experience, social status) and job satisfaction in Bangladesh.

Older workers and married women were more satisfied with their jobs than other workers were. Traditional culture is of substantial importance in predicting and affecting job satisfaction in Kuwait (Metle, 2002). Kuwaiti women employees were dissatisfied with their jobs in the Kuwaiti government sector because Kuwaiti traditional culture negatively affects Kuwaiti women's level of job satisfaction. There have been few empirical studies of gender and job satisfaction in Korea.