Examining the Gender Wage Gap between Engineers with Paraprofessional Qualifications versus Undergraduate Degrees in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

The literature on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field reveals that even with incentives to encourage women into the field of engineering, their level of enrolment and graduation remains low. This study aims to first examine the overall wage returns of all engineers in Trinidad and Tobago and second their gender wage gap at the paraprofessional (certificate/diploma) and undergraduate (first-degree) level of qualifications. Using Labour Force Survey (LFS) data for the 1991-2015 period, the returns of engineers are analysed by estimating a Mincerian earnings equation, and then an Oaxaca-Blinder wage decomposition, using a statistical level of significance, i.e., 0.1% it was found that in the first instance, the earnings of paraprofessional engineers were generally negative (fewer earnings) and significantly smaller than undergraduate engineers. Undergraduate engineers’ earnings appeared to be larger, and positive, and exhibited rising returns, with the highest returns shown at q80 of 18.8%, and the lowest returns at q20 of 13.2%. The earnings of undergraduate female engineers, although higher than their male colleagues, appeared to be falling across the wage distribution, i.e., from 12.7% to 8.2% between q10-q90, but benefit from higher earnings if employed in a low-income job. In the second instance, when looking at the field of engineering as a whole there is a gender wage gap of 1.7%, but when the type/level of qualification is considered, it produces a gender wage gap of 19.6% for engineers with paraprofessional qualifications, and 12.3% for engineers with an undergraduate degree in engineering. The largest gender wage gap is observed amongst engineers holding paraprofessional qualifications. Further analysis into the different components of this gap (unexplained, explained and interaction) reveals that female engineers are more likely to be discriminated against, especially when holding an undergraduate degree in engineering (4.8%), when compared to a paraprofessional qualification (3.6%). Thus, the gender wage gap does not favour female engineers. The paper expands on existing research on the gender wage returns associated with different fields of study and provides detailed evidence of the gender wage gap and the wage patterns emerging from the field of engineering in Trinidad and Tobago, regarding key groups of engineers holding paraprofessional and undergraduate qualifications in the field. It also gives important insights into the earnings of men and women in engineering for the period 1991-2015.