Gender Differences in Overtime

Abstract

Among full-time workers, differences in the amount ofpaid overtime worked by men and women make a major contribution to the overall gender gap in earnings. This article argues that direct discrimination in the allocation of overtime would appear to be responsible for only a small part of this differential. Rather, the gender gap in overtime is primarily due to the under-representation of women in high overtime industries and occupations, and to the greater reluctance of women to work overtime when and if it is available. It isfurther argued that the lack of overtime opportunities in industries in which women are concentrated is a consequence both of relatively low labour on-costs, and of the greater discretionary control that managers in these industries have over the organization of work and working time.