Gender‐based income disparity among self‐employed professionals

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test two possible explanations for persistent income disparity between male and female self‐employed professionals. First, men are more likely than women to be motivated by the potential for high income to establish a professional practice. Second, men are more likely than women to adopt a thinking‐over‐feeling cognitive decision‐making style.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a gender role/career motivation model to develop a set of hypotheses that explain observed gender‐based income disparity among self‐employed professionals. Hypotheses were tested using multivariate regression analysis with data drawn from a large‐scale national survey of male and female veterinarians in private practice.FindingsMale veterinarians showed less empathy toward their clients and were more likely to use a thinking‐over‐feeling decision‐making style than were female veterinarians. Also, practice income was greater for male veterinarians with high client empathy (CE) and feeling‐over‐thinking decision‐making style than for male veterinarians with low CE and thinking‐over‐feeling decision‐making style. However, there was no significant difference in practice income between female veterinarians with high CE and feeling‐over‐thinking decision‐making style and female veterinarians with low CE and thinking‐over‐feeling decision‐making style.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study was limited to American veterinarians, future research on income disparity should be expanded to include other self‐employed professionals and/or other national settings.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research on gender‐based income disparity among self‐employed professionals by examining underlying factors that potentially contribute to these differences such as motives for establishing the practice and the practice owner's decision‐making style.