Abstract
The study aims to determine whether the unexplained gender wage gap varies in the different sectors of the economy and to identify the possible causes of these differences. Firstly, we estimate average treatment effect on the individual sectors to identify the unexplained part of gender pay gap. To identify the possible causes of observed variability in unexplained gender wage differences, we use a linear regression model. Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data for 24 European Union (EU) members, we conclude that the unexplained gender pay gap in the individual sectors varies both within the individual EU countries and among the countries. The most important factors in explaining the differences in the gender pay gap among the individual sectors are ownership and the proportion of women in the sector. On the other hand, the proportion of female managers and the proportion of small companies are not statistically significant factors for the explanation of the variation in the sector-specific gender pay gaps. To the best of my knowledge, this study is the first to present fully comparable estimates of the unexplained sector-specific gender pay gap for the 24 EU countries and to identify the causes of the differences in the unexplained gender pay gap at the sectoral level.
Highlights
The fact that, on average, women earn less than men is well known and accepted in economic literature
Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data for 24 European Union (EU) members, we conclude that the unexplained gender pay gap in the individual sectors varies both within the individual EU countries and among the countries
We identify the significant variability in the unexplained gender pay gap calculated for the individual sectors and countries
Summary
The fact that, on average, women earn less than men is well known and accepted in economic literature. To identify the causes of the gender wage differences, these studies mainly use Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition or its modification These enable us to distinguish the part of the gender pay gap which could be explained by differences in known observed personal and company characteristics of men and women, from that which could not be explained by this and which is often known as the ‘remuneration effect’, ‘effect of discrimination’ or ‘the unexplained part of gender pay gap’. The results of these studies depend on the used data set, the number of explanatory variables and the applied method of decomposition
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