Gender Differences In Earnings Research Articles

Reducing the gender gap in parental leave through economic incentives? – Evidence from the gender equality bonus in Sweden

Using a regression discontinuity design, I evaluate an internationally unique policy in Sweden that rewarded equal division of parental leave with a cash bonus. The policy caused a small but significant reduction in the difference in days of leave between the parents. But since parent couples responded in different directions depending on the gender of the person with the lower uptake, the average effect on the mother-father difference in uptake was insignificant. Expectedly, given this result, the bonus did not affect average gender differences in earnings or indicators of later childcare responsibility. However, mothers who lowered their uptake of parental leave in response to the bonus displayed positive point estimates with regard to earnings while mothers who increased their uptake displayed negative estimates. This indicates that we cannot rule out a potential link between the length of parental leave and later allocation of time between home and market production. While the bonus did not affect average gender differences in parental leave and earnings, a key finding is that parents’ division of parental leave can be affected by economic incentives, suggesting that better calibrated bonus programs have potential to be useful policy tools.

WHY THE LEADERSHIP GENDER GAP MATTERS—AND WHAT ORGANIZATIONS CAN DO TO CLOSE IT

AbstractThe author, CEO of leadership development firm Linkage, Inc., discusses why there is a leadership gap for women, and how the gap can be closed. She cites research from sources such as the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, the McKinsey/LeanIn.Org Women in the Workplace 2023 report, and research on gender differences in earnings and employment rates over time by Harvard’s Claudia Goldin, for which she was recently awarded a Nobel prize. In closing the gender gap in organizations, the author writes that “our own data shows women who have received investment in their development are more engaged, have more personal satisfaction with their work, are more likely to stay with their company, and lead teams that are outperforming the company average.” She recommends a two‐pronged approach: “1) take a hard internal look at the four critical dimensions in Linkage’s Advancing Women Strategic Framework; and 2) help women develop the awareness, understanding, and skills to scale the hurdles that we have internalized based on the real bias we face externally.” She concludes that it is “more important than ever for organizations in every area (not just business but also government, academic, and the nonprofit world)—and all of us as leaders—to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to women who aspire to lead.”

Gender differences in earnings among people with multiple sclerosis and associations with type of occupation and family composition: A population-based study with matched references.

Gender differences in earnings exist worldwide. Gender segregation or familial status have been previously stated as possible explanations for these differences as well as health differences between women and men. Women are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) as twice much as men. Moreover, MS limitations may affect the work capacity of people with MS (PwMS) implying a reduction in their earnings. We aimed to explore gender differences in earnings among people with MS and without MS and between groups of those diagnosed while also considering types of occupation and family composition, and how these possible differences relate to sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP). We conducted a population-based cohort study in Sweden with microdata from several nationwide registers. PwMS aged 19-57 years (n = 5128) living in Sweden and 31,767 matched references from the population without MS. Outcome measures included earnings, number of SA and DP days combined (SA/DP). A four-way weighted least-squares analysis of covariance was performed to explore the associations of gender, MS, type of occupation, and family composition with earnings. Risk of SA and DP days was assessed with logistic regression. Overall, and across all occupations, women earned less than men, although less so among managers with MS. Annual gender differences in earnings were larger if living with children at home compared to not living with children. Nevertheless, these gender differences decreased after adjusting for SA/DP, both among PwMS and references. PwMS had considerably more SA/DP days than references. Women also had more SA/DP days than men. We observed that working women earned less than working men, and that gender differences in earnings were present in all occupations, although less evident among PwMS in managerial positions. The combination of gender, occupation, family composition, and MS, was associated with earnings, even when adjusting for the number of SA and DP days.

Women Managers and the Gender Wage Gap: Workgroup Gender Composition Matters

Women's representation in managerial positions is a common metric for gender equity in organizations. Whether women managers improve gender equity among their subordinates is, however, less clear. Drawing on rich longitudinal personnel data from a large Korean food company, we provide new insight into this question by focusing attention on key micro-contexts for interaction and relational politics within organizations: workgroups. Building on social-psychological theories about in-group preference and value threats, we theorize that workgroup gender composition conditions the relationship between supervisor gender and gender earnings differentials. Results from regression models with workgroup fixed effects confirm this insight. Women supervisors are associated with smaller gender earnings gaps in workgroups when they are male-dominated. This relationship is stronger for less-advantaged workers, with supervisor gender and workgroup gender composition mattering more for “sticky floors” than “glass ceilings.”

Earnings Trajectories After Divorce: The Legacies of the Earner Model During Marriage

Divorce marks the legal endpoint of a marital union. While divorce is increasingly seen as a ‘clean break’, the past marital history of the couple may nevertheless shape their present conditions. In particular, there may be a legacy of a highly gendered division of labour during marriage that may affect the ex-spouses’ earning trajectories beyond the date of divorce. Using register data from the German Pension Fund, we examine the earning trajectories of heterosexual couples who filed for a divorce in 2013 (24,616 men and 24,616 women). Using fixed-effects and matching techniques, we compare the earning trajectories of divorcees with those of a control group of married persons in the period spanning two years before and two years after divorce. In particular, we examine how the earner models divorcees followed during marriage shaped their future earning trajectories. Our results show that, on average, the earnings of a divorced woman in a male breadwinner constellation increased after divorce, while the earnings of her male ex-spouse declined. Nevertheless, large gender differences in earnings persisted: 2 years after separation, a divorced woman who had been in a male breadwinner constellation was, on average, earning 72% less than her ex-spouse. We discuss our findings against the background of recent policy reforms in Germany, which assume that ex-partners should be economically ‘self-reliant’ after divorce.

The effect of gender and gender pairing on bargaining: Evidence from an artefactual field experiment

Men and women negotiate differently, which might create gender inequality in earnings from bargaining. We study the role of gender and gender pairing in bilateral bargaining, using an artefactual field experiment in rural Uganda, in which pairs of participants bargain over the division of a fixed amount of resources. We vary the gender composition of the bargaining pairs as well as the disclosure of the participants’ identities. We find gender differences in earnings and agreements, but only when identities and, thus, genders are disclosed. Women in same-gender pairs obtain higher final earnings than men and women in mixed-gender pairs, which is due to the lower likelihood of disagreement among women-only pairs. We identify gender differences in demands and demand inconsistency--the money left on the table once demands are corrected for beliefs about the counterpart’s demand--as mechanisms behind the observed gender differences in bargaining outcomes. In addition, we find that gender differences in demand inconsistency are related to gender differences in education and a measure of expected generosity.

Gender, learning, and earnings estimate accuracy

We analyze the underlying source of gender differences in earnings estimates on a crowdsourcing platform, Estimize, to understand the mechanisms driving analyst ability. Estimates made by females are more accurate than those made by males. This outperformance is not consistent with explanations based on females’ innate ability to process information, females utilizing more up-to-date information, superior stock selection among females, copycat estimates, gender bias, or survivorship bias. Instead, our evidence is consistent with females learning more quickly through making estimates, leading to their outperformance.

When Marriage Becomes a Liability: The Economic Implications of Marital Status for Female CEOs

While research has consistently found that divorce has a negative effect on women’s earnings, we argue that for females who are successful in navigating social constraints, divorce has a positive effect on earnings. Building on evolutionary psychology, which shows that mate removal increases resource acquisition efforts by females but not by males, we argue that divorced female CEOs have more cognitive resources to invest at work. It leads them to earn higher compensation – a divorce premium – relative to married female CEOs. Using a matched sample of female and male CEOs, we found a divorce premium for female CEOs that was absent for male CEOs. The premium increased the longer the female CEOs were divorced although it decreased with children and when the CEOs remarried. Our findings offer new insights into gender differences in earnings by explaining that constraints that emanate from evolutionary adaptations operate differently. While social constraints decrease women’s earnings after divorce, evolutionary adaptations decrease women’s earnings when they are married. The lack of any difference between divorced and married male CEOs validates that partner’s presence affects women’s preferences but not those of men.

The gender earnings gap among elite athletes in semi-professional sports

ABSTRACT Research question This study examines gender differences in human capital, performance characteristics, and earnings among elite athletes in semi-professional sports in Germany. Research methods In 2018, a nationwide online survey of elite athletes supported by the German Sports Aid Foundation was conducted where they were asked about their life and earnings situation (n = 1064). Regression analyses were estimated to identify the role of gender while controlling for human capital and performance characteristics. Results and findings The results showed a significant gender earnings gap in favor of male athletes for annual earnings and calculatory wage rate. This gap is mainly driven by gender differences in earnings from work and public sport funding, while financial support from the German Sports Aid Foundation and from family/friends attenuated the gap. The results can be explained by treatment discrimination and male athletes’ preferences for current work, while female athletes invested significantly more time into studying/learning and their human capital, respectively. Implications The findings have implications for funding institutions as well as people involved in supporting elite athletes in semi-professional sports. Research contribution Since earnings data are typically not publicly available, this study relies on unique data to examine athletes’ earnings taking a gender perspective.

An Explanation of a Gender Earnings Gap in the Veterinary Profession

Analysis of a unique data set of U.S. veterinary firms and veterinarians provides evidence of significant differences in earnings between self-employed males and females. After controlling for important concomitant variables, including training and experience, self-employed female veterinarians generally own smaller clinics and have lower earnings than their male counterparts. This study considers which demographic/economic factors may be associated with observed gender differences in earnings. The gender gap for average earnings is about 44 percent; however, when controlling for certain characteristics, the gap narrows to as little as 23 percent, depending on the model specification. Firm size was found to be the strongest contributing factor in explaining the gender gap in earnings, and so, possible explanations for differences in firm size have also been discussed. Whilst the analysis is not conclusive, there is evidence that self-employed females may face customer discrimination, which may constrain the growth and size of female-owned firms. (JEL D21) Keywords: Gender differences, salaries, self-employment, veterinarians

The Gender Gap in Early-Career Wages of Universities’ and Vocational Education Institutes’ Graduates

Data from the Federal Statistical Sample Survey of Employment of Vocational Education and Higher Education Graduates is used to measure the gender wage gap and analyze the factors explaining gender inequality. The Mincer equation with Heckman sample selection bias correction as well as the Blinder–Oaxaca and Neumark decomposition methods are applied to measure gender differences in earnings. Findings show that women are paid 18–20% lower than men, the educational and socio-demographic characteristics as well as labor market factors being controlled for. The gender wage gap is largely dependent on education attainment, reaching 25% among graduates from skilled-worker vocational programs, 20% among mid-level professionals, and 18% among college graduates. Decomposition of the gender wage gap allows assuming an essential proportion of unexplained differences that may arise from discrimination and unobservable factors.

Sentiment analysis and gender differences in earnings conference calls

We apply textual analysis to the transcripts of nearly 78,000 earnings conference calls between 2004 and 2018, comparing the difference in sentiment between female and male senior managers (CEOs and CFOs). We focus on two main measures of sentiment: tone and vagueness. Our contribution is twofold. Firstly, we show that female executives employ a more positive and less vague tone than their male colleagues during conference calls. The more positive and less vague tone of female executives does not reflect incremental information content but instead appears to be a linguistic feature that distinguishes female from male executives.Secondly, we find that financial analysts participating in conference calls exhibit a gender bias as they are less positive and more vague when facing a female executive. However, the stock market reaction to the call is affected by the sentiment of the call, but not by the executive's gender.

The Gender Wage Gap and the Fair Calculations Act

Abstract If enacted into law, the Fair Calculations Act would require forensic economists to ignore an injured party's gender when forecasting the loss in future earnings. We discuss how this would affect the size of awards for men and women, and some of the issues that would arise if the law is enacted. Of particular interest is the extent to which gender differences in earnings, earnings growth, and worklife expectancy are the result of sex discrimination in labor markets as opposed to sex differences in preferences. We present evidence that gender differences in human capital characteristics explain a large share of gender differences is in labor market outcomes, though there is considerable disagreement about how to interpret these results. We also show that gender differences in earnings are diminishing over time, but it is not likely that the gap will disappear in the near future. Finally, we discuss how forensic economists may have to rely on additional information when forecasting earnings if they are no longer allowed to use gender.

The Effect of Gender and Gender Pairing on Bargaining: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment

Men and women negotiate differently, which might create gender inequality in access to resources as well as efficiency losses due to disagreement. We study the role of gender and gender pairing in bilateral bargaining, using a lab-in-the-field experiment in which pairs of participants bargain over the division of a fixed amount of resources. We vary the gender composition of the bargaining pairs as well as the disclosure of the participants' identities. We find gender differences in earnings, agreement and demands, but only when the identities are disclosed. Women in same-gender pairs obtain higher earnings than men and women in mixed-gender pairs. This is the result of the lower likelihood of disagreement among women-only pairs. Women leave more on the bargaining table, conditional on their beliefs, which contributes to the lower disagreement and higher earnings among women-only pairs.

The Effect of Gender and Gender Pairing on Bargaining: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment

Men and women negotiate differently, which might create gender inequality in access to resources as well as efficiency losses due to disagreement. We study the role of gender and gender pairing in bilateral bargaining, using a lab-in-the-field experiment in which pairs of participants bargain over the division of a fixed amount of resources. We vary the gender composition of the bargaining pairs as well as the disclosure of the participants' identities. We find gender differences in earnings, agreement and demands, but only when the identities are disclosed. Women in same-gender pairs obtain higher earnings than men and women in mixed-gender pairs. This is the result of the lower likelihood of disagreement among women-only pairs. Women leave more on the bargaining table, conditional on their beliefs, which contributes to the lower disagreement and higher earnings among women-only pairs.

Bidding for the Better Jobs: An Experiment on Gender Differences in Competitiveness without a Real-Effort Task

We model the competitive striving for high-level positions in firms by letting experimental participants compete in bidding for prizes of different sizes in a hierarchy. Our set-up includes both a flat hierarchy and a steep hierarchy. We mainly focus on whether men and women behave differently with respect to bidding for higher and lower positions, but also consider other possible sources of heterogeneity in behavior. On average, women bid higher than men, but not significantly so, except for the top position of the flat hierarchy. For lower positions, bids are generally close to optimal bidding whereas they are relatively lower for higher positions. Women do win the top positions significantly more often, but there are no significant gender differences in earnings, the difference between prizes and bids. Our results suggest that the strong gender differences in attitudes towards competition that were found in numerous previous studies based on competition in tournaments with real-effort tasks may be specific to that environment. An implication of our results thus is that a particular phenomenon should be studied using more than one experimental design.

Gender Differences in Earnings of Early- and Midcareer Pediatricians.

The US physician workforce includes an increasing number of women, with pediatrics having the highest percentage. In recent research on physicians, it is indicated that men earn more than women. It is unclear how this finding extends to pediatricians. We examined cross-sectional 2016 data on earnings from the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study, a longitudinal study of early- and midcareer pediatricians. To estimate adjusted differences in pediatrician earnings between men and women, we conducted 4 ordinary least squares regression models. Model 1 examined gender, unadjusted; model 2 controlled for labor force characteristics; model 3 controlled for both labor force and physician-specific job characteristics; and model 4 controlled for labor force, physician-specific job, and work-family characteristics. Sixty-seven percent of Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study participants completed the 2016 surveys (1213 out of 1801). The analytic sample was restricted to participants who completed training and worked in general pediatrics, hospitalist care, or subspecialty care (n = 998). Overall pediatrician-reported mean annual income was $189 804. Before any adjustment, women earned ∼76% of what men earned, or ∼$51 000 less. Adjusting for common labor force characteristics such as demographics, work hours, and specialty, women earned ∼87% of what men earned, or ∼$26 000 less. Adjusting for a comprehensive set of labor force, physician-specific job, and work-family characteristics, women earned ∼94% of what men earned, or ∼$8000 less. Early- to midcareer female pediatricians earned less than male pediatricians. This difference persisted after adjustment for important labor force, physician-specific job, and work-family characteristics. In future work, researchers should use longitudinal analyses and further explore family obligations and choices.

The Gender Wage Gap in Pediatrics: Are Things Getting Better or Worse?

Women comprise 43% of the US workforce and 35% to 36% of all physicians, but they comprise 63% of pediatricians in the United States.1,2 Pediatricians are at the forefront of an increasingly and disproportionately female primary care workforce,1 and understanding ongoing gender wage gaps in this profession offers insight into both the valuation of primary care medicine and women’s labor. To that end, Frintner et al’s3 article, “Gender Differences in Earnings of Early- and Midcareer Pediatricians,” provides disheartening news. Even in this female-dominated profession, in which women may have greater opportunity to organize and demand equal pay for equal work, women receive 76 cents on the dollar relative to their male counterparts.3 Note the following: We use the term “gender” (based on social construction) rather than sex (based on biology) in our discussion of salary differences by self-reported sex because the reasons for the difference are social rather than biological. Frintner et al’s3 analysis of this large national cohort of … Address correspondence to Anita Raj, PhD, Department of Medicine, Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, MC 0711, La Jolla, CA 92093-0711. E-mail: anitaraj{at}ucsd.edu

Expected work experience and the gender wage gap: A new human capital measure

Work experience is a key variable in earnings function estimates and wage gap decompositions. Because data on actual work experience are rare, studies commonly use proxies, such as potential experience. But potential experience is identical for all individuals of the same age and level of education, so it ignores labor market intermittency because of childbirth and child rearing—a critical omission when analyzing gender differences in earnings. This paper constructs a better proxy: expected work experience, which is the sum of the annual probabilities that an individual worked in the past. This measure can be generated using commonly available data on labor force participation rates by age and gender to gauge the probability of past work. Applying the measure to labor force survey data from the Philippines shows that conventional proxies underestimate the contribution of gender differences in work experience in explaining the gender wage gap.

Does union membership reduce gender earnings differentials? Evidence from employer–employee matched data in China

AbstractThis paper examines whether union membership reduces gender earnings differentials in the Chinese labour market using an employer–employee matched data set. We have three main findings. First, union membership helps reduce the gender differentials in hourly wage and monthly allowance, but not in monthly basic wage and yearly bonus. Second, ensuring that female workers receive overtime pay is one way by which union membership helps reduce the gender earnings differentials. Third, controlling for firm fixed effects reduces the effect of union membership on the gender gap in hourly wage and monthly allowance, which means that the unobserved firm characteristics might impact the effect of union membership on gender earnings differentials.