Pay Gap Research Articles

Deinstitutionalized Careers: Intersectionality of Gender Pay Gap among Women Knowledge Workers

The purpose of this study is to explore women knowledge workers’ experiences of the intersectionality of the gender pay gap and to scrutinize the reasons behind gender pay gap. The study problematizes the gender pay gap phenomenon by using intersectionality theory. The study describes how the gender pay gap varies based on ethnical differences besides being women and reveals how this situation deinstitutionalizes women’s careers. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative research design employing thematic analysis conducted in Germany and Türkiye with a purposively selected sample of participants. The study’s empirical material was generated through semi-structured interviews with women knowledge workers who differ in ethnicity and generally work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The study’s findings indicated that ethnicity should be considered among other intersectional factors to analyze the gender pay gap comprehensively. The reasons behind the gender pay gap are found to be the lack of transparency in the workplace, gender-based occupational segregation, culture, the glass ceiling, the existence of male-dominated informal communication channels, and the fact that women workers are more easily preferred in organizational downsizing initiatives.

Monetizing Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA): A Case Study in SMEs Tapioca Industry in Lampung, Indonesia

To verify the responsible and sustainable functioning of circular economy (CE), assessing the sustainability of CE methods is essential. The consistent absence of a social aspect within the CE has been a recurring topic in research. This paper aims to pinpoint social-benefit aspects that are quantifiable in monetary values and investigate how attributing monetary significance to these elements can enhance the evaluation of social sustainability, leading to more informed decision-making processes. The methodology involves both quantitative and qualitative research methods. A quantitative research study was initiated in February 2023. Two approaches were used for sample selection. First, a case study approach was applied to select a specific SME within the tapioca industry. Survey interviews with workers follow the second step. This study also incorporates qualitative methods like literature review and interviews with key informants (cassava and social experts, government officials, and business owners) in April 2023. This research utilized descriptive analysis as a diagnostic tool, offering valuable insights. Challenges in monetizing social factors are discussed, highlighting the need for standardized frameworks, transparency, and stakeholder engagement. The paper also provides a practical example of monetizing social aspects within a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tapioca industry to address issues such as gender wage gaps, worker safety, and community engagement. The findings suggest that the costs of monetizing social aspects may outweigh the benefits in certain cases, calling for a reassessment of practices to ensure a more equitable and sustainable approach to social responsibility. Integrating social factors into assessments improves decision-making processes and stakeholder engagement, ultimately leading to more socially responsible decisions.

Non-standard employment and underemployment at labor market entry and their impact on later wage trajectories

Using data from the Australian Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (2001–2020), we examine how combined patterns of non-standard employment and underemployment in the early career shape later wage trajectories, paying careful attention to gender differences on a representative sample of Australian young men ( N = 470) and women ( N = 497). By combining multichannel sequence analysis and random effects panel models, we make three central findings. First, we identify seven distinct early employment trajectories, with the “standard” career, characterized by stable, full-time permanent jobs in the first 5 years post-education, being the most prevalent. Second, we find that combined patterns of non-standard employment and underemployment during early careers are associated with significant wage penalties. However, these wage penalties diminish within 10 years. Third, enduring and widening wage disparities are found only among youth primarily unemployed or inactive early in their careers. These penalties are particularly pronounced among men, underscoring the influence of the “ideal” worker norm. Overall, integrating underemployed jobseekers into the workforce and addressing gender-based biases should be a priority for policymakers to ensure equal opportunities and fair treatment for all workers in the labor market.

Green finance and high-pollution corporate compensation - Empirical evidence from green credit guidelines

With the increasing focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on a global scale, stakeholders expect businesses to transform and enhance social responsibility. Over time, ESG and CSR have developed into vital performance metrics for businesses. Businesses are actively putting improvement measures into place in response to this new paradigm in order to stay competitive in this changing environment. China's dual commitment to CSR and sustainable development is in line with wider objectives, such as resolving issues of pay inequality. In 2012, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) unveiled the “Green Credit Guidelines” (GCG), which take corporate governance's environmental considerations into account. These regulations set standards and specifically target high-pollution corporations. Companies may need to restructure their corporate structures and create efficient governance mechanisms in order to comply with these regulations and reduce carbon emissions. This will have an impact on the compensation packages of executives and regular employees.The most important question is how the “GCG” will affect the wage disparity in highly polluting companies. This study examines the 2012 “GCG” and its potential to reduce internal wage disparities, viewing it as a critical element of green financial policy. The paper uses data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2020. Besides, it uses the Difference-in-Differences method to assess the impact of China's GCG, treating its implementation as a quasi-natural experiment and controlling for concurrent policy effects to precisely identify its net impact on corporate carbon emissions and internal wage disparities.The findings show that “GCG” considerably closed internal wage disparities. Furthermore, the “GCG” has a path of guidance, incentives, and punishments that reduce internal wage disparities and promote a more equitable wage distribution within businesses. According to heterogeneity analysis, policies have a greater impact on the wage gap in businesses that are highly dependent on outside funding and have political connection. In order to achieve a compensation balance and meet the objectives of social responsibility and corporate sustainable development, the government should strengthen the complementary effects of green financial policies.The compensation balance in highly polluting companies has important theoretical and practical ramifications. On the one hand, it represents the convergence of income equality, corporate governance, and environmental responsibility. It helps to expand knowledge of sustainable development, fair compensation, and environmental policies. On the other hand, the widening pay disparity between executives and average employees reflects the exacerbation of income inequality in China, which could potentially impact companies' long-term development. Conversely, a well-balanced pay plan can improve worker productivity and motivation while empowering stakeholders to make wise investment choices.

The Effects of Trade Participation on Labor Productivity, Wages and Female Employment: Evidence from Egyptian Manufacturing Firms

The study examines the effects of firm trade participation on labor productivity, wages, and female employment using recent manufacturing enterprise survey data for Egypt. It finds positive labor productivity premium for both exporting and importing firms, being the highest for small-sized exporting firms reflecting their greater benefits from learning-by-exporting. Importing intermediate inputs enhances productivity the most for firms in medium-high and high technology intensive sectors. Moreover, both exporting and importing firms pay higher average wages than non-exporters and non-importers, where economies of scale and higher productivity of trading firms-rather than the skill characteristics or composition of labor force- work as the explanatory channels. Also, firm trade participation enhances gender labor outcomes through reducing the gender wage gap and employing a higher share of female workers especially in low technology export sectors. To translate these favorable impacts into an economywide labor market improvements in Egypt, more efforts should be done in reforming the business environment to enable a greater participation of small firms into export markets and an easier access of firms-especially those operating in technologically advanced sectors- to essential imported inputs that embody advanced foreign knowledge and/or are of higher quality than domestic alternatives.

Spatial wage disparities and human capital externalities in France

AbstractWe re‐examine the respective role of local density and local concentration of human capital in the agglomeration gains for about 750,00 individuals working in 304 commuting zones of metropolitan France over the period 2009–2015. Agglomeration gains are mostly driven by human capital effects over this period. Also, because it absorbs dynamic learning effects, the use of worker fixed effects to address spatial sorting of individuals may underestimate, by about two third, the wage premium with respect to local concentration of human capital over a midterm period. Finally, wage gaps stem more from differences in human capital in the private sector than in the public sector. We do not find evidence of a multiplier effect of public employment on local human capital externalities in the private sector.

Can successful female STEM graduates contribute to narrowing the gender pay gap in the EU?

AbstractDrawing upon contemporary research, this paper examines whether there is a relationship of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) bachelor and master graduates to the gender pay gap (GPG) in the 27 EU Member states in 2013–2020 using a novel cross‐sectional data set based on the 2013 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). International panel data were analysed with the dynamic modelling fixed effects method and compared with the results received from the cross‐sectional analysis executed with the help of Bayesian model averaging methods. Our findings suggest that STEM education plays a significant role in forming the GPG. We can see a negative, robust and statistically significant effect of bachelor‐ and master‐level female STEM graduates on the GPG and a positive statistically significant effect of bachelor‐ and master‐level male STEM graduates on the GPG. The permanently lower women‐to‐men ratio in STEM education and those employed in high‐end sectors of science and technology can be one of the drivers of the persistent GPG in developed countries.

Why Gender Inequality Persists: What Nobel Prize-Winning Research on the Gender Pay Gap Can Teach Us in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Why Gender Inequality Persists: What Nobel Prize-Winning Research on the Gender Pay Gap Can Teach Us in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Inequality and social stratification in Russia during the Putin regime: From market transition to war on Ukraine

AbstractThe collapse of the USSR in late 1991 inspired social science research on levels, patterns, and trends in inequality within Russia, due to theoretical interest in how market transition affects social stratification. The start of the Putin regime in 2000 marked a new era in Russia's post‐Soviet political economic trajectory: in contrast to the 1990s, the economy first took off, then stagnated, while the state rolled back institutions of democracy and civic freedoms. In short, Russia became a consolidated market economy under authoritarian rule. In this context research has continued to produce insights into social stratification. The labor market featured high levels of employment but with downward wage flexibility, modest decreases in earnings inequality, and persistent returns to education, gender wage gaps, and locality‐based differences. Waves of labor migration to Russia, resurgent traditional gender norms, shrinking population, housing inequality, health disparities, and a small contingent of ultra‐rich represent additional noteworthy developments. Although market transition is no longer an intriguing theoretical lens through which to view social stratification in Russia, the topic nonetheless holds broader theoretical interest because inequality became closely intertwined with Russia's political economy, social policies, and geopolitical actions, including those that culminated in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.

Restrictive abortion legislation and adverse mental health during pregnancy and postpartum

PurposeTo determine the impact of abortion legislation on mental health during pregnancy and postpartum and assess whether pregnancy intention mediates associations. MethodsWe quantified associations between restrictive abortion laws and stress, depression symptoms during and after pregnancy, and depression diagnoses after pregnancy using longitudinal data from Nurses’ Health Study 3 in 2010–2017 (4091 participants, 4988 pregnancies) using structural equation models with repeated measures, controlling for sociodemographics, prior depression, state economic and sociopolitical measures (unemployment rate, gender wage gap, Gini index, percentage of state legislatures who are women, Democratic governor). ResultsRestrictive abortion legislation was associated with unintended pregnancies (β = 0.127, p = 0.02). These were, in turn, associated with increased risks of stress and depression symptoms during pregnancy (total indirect effects β = 0.035, p = 0.03; β = 0.029, p = 0.03, respectively, corresponding <1% increase in probability), but not after pregnancy. ConclusionsAbortion restrictions are associated with higher proportions of unintended pregnancies, which are associated with increased risks of stress and depression during pregnancy.

The Gender Wage Gap Among Early-Career Family Physicians.

Numerous studies have documented salary differences between male and female physicians. For many specialties, this wage gap has been explored by controlling for measurable factors that influence pay such as productivity, work-life balance, and practice patterns. In family medicine where practice activities differ widely between physicians, it is important to understand what measurable factors may be contributing to the gender wage gap, so that employers and policymakers and can address unjust disparities. We used data from the 2017 to 2020 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) National Graduate Survey (NGS) which is administered to family physicians 3 years after residency (n = 8608; response rate = 63.9%, 56.2% female). The survey collects clinical income and practice patterns. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed, which included variables on hours worked, degree type, principal professional activity, rural/urban, and region. Although early-career family physician incomes averaged $225,278, female respondents reported incomes that were $43,566 (17%) lower than those of male respondents (P = .001). Generally, female respondents tended toward lower-earning principal professional activities and US regions; worked fewer hours (2.9 per week); and tended to work more frequently in urban settings. However, in adjusted models, this gap in income only fell to $31,804 (13% lower than male respondents, P = .001). Even after controlling for measurable factors such as hours worked, degree type, principal professional activity, population density, and region, a significant wage gap persists. Interventions should be taken to eliminate gender bias in wage determinations for family physicians.

An Empirical Social Vulnerability Map for Flood Risk Assessment at Global Scale (“GlobE‐SoVI”)

AbstractFatalities caused by natural hazards are driven not only by population exposure, but also by their vulnerability to these events, determined by intersecting characteristics such as education, age and income. Empirical evidence of the drivers of social vulnerability, however, is limited due to a lack of relevant data, in particular on a global scale. Consequently, existing global‐scale risk assessments rarely account for social vulnerability. To address this gap, we estimate regression models that predict fatalities caused by past flooding events (n = 913) based on potential social vulnerability drivers. Analyzing 47 variables calculated from publicly available spatial data sets, we establish five statistically significant vulnerability variables: mean years of schooling; share of elderly; gender income gap; rural settlements; and walking time to nearest healthcare facility. We use the regression coefficients as weights to calculate the “Global‐Empirical Social Vulnerability Index (GlobE‐SoVI)” at a spatial resolution of ∼1 km. We find distinct spatial patterns of vulnerability within and across countries, with low GlobE‐SoVI scores (i.e., 1–2) in for example, Northern America, northern Europe, and Australia; and high scores (i.e., 9–10) in for example, northern Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia. Globally, education has the highest relative contribution to vulnerability (roughly 58%), acting as a driver that reduces vulnerability; all other drivers increase vulnerability, with the gender income gap contributing ∼24% and the elderly another 11%. Due to its empirical foundation, the GlobE‐SoVI advances our understanding of social vulnerability drivers at global scale and can be used for global (flood) risk assessments.

Dynamics of Gender Wage Gap in Kazakhstan for 2011-2019

Dynamics of Gender Wage Gap in Kazakhstan for 2011-2019

The gender wage gap and domestic violence against women: evidence from Peru

In Peru, 68% of women have reported being the victim of partner violence, at some point in their lives. However, very little is known about the economic determinants of domestic violence. The present study is intended to analyze the relationship between the gender wage gap and domestic violence in Peru. We understand that the gap is a characteristic of the market that places women at a disadvantage compared to men. Data from the National Household Survey enables the calculation of this wage gap. This information, combined with the violence report from the Demographic and Health Survey, is used in the regression analyses. We find that wide wage gaps are associated with higher incidences of physical and emotional violence. This result also extends to women who are not gainfully employed. These women benefit from greater equality in the labor market that provides them with better potential income, which would increase their bargaining power within the home.

Local labor market effects of offshoring: Evidence from the US Trade Adjustment Assistance program

AbstractWe explore the wage effects of offshoring‐induced employment shocks in US commuting zones (CZs) and industries. Using data on petitions for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), we measure such shocks by computing the share of TAA‐certified offshoring‐induced layoffs out of total employment. We further identify material‐offshoring shocks and service‐offshoring shocks and connect the TAA data to individual‐level worker data from the American Community Survey. Empirical results show statistically significant and negative wage effects of the CZ‐level offshoring shocks, especially for service offshoring. On the contrary, we find positive wage effects of industry‐level offshoring shocks in industries exposed to both types of offshoring. Furthermore, we show that offshoring is associated with the widening gender wage gap in local labor markets and that workers in production and highly‐offshorable occupations are more vulnerable to the CZ‐level offshoring shocks.

How the 1963 Equal Pay Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act Shaped the Gender Gap in Pay.

In the 1960s, two landmark statutes-the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts-targeted the long-standing practice of employment discrimination against U.S. women. For the next 15 years, the gender gap in median earnings among full-time, full-year workers changed little, leading many scholars to conclude that the legislation was ineffectual. This article revisits this conclusion using two research designs, which leverage (i) cross-state variation in preexisting state equal pay laws and (ii) variation in the 1960 gender gap across occupation-industry-state-group cells to capture differences in the legislation's incidence. Both designs suggest that federal antidiscrimination legislation led to striking gains in women's relative wages, which were concentrated among below-median wage earners. These wage gains offset preexisting labor market forces, which worked to depress women's relative pay growth, resulting in the apparent stability of the gender gap at the median and mean in the 1960s and 1970s. The data show little evidence of short-term changes in women's employment but suggest that firms reduced their hiring and promotion of women in the medium to long term. The historical record points to the key role of the Equal Pay Act in driving these changes.

The sources and structure of wage inequality changes in the selected Central-Eastern European Countries

AbstractWe study the determinants of wage inequality and its fluctuations in six Central-Eastern European nations using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions microdata from 2010 to 2019. Wage disparity in these countries changed in distinct ways. Inequality in Czechia and Romania is generally steady, has fallen consistently in Poland and Slovakia, and has increased in Bulgaria. Inequality has been steadily reducing in Hungary but has recently increased significantly. Therefore, this paper questions these countries' primary causes of wage inequality changes. In addition to providing a detailed description of inequality trends in these countries, we focus on examining the demographic and micro-level determinants alongside the minimum wage changes. We estimate these effects using RIF regression and RIF decompositions for various inequality measures. The changes in wage inequality in these countries were driven mainly by wage structure effects regardless of the increase or decrease in wage inequality. Changes in the returns to education and returns to permanent employment contracts are crucial in explaining decreased wage inequality. The increases in wage inequality in Hungary and Bulgaria are defined mainly by the changes in the estimated constants instead of micro-level determinants. The changes in the minimum wage explain most of the unknown factors in Bulgaria, and the spillover effects of the minimum wage may explain most of the unknown factors in Hungary. Our results can support the skill-biased technological change hypothesis in the case of Slovakia, Romania, Czechia, and Bulgaria.

Examining the impact of topcodes adjustment on studies of gender earnings inequality in the US: evidence from March CPS data

ABSTRACT Topcoded survey data has been widely used for studies of gender earnings inequality. How robust are these studies to the choice of topcode adjustment methods? We examine this issue using the public-use March Current Population Survey data from 1979 to 2018 in the United States. In general, using more informative data and more sophisticated parametric procedure implies greater gender earnings inequality. Regression and mean decomposition analyses of gender earnings gap are quite robust to the choice of topcode correction methods. Nevertheless, topcode correction methods do matter significantly for studies of the relationship between gender earnings gap and some covariates (education) but not others (occupational characteristics). For researchers lacking access to internal data, the recommended topcode correction approach is SW/PC method. This method combines the benefits of using public data with replacement values that replicate the less topcoded internal data distribution while integrating parametric correction for the remaining topcoding bias.

Experimental evidence on the role of outside obligations in wage negotiations

We examine how sharing information about outside obligations impacts wage negotiations. We consider an ‘employee’ with an outside obligation, whose performance determines the surplus and an ‘employer’ with the power-to-give, who determines the employee's wage. We find that wage offers increase with obligation amounts when the level of obligation is known. However, the employer simply redistributes surplus from employees with no obligations to those with higher obligations. We find no evidence of gender bias in wage offers, similar to other ultimatum games. Our experiment provides a potential explanation for some of the gender wage gap and shows how seemingly equitable policies may perpetuate inequities among employees.

The Role of the Ask Gap in Gender Pay Inequality

Abstract The gender ask gap measures the extent to which women ask for lower salaries than comparable men. This article studies its role in generating wage inequality, using novel data from an online recruitment platform for full-time engineering jobs: Hired.com. To use the platform, job candidates must post an ask salary, stating how much they want to make in their next job. Firms then apply to candidates by offering them a bid salary, solely based on the candidate’s résumé and ask salary. If the candidate is hired, a final salary is recorded. After adjusting for résumé characteristics, the ask gap is 2.9%, the bid gap is 2.2%, and the final offer gap is 1.4%. Further controlling for the ask salary explains the entirety of the residual gender gaps in bid and final salaries. To further provide evidence of the causal effect of the ask salary on the bid salary, I exploit an unanticipated change in how candidates were prompted to provide their ask. For some candidates in mid-2018, the answer box used to solicit the ask salary was changed from an empty field to an entry prefilled with the median bid salary for similar candidates. I find that this change drove the ask, bid, and final offer gaps to zero. In addition, women did not receive fewer bids or final offers than men did due to the change, suggesting they faced little penalty for demanding comparable wages.