Gender Wage Differentials Research Articles

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Job Characteristics and the Gender Wage Gap

This paper re-examines gender wage differences, taking into account not only worker characteristics but also characteristics. Consideration of a wide set of job quality indicators can explain a fraction of the wage gap that would otherwise be attributed to pure wage discrimination. In any case, the fraction of the wage gap that remains associated to differential rewards for identical factors across sexes is still substantial. Our results suggest that in order to avoid overestimation of the fraction of the wage gap attributable to discrimination, it is necessary to control for characteristics.

A Meta-Analysis of the International Gender Wage Gap

Since the early 1970s, a number of authors have calculated gender wage differentials between women and men of equal productivity. This meta-study provides a new quantitative review of this vast amount of empirical literature on gender wage differentials as it concerns not only differences in methodology, data, and time periods, but also different countries. We place particular emphasis on a proper consideration of the quality of the underlying study which is done by a weighting with quality indicators. The results show that data restrictions - i.e. the limitation of the analysis to new entrants, never-marrieds, or one narrow occupation only - have the biggest impact on the resulting gender wage gap. Moreover, we are able to show what effect a misspecification of the underlying wage equation - like the frequent use of potential experience - has on the calculated gender wage gap. Over time, raw wage differentials worldwide have fallen substantially; however, most of this decrease is due to better labor market endowments of females.

Gender Wage Differences in West Germany: A Cohort Analysis

A comprehensive descriptive analysis of gender wage differences over a long time period is missing for West Germany. Using an empirical approach which takes into account explicitely changes of wage distributions for both males and females as well as life-cycle and birth cohort effects, we go beyond conventional decomposition techniques of the average gender wage gap. The paper provides some stylized facts of the level and dynamics of the gender wage gap from 1975-1995. The empirical analysis is based upon the IAB-Beschaftigtenstichprobe. Our findings confirm the importance of distributional effects relating to skill level and employment status. While life-cycle wage growth is in general much lower for females compared to males, comparing their estimated time trends implies that the gender wage gap has narrowed substantially in the lower part of the wage distribution especially for low- and medium-skilled females but much less so in the upper part of the wage distribution. Surprisingly, we do not find any cohort effects for wages of female employees.

Gender versus Ethnic Wage Differentials among Professionals: Evidence from Israel

The purpose of this paper is to investigate wage structures of professional workers in the Israeli labor market using data from the 1983 Israeli census and correcting for selectivity at the state of entrance into the occupation. The sample of professionals is decomposed into several sub- samples: Jewish men and Jewish women; within the Jewish sample a dis- tinction is made between Westerners and Easterners. The core of this study is the investigation of wage differentials between the various groups, taking into account differences in entrance probabilities. The standard OAXACA decomposition does not take into account different probabilities of entering the professional occupations (i.e., occupational segregation). In order to incorporate this type of segregation into the wage differential decomposi- tions, two statistical methodologies are merged: the OAXACA methodology and the HECKMAN selectivity bias correction procedure. The decomposition procedure is then modified in order to take into account the contribution of segregation to the characteristics and the discrimination components. We propose four alternative decompositions of the selectivity corrected wage equations and present the results based on these decompositions.

Rhetoric in Economic Research: The Case of Gender Wage Differentials

Scientific rhetoric can have a profound impact on the perception of research; it can also drive and direct further research efforts. What determines whether results are discussed in a neutral or a judgmental way? How precise and convincing must results be so that authors call for significant policy changes? These questions are in general difficult to answer, because rhetoric on the one hand, and content and methodology of the paper on the other, cannot be separated easily. We, therefore, use a unique example to examine this question empirically: the analysis of gender wage differentials. Here, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition represents a standard research method that compares male and female earnings, holding productivity constant. We analyse close to 200 papers to investigate what drives authors to talk about ‘discrimination’, whether and when they call for policy activism or when they are more hesitant to do so. Furthermore, we examine whether the rhetoric used really reveals an author's prejudice on the topic, which may also be reflected in data selection and thereby his or her findings.

Gender Wage Differences in West Germany: A Cohort Analysis

A comprehensive descriptive analysis of gender wage differences over a long time period is missing for West Germany. Using an empirical approach which takes into account explicitely changes of wage distributions for both males and females as well as life-cycle and birth cohort effects, we go beyond conventional decomposition techniques of the average gender wage gap. The paper provides some stylized facts of the level and dynamics of the gender wage gap from 1975 - 1995. The empirical analysis is based upon the IAB-Beschaftigtenstichprobe. Our findings confirm the importance of distributional effects relating to skill level and employment status. While life-cycle wage growth is in general much lower for females compared to males, comparing their estimated time trends implies that the gender wage gap has narrowed substantially in the lower part of the wage distribution especially for low- and medium-skilled females but much less so in the upper part of the wage distribution. Surprisingly, we do not find any cohort effects for wages of female employees.

Gender wage differentials and discrimination in the New South Africa

Research into discrimination within South Africa (SA) has focused on racial issues, with gender issues being largely ignored. This study aims to estimate gender wage differentials and through decomposition analysis understand the different problems faced by white, black, coloured and Indian/Asian in 1995. It is found that white and Asian females suffer greater gender discrimination than their black and coloured counterparts, which could be a signal to future problems black and coloured females may encounter. The largest gender wage differential is faced by white females, whilst the lowest is encountered by coloured and black females. A possible explanation for this finding is the low (subsistence) wages that the black and coloured population groups command relative to other population groups.

Gender Wage Differences in Soviet and Transitional Estonia

We use the retrospective, covering the years 1989 – 1994, Estonian Labor Force Survey to examine potential wage discrimination against women. We look at full-time workers of Estonian and Russian ethnicity in the years 1989, the Soviet period, and 1994, the last full year of the survey and three years after Estonian independence and the beginning of the transition to a market economy. We find substantial evidence of wage discrimination against women in both years. In fact, despite the official rhetoric of gender equality in the Soviet Union, our results indicate the relative level of wage discrimination against female workers in Estonia changed very little between 1989 and 1994 when occupational dummies are excluded from the wage equations.

Male Advantage and the Gender Composition of Jobs: Who Rides the Glass Escalator?

Is the gender gap in pay constant across all jobs, or does the gender composition of the job affect male advantage? Using data from the NLSY and a finely detailed measure of the gender composition of jobs, I investigate gender differences in wages and in wage growth. I show how they differ between female-dominated, male-dominated, and balanced jobs. Predictions from Kanter's theory of tokenism and the Williams and Acker theory of gendered organizations are tested. Findings indicate that men are advantaged, net of controls, in both pay levels and wage growth in all jobs, regardless of gender composition. Contrary to predictions generated from Kanter's tokenism theory, men do not suffer when they are tokens, in terms of pay. Not only are predictions from Kanter's theory untrue for male tokens, they also do not hold for female tokens when it comes to wages. Rather, consistent with the Williams and Acker theory of gendered organizations, men are no more-and no less-advantaged when women are tokens; in terms of earnings, men are uniformly advantaged in male-dominated, female-dominated, and balanced jobs. Analyses of promotions data indicate that men are also not additionally advantaged whether they are the numerically dominant or minority gender; in fact, male advantage in promotions is the smallest when men are tokens.

Mind the gap: gender wage differentials in the Australian public sector

This article presents the results of an exploratory study of wage outcomes in the West Australian public sector. The research aimed to determine the effect of gender segregation on pay bargaining outcomes in a deregulated industrial relations regime. In the first part of the article, public sector employment relations are discussed and analysed. The second part provides a synopsis of the changes in the legislative and industrial relations environment in Western Australia. The final part examines the effect of gender segregation on bargaining outcomes in the Western Australian public sector.

Equal Pay for Equal Work? Evidence from Sweden and a Comparison with Norway and the U.S.

Using a new data set covering most privately employed workers in Sweden, we compare gender wage differences to those previously reported for Norway and the U.S. The central finding is that the wage gap is small when comparing men and women working in the same type of occupation for the same employer. Segregation of men and women by occupation accounts for more of the gap in Sweden than in the other two countries. In all three countries, we find that segregation by occupation explains more than segregation by establishment, and that institutional changes over the past two decades aimed at improving the status of women had little effect on the gender wage gap. JEL classification: J16; J71

How does Collective Bargaining Affect the Gender Pay Gap?

The authors study the effect of unionization on gender wage differentials for production workers in nine U.S. manufacturing industries. They find that the wage gap is significantly smaller in unionized establishments for six of the industries, even after controlling for occupation and establishment gender composition. But this union effect does not hold within three industries. The authors conclude that unionization generally reduces wage inequality between blue-collar men and women, but the effect might be contingent both on the overall proportion of women in an industry and on union characteristics. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for income inequality and union policies.

Gender Wage Differentials and Occupational Segregation in Hong Kong, 1981–1996

This paper analyses gender wage differentials and the role of occupational segregation in Hong Kong. It is found that the female–male earnings ratio increased substantially from 0.710 in 1981 to 0.839 in 1996. A decomposition which takes into account occupational differences shows that the gender pay gap is mostly within occupations and most of the intra‐occupation wage gap is unexplained. The gender pay differential due to occupational differences is small; in fact, the overall occupational segregation favours females in Hong Kong.

Comparisons in Gender Wage Differentials and Discrimination between Germany and the United Kingdom

Due to the lack of consistent data, direct and robust comparisons of cross‐country labour markets have been virtually impossible. This study uses a new panel data series that controls for inconsistencies, thus overcoming this problem. This study estimates gender wage differentials and gender discrimination in the German and UK labour markets. Panel estimates are used to identify general wage differences between the two countries, with cross‐sectional comparisons undertaken to identify changes that have occurred between 1991 and 1993, that are consistent with known labour market policies. It is found that gender wage differentials are greater in the UK than Germany with employer discrimination against females attributed with the majority of the difference in both countries.

The Impact of Worker and Establishment-Level Characteristics on Male-Female Wage Differentials: Evidence from Danish Matched Employee-Employer Data

This paper uses matched employer-employee data from Denmark to examine how gender segregation at the level of occupation, industry, establishment, and job-cell impacts the gender wage differential of full-time, private-sector salaried and manual workers. Wage effects of gender segregation at the above four levels are estimated through fixed effects or through controls for the proportion females within these structures. We find that occupation has a much larger role than industry or establishment in accounting for the gender gap for salaried but not manual workers, and that for both groups there is a significant within-job-cell gender wage differential.

Gender Wage Differentials in a Competitive Labor Market: The Household Interaction Effect

We present a theoretical explanation of the gender wage gap which turns on the interaction between men and women in households.In equilibria where men are over-represented in full-time work, we show that firms rationally choose to hire women only at strictly lower wages than men.The model developed predicts a gap even controlling for education, occupation and industry of workers and does so in a competitive labor market where there exist no inherent gender differences. We test our theory using CPS data over the period 1979-98 and find it is strongly supported by the data.

Investment in human capital and gender wage differences: evidence from the NLSY

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to investigate gender differences in returns to various forms of human capital. Since the NLSY includes relatively detailed information regarding on- and off-the-job training, we place special emphasis on measuring gender differences in the incidence of and returns to formal post-school training. Also considered is the role of nonhuman capital factors such as industry and occupation in explaining the wage gap. It is found that about 60% of the gender wage gap in the sample is explained by mean differences in individual characteristics and market circumstances. This suggests a smaller role for discrimination in explaining the wage gap than previous research has found. The research indicates that training does not affect the gender wage gap. Also it is found that there is no statistically significant difference in the rate of return to other measures of human capital for women versus men. Our research suggests that the largest factors contributing to the wage gap are differences in the stocks of human capital for men and women, and differences in the distributions of men and women across industries and occupations.

Investment in human capital and gender wage differences: evidence from the NLSY

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to investigate gender differences in returns to various forms of human capital. Since the NLSY includes relatively detailed information regarding on- and off-the-job training, we place special emphasis on measuring gender differences in the incidence of and returns to formal post-school training. Also considered is the role of nonhuman capital factors such as industry and occupation in explaining the wage gap. It is found that about 60% of the gender wage gap in the sample is explained by mean differences in individual characteristics and market circumstances. This suggests a smaller role for discrimination in explaining the wage gap than previous research has found. The research indicates that training does not affect the gender wage gap. Also it is found that there is no statistically significant difference in the rate of return to other measures of human capital for women versus men. Our research suggests that the largest factors contributing to the wage gap are differences in the stocks of human capital for men and women, and differences in the distributions of men and women across industries and occupations.

Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Under state socialism, women fared relatively well in the labor market: female-male wage differentials were similar to those in the West, and female labor force participation rates were among the highest in the world. Have these women maintained their relative positions since the introduction of market reforms? The author investigates this question using household surveys from seven formerly socialist countries. The results indicate a consistent increase in female relative wages across Eastern Europe, and a substantial decline in female relative wages in Russia and Ukraine. Women in the latter countries have been penalized by the tremendous widening of the wage distribution in those countries. Increased wage inequality in Eastern Europe has also depressed female relative wages, but these losses have been more than offset by gains in rewards to observed skills and by an apparent decline in discrimination against women.

Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Under state socialism, women fared relatively well in the labor market: female-male wage differentials were similar to those in the West, and female labor force participation rates were among the highest in the world. Have these women maintained their relative positions since the introduction of market reforms? The author investigates this question using household surveys from seven formerly socialist countries. The results indicate a consistent increase in female relative wages across Eastern Europe, and a substantial decline in female relative wages in Russia and Ukraine. Women in the latter countries have been penalized by the tremendous widening of the wage distribution in those countries. Increased wage inequality in Eastern Europe has also depressed female relative wages, but these losses have been more than offset by gains in rewards to observed skills and by an apparent decline in discrimination against women.