Male-female Wage Gap Research Articles

Explaining the Male-Female Wage Gap: Do Gender Role Attitudes Matter?

Explaining the Male-Female Wage Gap: Do Gender Role Attitudes Matter?

The impact of occupational feminization on the gender wage gap and estimates of wage discrimination

ABSTRACT This study assesses the male-female wage gap across occupational categories ranked by gender density using data from the U.S. Current Population Survey. Our empirical findings suggest a consistent relationship between occupational feminization and the gender wage gap: female-dominated occupations have the lowest average earnings for men and women, whereas male-dominated occupations have the lowest gender wage gap. Gender-neutral occupations have the highest male and female wages, the largest gender wage gap, and the lowest estimated levels of wage discrimination.

The Effects of Chinese Imports on Female Workers in the Brazilian Manufacturing Sector

ABSTRACT This study uses the Becker’s (1957) taste-based discrimination model to analyse the effects of import penetration from China and from the Rest of the World (ROW) on the share of female workers and on the male-female wage gap in the manufacturing sector of Brazil. Using 2000-2012 data from the Brazilian Censuses and Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios, this paper finds no effect of the industry-level exports share on these outcomes. The Chinese import penetration increased the female share and narrowed the male-female wage gap except for college educated workers. The ROW import penetration raised the female share among workers with college degrees, but widened the wage gap except for those with college degrees. These effects were modified with the implementation of the Nova Matriz Econômica (NME) policy in 2008. During the post-NME regime, Chinese import penetration reduced the female share across all workers’ groups, while the negative effects of ROW increased on the female share of all groups and on the wage gap in the unskilled-labour intensive industries except for the workers with college degrees. Hence, the effects of the heightened trade-induced competition on workers’ discrimination depends on the type and source of imports, the education of workers, and the domestic policies, specifically on wages and sectoral subsidies.

Measuring the gender wage gap—a methodological note

ABSTRACTWe propose to estimate the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition by a single-equation model augmented with interactions between the group membership and other predictors. The relative importance of predictors on the discriminatory wage gap is examined by the interaction coefficients, which may lead to very different conclusions than the usual percentage calculations using the detailed decomposition method. Comparisons are made between the traditional interpretations and those suggested here using wage data from Finland. The decomposition analysis suggests that the discriminatory male-female wage gap is largely related to work experience, while our preferred model points to the importance of family gap and working industry.

Male–Female Wage Gap and Informal Employment in Bangladesh: A Quantile Regression Approach

This article undertakes an examination of Bangladesh’s latest available Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2015–2016 data to draw in-depth insights on gender wage gap and wage discrimination in Bangladesh labour market. The mean wage decomposition shows that on average a woman in Bangladesh earns 12.2 per cent lower wage than a man, and about half of the wage gap can be explained by labour market discrimination against women. Quantile counterfactual decomposition shows that women are subject to higher wage penalty at the lower deciles of the wage distribution with the wage gap varying between 8.3 per cent and 19.4 per cent at different deciles. We have found that at lower deciles, a significant part of the gender wage gap is on account of the relatively larger presence of informal employment. Conditional quantile estimates further reveal that formally employed female workers earn higher wage than their male counterparts at the first decile but suffer from wage penalty at the top deciles. JEL: C21, J31, J46, J70

Globalisation and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from Sri Lanka and Cambodia

Using household and labour force surveys from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, we find large positive wage premiums and a closing of the male-female wage gap during the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) period, but smaller premiums and a widening wage gap after the end of the MFA. Our results suggest that apparel exports continued to benefit women in developing countries post-MFA but women – both in and out of the apparel industry – are susceptible to changes in global apparel prices.

Commentaries on health services research

Commentaries on health services research

Knowing Your Worth: Salary Expectations and Gender of Matriculating Physician Assistant Students.

The male-female wage gap is present and persistent in the health care sector, even among physician assistants (PAs). Explanations for the persistent gender earnings gap include differential salary expectations of men and women based, in part, on women's lower pay entitlement. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in salary expectations between male and female matriculating PA students nationwide, adjusting for other factors expected to affect salaries and pay expectations of both male and female matriculants. Using data from the Physician Assistant Education Association Matriculating Student Survey of 2013, 2014, and 2015, we investigated the relationship between first-year PA students' gender and their salary expectations after graduation using a multinomial logistic regression analysis. We controlled for possible confounders by including independent variables measuring student demographics, background characteristics, qualifications, future career plans, and financial considerations. We found that female PA students were less likely than male PA students to expect a salary of $80,000-$89,999 (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.73), $90,000-$99,999 (OR = 0.58), or $100,000 or greater (OR = 0.42) in comparison to an expected salary of less than $70,000, when controlling for our independent variables. Our analysis shows that on entry into PA training programs, female PA students' earnings expectations are less than those of male PA students. Our results are consistent with research, suggesting that women typically expect lower pay and systematically undervalue their contributions and skills in comparison to men. Physician assistant programs should consider strategies to promote realistic salary expectations among PA students as one way to promote earnings equity.

Globalisation and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from Sri Lanka and Cambodia 1992-2015

This paper focuses on how the forces of globalisation, specifically the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), have affected women's wages in the apparel sector in developing countries. Using household and labour force surveys from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, we find large positive wage premiums and a closing of the male-female wage gap during the MFA period, but smaller premiums and a widening wage gap after the end of the MFA. Our results suggest that apparel exports continued to benefit women in developing countries post-MFA.

Bad Karma or Discrimination? Male–Female Wage Gaps Among Salaried Workers in India

Summary We use nationally representative data from the Employment–Unemployment Surveys in 1999–2000 and 2009–10 to explore gender wage gaps among Regular Wage/Salaried (RWS) workers in India, both at the mean, as well as along the entire wage distribution to see “what happens where”. The gender log wage gap at the mean is 55% in 1999–2000 and 49% in 2009–10, but this change is not statistically significant. The Blinder–Oaxaca and the Machado–Mata–Melly decompositions indicate that, in both years, the bulk of the gender wage gap is unexplained, i.e., possibly discriminatory. They also reveal that over the decade, while the wage-earning characteristics of women improved relative to men, the discriminatory component of the gender wage gap also increased. In fact, in 2009–10, if women were “paid like men”, they would have earned more than men on account of their characteristics. In both years, we see the existence of the “sticky floor”, in that gender wage gaps are higher among low-wage earners and lower for high-wage earners. Over the ten-year period, we find that the sticky floor became “stickier” for RWS women. Machado–Mata–Melly decompositions reveal that, in both years, women at the lower end of the wage distribution face higher discriminatory gaps compared to women at the upper end.

Wage Structure and Gender Earnings Differentials in China and India

Summary This study analyzes how changes in overall wage inequality and gender-specific factors affected the gender wage gap in Chinese and Indian urban labor markets in the 1990s and 2000s. We observe the significant expansion of skilled workers and the increase in overall wage inequality in both countries over the period. Analyses of micro data present that contrasting evolutionary patterns in gender wage gap emerged over the period, showing a widened wage gap in China but a dramatically reduced gap in India. In both countries, female workers’ increased skill levels contributed to reducing the gender wage gap. However, increases in observed prices of education and experience worked unfavorably for high-skilled women, counterbalancing their improvement in labor market qualifications. Decomposition of changes in the gender wage gap shows that China’s widened gap was attributable to gender-specific factors such as deteriorated observable and unobservable labor market qualifications and increased discrimination, especially against low- and middle-skilled female workers. For India, gender-specific factors and relatively high wage gains of low- and middle-skilled workers reduced the male–female wage gap. Our study suggests that consideration of overall wage structure, unobserved skills, and gender-specific factors such as unobserved labor market qualification and discrimination against women should be included in designing policies to promote gender equity and inclusiveness in labor markets.

Bad Karma or Discrimination? Male-Female Wage Gaps Among Salaried Workers in India

We use nationally representative data from the Employment-Unemployment Surveys in 1999-2000 and 2009-10 to explore gender wage gaps among Regular Wage/Salaried (RWS) workers in India, both at the mean, as well as along the entire wage distribution to see what happens where. The gender log wage gap at the mean is 55 percent in 1999-2000 and 49 percent in 2009-10, but this change is not statistically significant. The Blinder-Oaxaca and the Machado-Mata-Melly decompositions indicate that, in both years, the bulk of the gender wage gap is unexplained, i.e. possibly discriminatory. They also reveal that over the decade, while the wage-earning characteristics of women improved relative to men, the discriminatory component of the gender wage gap also increased. In fact, in 2009-10, if women were 'paid like men', they would have earned more than men on account of their characteristics. In both years, we see the existence of the floor, in that gender wage gaps are higher at lower ends of the wage distribution and steadily decline thereafter. Over the ten-year period, we find that the sticky floor became stickier for RWS women. Machado-Mata-Melly decompositions reveal that, in both years, women at the lower end of the wage distribution face higher discriminatory gaps compared to women at the upper end.

Affirmative Action and Empowerment: Friends or Foes?

We consider effects of quota or “affirmative action” for women at work-places on the societal outcomes. A simple model of household decision making with production and endogenously determined female power is studied. We show that even under standard economic modeling specifications, as a result of affirmative action, it could turn out to be the case that female labor force participation and social welfare rise but at the cost of diminished female power and wider male-female wage-gap.

Manager Impartiality: Worker-Firm Matching and the Gender Wage Gap

Using a rich matched employer-employee data set from Sweden, the author examines whether female managers in a firm narrow the gender pay gap. The study's main contribution is its ability to account for unobserved heterogeneity among both workers and firms that is potentially correlated with manager gender. The results show a substantial negative association between the representation of female managers and the establishment's gender wage gap. Estimates that account for sorting on unobserved worker skills, however, do not support the conclusion that managers favor same-sex workers in wage setting. Additional results show that organizations with more female managers recruit more nonmanagerial, high-wage women. Together these findings suggest that associations between manager gender and male-female wage gaps should be interpreted with caution, as worker sorting seems to be a crucial component behind this relationship.

Do Male-Female Wage Differentials Reflect Differences in the Return to Skill? Cross-City Evidence from 1980–2000

Male-female wage gaps declined significantly over the 1980s and 1990s, while returns to education increased. In this paper, we use cross-city data to explore whether, like the return to education, the change in the gender wage gap may reflect changes in skill prices induced by the diffusion of information technology. We show that male-female and education-wage differentials moved in opposite directions in response to the adoption of PCs. Our most credible estimates imply that changes in skill prices driven by PC adoption can explain most of the decline in the US male-female wage gap since 1980. (JEL J15, J24, J31, J71, O33, R23)

The Gender Wage Gap and Domestic Violence.

Three quarters of all violence against women is perpetrated by domestic partners. This study exploits exogenous changes in the demand for labor in female-dominated industries to estimate the impact of the male-female wage gap on domestic violence. Decreases in the wage gap reduce violence against women, consistent with a household bargaining model. These findings shed new light on the health production process as well as observed income gradients in health and suggest that in addition to addressing concerns of equity and efficiency, pay parity can also improve the health of American women via reductions in violence.

Male-Female Wage Gap and Vertical Occupational Segmentation: the Role of Work Attitude

Les economies de l’OCDE presentent de fortes disparites de genre sur le marche du travail, en particulier : un ecart salarial favorable aux hommes; une forte segmentation professionnelle. Bien que l’analyse empirique pointe des differences hommes-femmes de rapport a l’emploi, cet aspect est largement absent de la litterature theorique. Le present article propose un modele de relation d’emploi permettant d’en tenir compte. Nous considerons des agents ayant des preoccupations d’estime de soi. Dans le contexte professionnel, cela peut representer une motivation non pecuniaire a l’effort : tout depend du contrat propose par l’employeur. Nous nous appuyons sur ce modele pour proposer une interpretation des disparites observees. Le modele donne lieu a une segmentation verticale du marche du travail avec une surrepresentation des femmes parmi les emplois peu remuneres.JEL Classification : J24 ; J71 ; Z13.

Male-Female Wage Gap and Vertical Occupational Segmentation: the Role of Work Attitude

Résumé Les économies de l’OCDE présentent de fortes disparités de genre sur le marché du travail, en particulier : un écart salarial favorable aux hommes; une forte segmentation professionnelle. Bien que l’analyse empirique pointe des différences hommes-femmes de rapport à l’emploi, cet aspect est largement absent de la littérature théorique. Le présent article propose un modèle de relation d’emploi permettant d’en tenir compte. Nous considérons des agents ayant des préoccupations d’estime de soi. Dans le contexte professionnel, cela peut représenter une motivation non pécuniaire à l’effort : tout dépend du contrat proposé par l’employeur. Nous nous appuyons sur ce modèle pour proposer une interprétation des disparités observées. Le modèle donne lieu à une segmentation verticale du marché du travail avec une surreprésentation des femmes parmi les emplois peu rémunérés. JEL Classification : J24 ; J71 ; Z13.

Gender wage differentials and occupational distribution

The study analyzes the role of occupational distribution in explaining the male-female wage gap in the Portuguese economy. The objective is to investigate to what extent gender wage disparities can be explained by occupational segregation. Relying on data from the personnel records for the period 1986-2004, this study uses the Brown, Moon, and Zoloth (1989) wage differential decomposition method to conduct the empirical analysis. The main findings reveal that occupational gender segregation is not a major contributor to the male-female wage gap and that within occupational wage effects play a prominent role in determining the overall differential. Additionally, the results indicate that a substantial portion of wage differentials within occupations potentially stems from wage discrimination.

The Political Economy of Women's Support for Fundamentalist Islam

Why do some Muslim women adopt fundamentalist Islamic value systems that promote gender-based inequalities while others do not? This article considers the economic determinants of fundamentalist beliefs in the Muslim world, as women look to either marriage or employment to achieve financial security. Using cross-national public opinion data from eighteen countries with significant Muslim populations, the authors apply a latent class model to characterize respondents according to their views on gender norms, political Islam, and personal religiosity. Among women, lack of economic opportunity is a stronger predictor of fundamentalist belief systems than socioeconomic class. Cross-nationally, fundamentalism among women is most prevalent in poor countries and in those with a large male-female wage gap. These findings have important implications for the promotion of women's rights, the rise of political Islam, and the development of democracy in the Muslim world.