The Gender Pay Gap in Brazil: It Starts with College Students' Choice of Major

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monserrat Bustelo ◽  
Suzanne Duryea ◽  
Claudia Piras ◽  
Breno Sampaio ◽  
Giuseppe Trevisan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
College Major ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Decomposition Approach ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Decomposition Procedure

We herein discuss how college major choice affects gender wage gaps by highlighting the role that STEM majors play in explaining the gender wage gap in a developing country. We focus on a Latin American country where a systematic analysis of the interaction between students choice of college major and the gender wage gap is currently lacking. We take advantage of a very unique dataset of college students from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil, to decompose the raw gender gap in hourly wages into one component that can be explained by differences in endowments between men and women as well as a second or residual component that reflects gender differences in the prices of market skills. We implement the commonly applied decomposition approach at the wage distributions mean and a decomposition procedure that considers variations across the wage distribution. Our results reveal that the majors that women and men select explain 50% of the gender wage gap at the mean, and STEM majors contribute to 30% of this difference. When examining different percentiles of the wage distribution, we find that the selection of a major is more important at the middle of the distribution than at the bottom or top.

The gender wage gap among Spanish managers

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Scicchitano
Keyword(s):  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ceiling Effects ◽  
Sticky Floor ◽  
Shaped Pattern

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of sticky floor and glass ceiling effects in the gender wage gap (GWG) among Spanish managers. In addition, the paper determines if the pay gap at every quantile is a result of the gender characteristic differences, or the differences in returns to those characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – The paper exploits a counterfactual decomposition analysis, using quantile regression, to decompose the GWG into one component that is based on differences in characteristics and one component that is based on differences in coefficients across the wage distribution. Findings – A significant GWG over all the wage distribution is found. Such a gap exhibits a clear U-shaped pattern, thus pointing out both significant sticky floor and glass ceiling effects. Furthermore, the paper shows that such pattern is mainly determined by the coefficient effect, whose relative incidence is almost continuously increasing along the wage distribution. Research limitations/implications – While it is difficult to give a definitive explanation for the significant U-shaped pattern in the GWG and for the bigger incidence of the glass ceiling, the authors suggest two possible explanations that are consistent with these findings. The paper leaves the identification of these explanations to future research. Practical implications – The pattern of rising coefficient effects at higher quantiles suggests that the glass ceiling is a more relevant question than the sticky floor. Indeed, at the highest wage quantiles, differences in characteristics make essentially no contribution to the overall wage gap. This suggests that upper-echelon female managers have the same characteristics as their male counterparts, which emphasizes the role of discrimination for these top-level jobs. Originality/value – Despite the general GWG has been largely investigated, the analysis of a wage differential among managerial workers has certainly drawn much less attention. In particular just a few papers have investigated the existence of sticky floors and glass ceiling among managers. In addition, as to Spain, there is no empirical survey investigating and decomposing the gender pay gap among managers.

scholarly journals Gender Wage Gap: Within and Across Borders

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-83
Author(s):  
Orkideh Gharehgozli ◽  
Vidya Atal
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Wage Differential ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Latin American Countries

Abstract This paper aims to explore gender wage differential at the wage distribution decile level. We define “real wage” with one of the most tangible adjustment measures, “Big Mac Index”. We study wages equivalent to the number of Big Mac burgers (per day) of men and women belonging to different wage distribution deciles for 21 countries and for the priod of 2000 to 2013. We find that, across countries, the higher the GDP per capita, the larger the gender wage gap. The “wealthy” European countries have the lowest female to male wage ratio. High female participation in part-time jobs may be a reason for that. Meanwhile, Latin American countries with the lowest GDP per capita in our study have the highest ratio of female to male wages. As expected, we also find that within a country, the higher the wage decile, the larger the gender wage inequality.

scholarly journals The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 789-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine D. Blau ◽  
Lawrence M. Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Gender Pay Gap ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Quantitative Evidence

Using Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) microdata over the 1980–2010 period, we provide new empirical evidence on the extent of and trends in the gender wage gap, which declined considerably during this time. By 2010, conventional human capital variables taken together explained little of the gender wage gap, while gender differences in occupation and industry continued to be important. Moreover, the gender pay gap declined much more slowly at the top of the wage distribution than at the middle or bottom and by 2010 was noticeably higher at the top. We then survey the literature to identify what has been learned about the explanations for the gap. We conclude that many of the traditional explanations continue to have salience. Although human-capital factors are now relatively unimportant in the aggregate, women's work force interruptions and shorter hours remain significant in high-skilled occupations, possibly due to compensating differentials. Gender differences in occupations and industries, as well as differences in gender roles and the gender division of labor remain important, and research based on experimental evidence strongly suggests that discrimination cannot be discounted. Psychological attributes or noncognitive skills comprise one of the newer explanations for gender differences in outcomes. Our effort to assess the quantitative evidence on the importance of these factors suggests that they account for a small to moderate portion of the gender pay gap, considerably smaller than, say, occupation and industry effects, though they appear to modestly contribute to these differences. ( JEL I26, J16, J24, J31, J71)

scholarly journals Trade Liberalization and the Lead Role of Human Capital and Job Attributes in Wage Determination: The Case of Pakistan’s Labor Market

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bushra Yasmin
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Job Attributes ◽  
The Difference

This study analyzes the role of human capital and job attributes, i.e., supply-side determinants, in determining wages in a period of trade liberalization. Using the Mincerian earning function and based on data from the Labor Force Surveys, we construct a model to estimate various wage determinants and compute the rates of return to different educational qualifications and relative occupational wage shares for the years 2005/06 and 1990/91. The estimated earning functions for 1990/91 and 2005/06 are compared to investigate whether individual characteristics—such as gender, job location, nature of job, educational qualifications, and different occupations—cause the wage gap to widen or contract under conditions of trade liberalization. The mean and quantile regression approach is used for estimation purposes. Our key findings postulate (i) an increasing gender pay gap, (ii) a higher wage premium to the highest educational qualification, and (iii) more or less stable relative wages for different occupations over time. In addition, wage dispersion across occupational groups appears more pronounced in 1990/91 than in 2005/06, implying a declining trend in the difference in wage distribution across occupations.

Glass Ceilings in Portugal?

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Ceiling Effect ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Women's Wages ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Women's Role

Despite the evidence of female progress with regard to women’s role in the labor market, gender inequality remains. Women are still less likely to be employed than men, occupational gender segregation continues, and females continue to earn less than males. The gender wage gap remains wide in several occupational sectors, among which is the information technology (IT) sector. This paper focuses the determinants of gender wage inequality. More precisely, it investigates for statistical evidence of a glass ceiling effect on women’s wages. Based on the quantile regression framework, the empirical analysis extends the decomposition of the average gender wage gap to other parts of the earnings distribution. The main objective is to empirically test whether gender-based wage discrimination is greater among high paid employees, in line with glass ceiling hypothesis. Larger unexplained gaps at the top of the wage distribution indicate the existence of a glass ceiling effect in Portugal.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafizur Rahman ◽  
Md. Al-Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Wage Penalty ◽  
Conditional Quantile ◽  
Female Wage ◽  
Quantile Estimates

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

Part-time employment, the gender wage gap and the role of wage-setting institutions: Evidence from 11 European countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Matteazzi ◽  
Ariane Pailhé ◽  
Anne Solaz
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Wage Setting ◽  
Wage Penalty ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Part Time

We examine how far the over-representation of women in part-time jobs can explain the gender gap in hourly earnings, and also investigate how far wage-setting institutions are correlated with the overall gender wage gap and the female part-time wage gap. Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2009 data for 11 European countries, we implement a double decomposition of the gender wage gap: between men and women employed full-time and between full-time and part-time working women. This shows that the wage penalty of women employed part-time occurs mainly through the segregation of part-time jobs, but the full-time gender pay gap remains mostly unexplained. At the macro level, the gender wage gap tends to be higher in countries where part-time employment is more widespread. Some wage-setting institutions seem to reduce the female full-time/part-time pay gap and the gender gap among full-time workers.

scholarly journals The Gender Wage Gap in Developed Countries

2017 ◽  
pp. 368-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Kunze
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Gender Pay Gap ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Employment Rates

Despite the increased attachment of women to the labor force in nearly all developed countries, a stubborn gender pay gap remains. This chapter provides a review of the economics literature on the gender wage gap, with an emphasis on developed countries. We begin with an overview of the trends in the gender differences in wages and employment rates. We then review methods used to decompose the gender wage gap and the results from such decompositions. We discuss how trends and differences in the gender wage gap across countries can be understood in light of nonrandom selection and human capital differences. We then review the evidence on demand-side factors used to explain the existing gender wage gap and then discuss occupational segregation. The chapter concludes with suggestions for further research.

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