Perfect competition and an imperfect world : considerations on the gender wage gap in the light of Carl Menger's theory

The neoclassical model of perfect competition offers an idealistic picture in which there should be no gender discrimination in the labor market. However, it is difficult to place hope in a model in which assumptions are detached from reality. However, similar conclusions can be drawn using Carl Menger’s considerations on the process of pricing of factors of productions i.e. employees with the same skills should earn the same, and discriminatory behavior of employers should be marginalized. The chapter has been divided into two main parts. The first describes the method of calculating the gender pay gap and the problem of possible discrimination on the supply side, i.e. on the basis of employees’ skills. In the second part - the demand side, i.e. the problem of prejudiced employers.