What will it take to be equal? An investigation of the differential effects of being female on earnings
According to the US Bureau of Statistics and Labor (2003), women earn approximately 71.3% of what men earn. In order to understand the gender wage gap, it is prudent to identify the factors that determine earnings. The purpose of this study is to replicate and extend the research on the gender wage gap. Specifically, a multitude of variables previously identified to be predictors of salary were simultaneously examined to determine the combined effect of these variables in explained earnings. Additionally, male and female samples were analyzed separately to identify how these variables affect earnings differentially for the two sexes. A sample of approximately 5,000 individuals who took part in the PSID study in 2003, were used. The most critical finding of the study is that after all the variables and their interactions with sex were controlled for, sex remained a significant predictor of earnings. For the overall sample, when interactions between work-related variables and sex were taken into account, being male, working more hours per week, working in male-dominated occupations, having longer organizational tenures, having higher levels of education, and being older were related to higher earnings. Males who are older, married, or have higher educations also predicted higher earnings. Interactions showed that the years worked full-time leads to higher earnings for females; whereas, lower earnings were associated with females who have more children or work in the private sector. In separate gender analyses, within the male sample the men with higher earnings are older, are white, work more hours per week, have more education, have more children, are married, have worked less years full-time, have longer organizational tenures, work in the private sector, do not have union representation, are taller, and have lower BMI's than the lower-earning males. In the female sample, the females with higher earnings are older, work more hours per week, are more educated, work more years full-time, have longer organizational tenures, work in male-dominated occupations, work in government, do not have union representation, are married, do less housework, and are not overweight. Implications towards the gender wage gap are discussed.
Year of publication: |
2007-01-01
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Authors: | LePla, Lori A |
Publisher: |
Wayne State University |
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