Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 802-820 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Work, Employment and Society |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 9 Jul 2016 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2016 |
Abstract
Even though women today constitute the majority of higher education graduates, they still earn considerably less than their male counterparts. Previous research demonstrates that occupational sex segregation is important for understanding the gender wage gap, since occupations dominated by women pay less; yet less is known about why this is the case. This article explores two possible mechanisms: the devaluation of ‘female-typical’ work tasks and working-time arrangements. Hypotheses are tested by applying OLS regression and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analyses to the log hourly wages of a representative sample of German higher education graduates from 2001. Results confirm that occupational overtime increases and occupational part-time work decreases wages, indicating that occupations dominated by women pay less due to their ‘female-typical’ working-time arrangements. However, inconsistent with the devaluation thesis, tasks like teaching/educating increase wages for women, too, which speaks against a general lower value of ‘female-typical’ tasks, at least among the highly qualified.
Keywords
- gender wage gap, Germany, higher education, occupational sex segregation, work tasks, working time
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
- Economics and Econometrics
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Accounting
- Social Sciences(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Work, Employment and Society, Vol. 30, No. 5, 10.2016, p. 802-820.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do occupations dominated by women pay less? How ‘female-typical’ work tasks and working-time arrangements affect the gender wage gap among higher education graduates
AU - Leuze, K.
AU - Strauß, S.
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - Even though women today constitute the majority of higher education graduates, they still earn considerably less than their male counterparts. Previous research demonstrates that occupational sex segregation is important for understanding the gender wage gap, since occupations dominated by women pay less; yet less is known about why this is the case. This article explores two possible mechanisms: the devaluation of ‘female-typical’ work tasks and working-time arrangements. Hypotheses are tested by applying OLS regression and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analyses to the log hourly wages of a representative sample of German higher education graduates from 2001. Results confirm that occupational overtime increases and occupational part-time work decreases wages, indicating that occupations dominated by women pay less due to their ‘female-typical’ working-time arrangements. However, inconsistent with the devaluation thesis, tasks like teaching/educating increase wages for women, too, which speaks against a general lower value of ‘female-typical’ tasks, at least among the highly qualified.
AB - Even though women today constitute the majority of higher education graduates, they still earn considerably less than their male counterparts. Previous research demonstrates that occupational sex segregation is important for understanding the gender wage gap, since occupations dominated by women pay less; yet less is known about why this is the case. This article explores two possible mechanisms: the devaluation of ‘female-typical’ work tasks and working-time arrangements. Hypotheses are tested by applying OLS regression and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analyses to the log hourly wages of a representative sample of German higher education graduates from 2001. Results confirm that occupational overtime increases and occupational part-time work decreases wages, indicating that occupations dominated by women pay less due to their ‘female-typical’ working-time arrangements. However, inconsistent with the devaluation thesis, tasks like teaching/educating increase wages for women, too, which speaks against a general lower value of ‘female-typical’ tasks, at least among the highly qualified.
KW - gender wage gap
KW - Germany
KW - higher education
KW - occupational sex segregation
KW - work tasks
KW - working time
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990242324&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.15488/2366
DO - 10.15488/2366
M3 - Article
VL - 30
SP - 802
EP - 820
JO - Work, Employment and Society
JF - Work, Employment and Society
SN - 0950-0170
IS - 5
ER -