Decomposing the Male/Female Wage Gap: Within and Between Establishment Differences

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Using Norwegian data from interviews with about 3,500 employees in 759 establishments, the male‐female wage differential is decomposed into its between and within establishment components. In the private sector, the gross wage differential of 23 percent is reduced to 13 by checking for human capital and job characteristics, and to 8 by (also) checking for industry and establishment affiliation. Only this within‐establishment differential will be affected by equal pay and comparable worth legislation. In the public sector the gross wage gap between men and women is smaller (17 percent). The inter‐establishment component is very small, probably due to centralized wage setting and standardized pay schemes. This has not, however, affected the within‐establishment differential which is as large as in the private sector.