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Changes in the US Gender Gap in Wages in the 1960s

Author

Listed:
  • Martha J. Bailey
  • Thomas Helgerman
  • Bryan A. Stuart

Abstract

The 1960s witnessed landmark legislation that aimed to increase women's wages, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the 1966 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Although the gender gap in pay changed little at the mean/median during the decade, our distributional analysis shows that women's wages converged sharply on men's below but diverged above the median. However, the bulk of women's relative pay gains are not explained by changes in observed attributes. Our findings suggest an important role for legislation in narrowing the gender gap in the 1960s.

Suggested Citation

  • Martha J. Bailey & Thomas Helgerman & Bryan A. Stuart, 2021. "Changes in the US Gender Gap in Wages in the 1960s," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 143-148, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:111:y:2021:p:143-48
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211020
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law
    • N42 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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