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The gender wage gap among recent postsecondary graduates in Canada: a distributional approach

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  • Brahim Boudarbat
  • Marie Connolly

Abstract

Using the National Graduates Survey, we examine the trends in the gender wage gap among recent postsecondary graduates in Canada between 1988 and 2007. Female graduates earn on average 614% less than males during the period two to five years after graduation. Decompositions show that observable personal characteristics and job attributes can explain only a small portion of the wage gap. We also find that men earn more than women at every point of the distribution. Interestingly, the wage difference shrank in the lower half of the distribution in recent years, while it increased in the upper half.

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  • Brahim Boudarbat & Marie Connolly, 2013. "The gender wage gap among recent postsecondary graduates in Canada: a distributional approach," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 46(3), pages 1037-1065, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:46:y:2013:i:3:p:1037-1065
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12036
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    Cited by:

    1. Luiza Antonie & Miana Plesca & Jennifer Teng, 2016. "Heterogeneity in the Gender Wage Gap in Canada," Working Papers 1603, University of Guelph, Department of Economics and Finance.
    2. Gustavo Adolfo García & Diego René Gonzales Miranda & Oscar Gallo & Juan Pablo Roman Calderon, 2020. "Millennials and the gender wage gap: Do millennial women face a glass ceiling?," Documentos de Trabajo CIEF 018409, Universidad EAFIT.
    3. Faruk, Avinno, 2019. "Analysing the glass ceiling and sticky floor effects in Bangladesh: Evidence, extent and elements," MPRA Paper 92137, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Luann Good Gingrich & Naomi Lightman, 2015. "The Empirical Measurement of a Theoretical Concept: Tracing Social Exclusion among Racial Minority and Migrant Groups in Canada," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(4), pages 98-111.
    5. David Anderson & Margrét V. Bjarnadóttir & Cristian L. Dezső & David Gaddis Ross, 2019. "On a Firm’s Optimal Response to Pressure for Gender Pay Equity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(1), pages 214-231, February.
    6. Li, Jiang & Dostie, Benoit & Simard-Duplain, Gaëlle, 2020. "What Is the Role of Firm-Specific Pay Policies on the Gender Earnings Gap in Canada?," IZA Discussion Papers 13907, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Luiza Antonie & Laura Gatto & Miana Plesca, 2020. "Full-Time and Part-Time Work and the Gender Wage Gap," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 48(3), pages 313-326, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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