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Glass ceiling in a stratified labor market: Evidence from Korea

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  • Cho, Joonmo
  • Lee, Tai
  • Jung, Hanna

Abstract

We verify the glass ceiling effect through separate quantile regression and the wage difference decomposition methods. We also study the gender wage gap after dividing the labor market into core and peripheral sectors considering structural labor market characteristics, such as firm size, employment type, and education level. According to empirical analysis, we find that the glass ceiling effect for irregular female workers with lower levels of education working in small and medium-sized companies is much stronger compared with those in other sectors under the multi-layered Korean labor market structure. This result implies that the glass ceiling effect is weak in the core sector, while in a peripheral sector, invisible gender discrimination increases as the wage quantile moves from lower to higher levels. Based upon these empirical results, we discuss a policy direction that deals simultaneously with the dual structure of the labor market and gender discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Cho, Joonmo & Lee, Tai & Jung, Hanna, 2014. "Glass ceiling in a stratified labor market: Evidence from Korea," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 56-70.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:32:y:2014:i:c:p:56-70
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2014.01.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Myounghwan Kim & Kihong Park, 2023. "Glass ceiling or sticky floor? Evidence from a distributional approach of the gender wage gap among PhD holders in South Korea," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 37(1), pages 3-19, May.
    2. Madhurima Basu & Anubha Shekhar Sinha, 2021. "The Glass-Ceiling Phenomenon: A Literature Review and Research AgendaAbstract: In a patriarchal society with values that are mostly male-dominated, it is indeed difficult for a woman to secure a deser," Working papers 425, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    3. Jaerim Choi & Theresa M. Greaney, 2022. "Global Influences On Gender Inequality: Evidence From Female Employment In Korea," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(1), pages 291-328, February.
    4. Bae, Jaewan & Kang, Jangkoo, 2022. "The negative hiring rate premium on stock returns in the Korean stock market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal & Pastore, Francesco, 2022. "A Tale of Parallel Processes of Gender (In-)Equality: How Big Is the Glass Ceilings for MENA Women?," IZA Discussion Papers 15152, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Joonmo Cho & Jaeseong Lee, 2015. "Persistence of the Gender Gap and Low Employment of Female Workers in a Stratified Labor Market: Evidence from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-27, September.
    7. Madhurima Basu & Anubha Shekhar Sinha, 2021. "Unravelling the Glass Ceiling Phenomenon Using Critical Hermeneutics," Working papers 426, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    8. Hanna Jung, 2023. "Gender wage penalty in parenthood: A comparative study of South Korea and Japan," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 3-26, February.
    9. Hara, Hiromi, 2018. "The gender wage gap across the wage distribution in Japan: Within- and between-establishment effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 213-229.
    10. Yeasung Jeong & Ayoung Lee & Joonmo Cho, 2018. "Educational mismatches and job resolution in South Korea, the USA, and Germany," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 32(2), pages 95-108, November.
    11. Tromp, Nikolas, 2019. "The narrowing gender wage gap in South Korea," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Tromp, Nikolas & Kwak, Juwon, 2022. "Graduating to a gender wage gap in South Korea," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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