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Movin’ on up: Hierarchical occupational segmentation and gender wage gaps

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  • Dina Shatnawi
  • Ronald Oaxaca
  • Michael Ransom

Abstract

Our study evaluates and extends existing wage decomposition methodologies that seek to measure the contributions of endowments, pure wage discrimination, and job segregation. We employ data from a regional supermarket that faced a Title VII class-action lawsuit to examine how standard wage specifications integrated with a model of hierarchical segregation might perform in wage decompositions. Our results show that a common misspecification of the wage structure leads to false inferences about the presence of pure wage discrimination. We demonstrate the generalizability of our methodology using CPS data. Copyright © Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA) 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Dina Shatnawi & Ronald Oaxaca & Michael Ransom, 2014. "Movin’ on up: Hierarchical occupational segmentation and gender wage gaps," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(3), pages 315-338, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:12:y:2014:i:3:p:315-338
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-013-9257-4
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    3. Katarzyna Bech & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2017. "Estimating gender wage gap in the presence of efficiency wages -- evidence from European data," GRAPE Working Papers 20, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    4. Yannick L’Horty & Dominique Meurs, 2016. "Introduction. Analyser les inégalités salariales entre les hommes et les femmes dans la fonction publique avec les données du Système d’information sur les agents des services publics," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 488(1), pages 89-95.
    5. Jung, SeEun & Choe, Chung & Oaxaca, Ronald L., 2018. "Gender wage gaps and risky vs. secure employment: An experimental analysis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 112-121.
    6. Michael R. Strain & Douglas A. Webber, 2017. "High school experiences, the gender wage gap, and the selection of occupation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(49), pages 5040-5049, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender discrimination; Job segregation; Wage decompositions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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