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The paradox of progress: the emergence of wage discrimination in US manufacturing

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  • Joyce Burnette

Abstract

This article tests for wage discrimination in US manufacturing during the nineteenth century and in 2002 by estimating the female-to-male productivity ratio and comparing it to the wage ratio. This method will not identify all forms of discrimination, but will determine whether women were paid wages commensurate with their productivity. There was no significant difference between the wage ratio and the productivity ratio in the nineteenth century, but in 1900 there is evidence of gender discrimination among white-collar workers. In 2002 the female-to-male productivity ratio was higher than in the nineteenth century, and the wage ratio was also higher, but the wage ratio was significantly lower than the productivity ratio, at least for workers older than thirty-five. The movement from the spot labor markets of the nineteenth century to the internal labor markets has allowed for the emergence of gender wage discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Joyce Burnette, 2015. "The paradox of progress: the emergence of wage discrimination in US manufacturing," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 19(2), pages 128-148.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ereveh:v:19:y:2015:i:2:p:128-148.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ereh/hev002
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    Cited by:

    1. Burnette, Joyce & Stanfors, Stanfors, 2018. "Understanding the gender gap among turn-of-the-century Swedish compositors," Working Paper Series 2018:1, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    2. Kumon, Yuzuru & Sakai, Kazuho, 2022. "Women's Wages and Empowerment : Pre-industrial Japan, 1600-1890," CEI Working Paper Series 2022-05, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. Karlsson, Tobias & Stanfors, Maria, 2016. "To be or not to be? Risk attitudes and gender differences in union membership," Lund Papers in Economic History 144, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    4. Kumon, Yuzuru & Sakai, Kazuho, 2022. "Women’s Wages and Empowerment: Pre-industrial Japan, 1600-1890," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 18/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    5. Youssouf Merouani & Faustine Perrin, 2022. "Gender and the long-run development process. A survey of the literature [Rethinking age heaping: A cautionary tale from nineteenth-century Italy]," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 26(4), pages 612-641.

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