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Do New Male and Female College Graduates Receive Unequal Pay?

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  • Judith A. McDonald
  • Robert J. Thornton

Abstract

We analyze the female-male gap in starting-salary offers for new college graduates using data from the annual surveys of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), unique (and proprietary) data that have not previously been used for this purpose. A major advantage of working with a data set on salaries for new college graduates is that we can remove the possible influence of gender differences in experience, promotions, job changes, and other factors on the salary gap. We find that as much as 95 percent of the overall gender gap in starting-salary offers can be explained by differences in college majors selected.

Suggested Citation

  • Judith A. McDonald & Robert J. Thornton, 2007. "Do New Male and Female College Graduates Receive Unequal Pay?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:42:y:2007:i1:p32-48
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. O'Neill, June & Polachek, Solomon, 1993. "Why the Gender Gap in Wages Narrowed in the 1980s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 205-228, January.
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    3. Brown, Charles & Corcoran, Mary, 1997. "Sex-Based Differences in School Content and the Male-Female Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 431-465, July.
    4. Mary E. Graham & Julie L. Hotchkiss & Barry Gerhart, 2000. "Discrimination by Parts: A Fixed-Effects Analysis of Starting Pay Differences across Gender," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 9-27, Winter.
    5. Thomas N. Daymonti & Paul J. Andrisani, 1984. "Job Preferences, College Major, and the Gender Gap in Earnings," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 19(3), pages 408-428.
    6. Eric Eide, 1994. "College Major Choice And Changes In The Gender Wage Gap," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 12(2), pages 55-64, April.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The male wage premium
      by jamesz in TVHE on 2015-07-24 20:33:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Dan A. Black & Amelia M. Haviland & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2008. "Gender Wage Disparities among the Highly Educated," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(3), pages 630-659.
    2. Laura Cepeda Emiliani & JUan D.Barón, 2012. "Educational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap for Recent College Graduates in Colombia," Borradores de Economia 695, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    3. Eleonora Matteazzi & Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2013. "Does Part-Time Employment Widen the Gender Wage Gap? Evidence from Twelve European Countries," Working Papers 293, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Mirco Tonin & Jackline Wahba, 2015. "The Sources of the Gender Gap in Economics Enrolment," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 61(1), pages 72-94.
    5. Barón, Juan David, 2012. "Primeras experiencias laborales de los profesionales colombianos: probabilidad de empleo formal y salarios," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia - CIE, June.
    6. John Ifcher & Homa Zarghamee, 2016. "Pricing competition: a new laboratory measure of gender differences in the willingness to compete," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 19(3), pages 642-662, September.
    7. Juan Barón, 2012. "First job experiences of Colombian college graduates: probability of formal employment and wages," Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, Departamento de Economía, issue 76, pages 55-86.
    8. Juan D. Barón, 2010. "Primeras experiencias laborales de los profesionales colombianos: Probabilidad de empleo formal y salarios," Documentos de Trabajo Sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 007625, Banco de la República - Economía Regional.
    9. CONTRERAS CUEVA, Angélica Beatriz & DÁVALOS GARCÍA, Sergio & GONZÁLEZ-MORALES, Olga & ÁLVAREZ-GONZÁLEZ, José Antonio, 2014. "The Employability Of Mexican University Students: An Analysis By Gender And Training Areas," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 14(3), pages 155-168.
    10. Judith A. McDonald & Robert J. Thornton, 2016. "Estimating gender wage gaps: A data update," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 140-141, April.
    11. Wayne A. Grove & Andrew Hussey & Michael Jetter, 2011. "The Gender Pay Gap Beyond Human Capital: Heterogeneity in Noncognitive Skills and in Labor Market Tastes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(4), pages 827-874.

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