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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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    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:

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    2. 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.
    3. 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 132, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    4. Wayne A. Grove & Andrew Hussey, 2011. "Returns To Field Of Study Versus School Quality: Mba Selection On Observed And Unobserved Heterogeneity," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 730-749, July.
    5. Cepeda Emiliani, Laura & Barón, Juan D., 2012. "Educational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap for Recent College Graduates in Colombia," IZA Discussion Papers 6361, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Dominique Cappelletti & Maria Vittoria Levati & Matteo Ploner, 2022. "Math ability, gender stereotypes about math ability, and educational choices. Combining experimental and survey data," Working Papers 07/2022, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    7. Jason Sockin & Michael Sockin, 2025. "A Pay Scale of Their Own: Gender Differences in Variable Pay," CESifo Working Paper Series 11608, CESifo.
    8. Juan David Barón, 2012. "Primeras experiencias laborales de los profesionales colombianos: probabilidad de empleo formal y salarios," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE.
    9. 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.
    10. Ransmayr Juliane & Weichselbaumer Doris, 2024. "The Role of Sex Segregation in the Gender Wage Gap Among University Graduates in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 244(1-2), pages 37-81, February.
    11. Breda, Thomas & Grenet, Julien & Monnet, Marion & Van Effenterre, Clémentine, 2020. "Do Female Role Models Reduce the Gender Gap in Science? Evidence from French High Schools," IZA Discussion Papers 13163, IZA Network @ LISER.
    12. Alan Benson, 2015. "A Theory of Dual Job Search and Sex-Based Occupational Clustering," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 367-400, July.
    13. 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.
    14. Aldén, Lina & Neuman, Emma, 2022. "Culture and the gender gap in choice of major: An analysis using sibling comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 346-373.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. Gulia Bovini & Marta De Philippis & Lucia Rizzica, 2024. "The origins of the gender pay gap: education and job characteristics," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1470, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    19. 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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