IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-04790339.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

John Stuart Mill on Wage Inequalities Between Men and Women

Author

Listed:
  • Virginie Gouverneur

    (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar)

Abstract

Mill proposes an analysis of women's low wages in a paragraph of Principles of Political Economy. The paper's purpose is to confront this analysis with his conception of justice, rooted in his utilitarianism. Mill's attachment to justice arises in a particular context, as the result of various intellectual influences. On the one hand, it underlies his concern for the situation of women on the labour market and his insistence on the role played by custom and laws in wage differences between men and women. On the other hand, the shortcomings of Mill's analysis appear consistent with his vision of equal justice and freedom for women.

Suggested Citation

  • Virginie Gouverneur, 2019. "John Stuart Mill on Wage Inequalities Between Men and Women," Post-Print hal-04790339, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04790339
    DOI: 10.1080/09672567.2019.1652333
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://uha.hal.science/hal-04790339v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://uha.hal.science/hal-04790339v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09672567.2019.1652333?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burnette,Joyce, 2008. "Gender, Work and Wages in Industrial Revolution Britain," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521880633, June.
    2. Chris Nyland & Tom Heenan, 2003. "William Thompson and Anna Doyle Wheeler: A Marriage of Minds on Jeremy Bentham's Doorstep," Chapters, in: Robert Dimand & Chris Nyland (ed.), The Status of Women in Classical Economic Thought, chapter 13, pages 241-261, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    4. Jennifer Ball, 2001. "J. S. Mill on Wages and Women: A Feminist Critique," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 509-527.
    5. Bernard Gazier, 2010. "La discrimination économique est-elle soluble dans la complexité ?," Post-Print hal-00635109, HAL.
    6. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    7. Sigot, Nathalie & Beaurain, Christophe, 2009. "John Stuart Mill And The Employment Of Married Women: Reconciling Utility And Justice," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 281-304, September.
    8. Bernard Gazier, 2010. "La discrimination économique est-elle soluble dans la complexité ?," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(3), pages 45-64.
    9. Bernard Gazier, 2010. "La discrimination économique est-elle soluble dans la complexité ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00635109, HAL.
    10. Mark Blaug, 1958. "The Classical Economists and the Factory Acts — a Re-examination," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 72(2), pages 211-226.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Virginie Gouverneur, 2018. "John Stuart Mill on Wage Inequalities Between Men and Women," Working Papers 07-18, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC).
    2. Dreber, Anna & Heikensten, Emma & Säve-Söderbergh, Jenny, 2022. "Why do women ask for less?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Kessel, Dany & Mollerstrom, Johanna & van Veldhuizen, Roel, 2021. "Can simple advice eliminate the gender gap in willingness to compete?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 138, pages 1-1.
    4. Estefanía Galván, 2022. "Gender Identity and Quality of Employment," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 409-436, April.
    5. J. Michelle Brock & Ralph De Haas, 2023. "Discriminatory Lending: Evidence from Bankers in the Lab," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 31-68, April.
    6. Friedman-Sokuler, Naomi & Senik, Claudia, 2020. "From Pink-Collar to Lab Coat: Cultural Persistence and Diffusion of Socialist Gender Norms," IZA Discussion Papers 13385, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Cortes, Patricia & Pan, Jessica, 2016. "Prevalence of Long Hours and Skilled Women's Occupational Choices," IZA Discussion Papers 10225, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Roeder, Kerstin, 2020. "Having it all, for all: Child-care subsidies and income distribution reconciled," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 188-211.
    9. Guida Ayza Estopa, 2024. "Return-to-work policies for disability insurance recipients: The role of financial incentives," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2024 17, Stata Users Group.
    10. Sarah, Rosenberg, 2024. "Revisiting the Breadwinner Norm: Replicating Bertrand, Kamenica, and Pan (2015)," Working Papers 2024:10, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    11. Heyman, Fredrik & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars, 2017. "Talent, Career Choice and Competition: The Gender Wage Gap at the Top," Working Paper Series 1169, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 06 Mar 2023.
    12. Sarah Fleche & Anthony Lepinteur & Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2018. "Gender Norms and Relative Working Hours: Why Do Women Suffer More Than Men from Working Longer Hours Than Their Partners?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 163-168, May.
    13. Simon Rabaté & Externe auteur: Sara Rellstab, 2021. "The Child Penalty in the Netherlands and its Determinants," CPB Discussion Paper 424, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    14. Alexander Ahammer & Ulrich Glogowsky & Martin Halla & Timo Hener, 2023. "The Parenthood Penalty in Mental Health: Evidence from Austria and Denmark," CESifo Working Paper Series 10676, CESifo.
    15. Pierre Deschamps, 2024. "Gender Quotas in Hiring Committees: A Boon or a Bane for Women?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(11), pages 7486-7505, November.
    16. Glogowsky, Ulrich & Hansen, Emanuel & Sachs, Dominik & Lüthen, Holger, 2025. "The evolution of child-related gender inequality in Germany and the role of family policies, 1960–2018," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    17. Warn N. Lekfuangfu & Grace Lordan, 2023. "Documenting occupational sorting by gender in the UK across three cohorts: does a grand convergence rely on societal movements?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(5), pages 2215-2256, May.
    18. Estefanía Galván & Cecilia García‐Peñalosa, 2025. "Interactions among gender norms: Evidence from US couples," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 72(1), February.
    19. Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez & Maria Navarro Paniagua, 2017. "Hollywood’s Wage Structure and Discrimination," Working Papers 152465718, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    20. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser, 2021. "Works councils and organizational gender policies in Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1020-1048, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04790339. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.