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Pay Transparency and the Gender Gap

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Baker

    (University of Toronto)

  • Yosh Halberstam

    (University of Toronto)

  • Kory Kroft

    (University of Toronto)

  • Alexandre Mas

    (Princeton University)

  • Derek Messacar

    (Statistics Canada)

Abstract

We examine the impact of public sector salary disclosure laws on university faculty salaries in Canada. The laws, which enable public access to the salaries of individual faculty if they exceed specified thresholds, were introduced in different provinces at different times. Using detailed administrative data covering the majority of faculty in Canada, and an event-study research design that exploits within-province variation in exposure to the policy across institutions and academic departments, we find robust evidence that that the laws reduced the gender pay gap between men and women by approximately 30 percent. There is suggestive evidence that higher female salaries contributed to the narrowing of the gender gap. The reduction in the gender gap is primarily in universities where faculty are unionized.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Baker & Yosh Halberstam & Kory Kroft & Alexandre Mas & Derek Messacar, 2019. "Pay Transparency and the Gender Gap," Working Papers 2019-5, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:econom:2019-5
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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