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Discriminatory Social Attitudes and Varying Gender Pay Gaps within Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Janssen
  • Simone Tuor Sartore
  • Uschi Backes-Gellner
Abstract
This study analyzes the relationship between discriminatory social attitudes toward gender equality and firms’ pay-setting behavior by combining information about regional votes on constitutional amendments on equal rights for women and men with a large data set of multi-establishment firms and workers. The results show a strong relationship between discriminatory social attitudes toward gender equality and gender pay gaps within firms across regions. The results remain robust, even when the authors account for detailed worker and job characteristics and for regional sorting of firms. Overall, the results suggest that gender pay gaps are larger in regions where more people oppose gender equality rights. In other words, in the same firm women earn lower wages than their male coworkers in regions where more people have discriminatory social attitudes toward gender equality.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Janssen & Simone Tuor Sartore & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2016. "Discriminatory Social Attitudes and Varying Gender Pay Gaps within Firms," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 69(1), pages 253-279, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:69:y:2016:i:1:p:253-279
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    7. Margarita Kiryushina & Victor Rudakov, 2021. "The Gender Gap in Early-Career Wages of Universities' and Vocational Education Institutes' Graduates," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 172-198.
    8. Patricia Palffy & Patrick Lehnert & Uschi Backes‐Gellner, 2023. "Social norms and gendered occupational choices of men and women: Time to turn the tide?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 380-410, October.
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    10. Aepli, Manuel & Kuhn, Andreas & Schweri, Jürg, 2021. "Culture, norms, and the provision of training by employers: Evidence from the Swiss language border," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Patrick Lehnert & Harald Pfeifer, 2024. "Environmental Awareness and Occupational Choices of Adolescents," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0231, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    12. Lehnert, Patrick & Pfister, Curdin & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2020. "Employment of R&D personnel after an educational supply shock: Effects of the introduction of Universities of Applied Sciences in Switzerland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
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    14. Owen, Ann L. & Wei, Andrew, 2021. "Sexism, household decisions, and the gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Ying Li Compton & Sok-Hyon Kang & Zinan Zhu, 2019. "Gender Stereotyping by Location, Female Director Appointments and Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 445-462, December.
    16. Kuhn, Andreas, 2022. "The Times Have Changed: Tracking the Evolution of Gender Norms over Time," IZA Discussion Papers 15621, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    18. Claudia Roethlisberger & Franziska Gassmann & Wim Groot & Bruno Martorano, 2023. "The contribution of personality traits and social norms to the gender pay gap: A systematic literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 377-408, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social attitudes; gender discrimination; firms’ pay setting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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