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The gender lifetime earnings gap—exploring gendered pay from the life course perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Boll

    (Hamburg Institute of International Economics)

  • Malte Jahn

    (Hamburg Institute of International Economics)

  • Andreas Lagemann

    (Hamburg Institute of International Economics)

Abstract
Research on the gender earnings divide so far mostly focuses on the gender gap in hourly wages, which due to its snapshot nature is unable to capture the biographical dimension of gendered pay. With the ‘gender lifetime earnings gap’ (GLEG), we introduce a new measure that fills this gap. Based on a group of 72,085 German individuals born 1950-64 from the ‘Sample of Integrated Labor Market Biographies’ (SIAB 7510), we find that at the end of the employment career, women accumulate 46.6% less earnings than men. Thus, the GLEG is more than twice as high as the current German gender pay gap. The GLEG is higher at the bottom than at the top of the earnings distribution. It most prominently widens during the period of family formation (age 25-35). Relatedly, gender differences in endowments, mainly in terms of experience and hours, account for almost two-thirds of the GLEG. For younger cohorts, family breaks tend to lose importance, whereas the role of work hours remains unchanged. Moreover, women in younger cohorts approach men with respect to employment, education and sector premiums.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Boll & Malte Jahn & Andreas Lagemann, 2017. "The gender lifetime earnings gap—exploring gendered pay from the life course perspective," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 25(1), pages 1-53, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:jid:journl:y:2017:v:25:i:1:p:1-53
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    8. Matthias Seckler, 2022. "Increasing Inequality in Long‐Term Earnings: A Tale of Educational Upgrading and Changing Employment Patterns," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(3), pages 617-652, September.
    9. Averkamp, Dorothée, 2024. "The Gender Wage Gap, Labor-Market Experience, and Family Choices: Lessons from East Germany?," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302347, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    lifetime earnings; Blinder & Oaxaca decomposition; cohort analysis; gender; life course; wage distribution; wage gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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