New insights in the gender wage gap: The role of responsibility and the job-skill match

New insights in the gender wage gap: The role of responsibility and the job-skill match

Period: 01.07.2009 – 31.10.2010

In line with the persistence of the gender wage gap and the high political relevance of the topic, the empirical literature on this subject is substantial. Particular emphasis has been placed on the role of career interruptions related to maternity leave and on occupational segregation by gender. Nevertheless, a large share of the gender wage gap remains unexplained. One possible reason could be that the available studies only use imprecise measures of the job contents and skill requirements. For this project, we use a newly available individual dataset, with detailed information on individual tasks and skills, to study the role of the amount of responsibility taken up by the employees, and of the skill requirements for the position as compared to actual skills (i.e. the quality of the job-skill match). We thereby hope to shed new light on the yet unexplained part of the gender wage gap and to provide more solid foundations for future gender policy.

Project members

Anja Heinze

Anja Heinze

Project Coordinator

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Maresa Sprietsma

Maresa Sprietsma

Project Coordinator

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