Open    Access



The fable paradigm of the gender pay gap: Evidence from Portuguese private firms



Author(s)

Carlos Duarte, Maria Carapeto, Ivo Pereira

Full-Text PDF XML     217 Views

DOI:10.17265/1537-1506/2010.03.001

This study investigates gender income disparity in Portuguese firms using separate Tobit models for men and women. While job segregation seems to be one of the major sources of gender disparity, women do not appear to be systematically underpaid in predominantly female occupations, regardless of the industry. The authors found that gender pay gap is larger in domestic firms, and it increases with employees’ accumulated tenure and decreases with advanced education for women and on labor market entry. Despite showing some encouraging cracks, the glass ceiling still continues to prevent women from reaching top management positions. Finally, despite it appears wage disparity does exist, and it will probably continue to exist, the results point towards a window of opportunity for women.

segregation; gender pay gap; compensation policy; Tobit model