ABSTRACT

According to Violetta Khoreva (2011), although there is considerable evidence of the

gender pay gap, study after study demonstrates that many individuals do not perceive the gender

pay gap. This paper will look into possible sociological explanations for this, as well as introduce

the history of the gender pay gap and explain why it remains a social problem. Over the past

twenty-five years, the gender pay gap has narrowed dramatically and women have increasingly

entered traditionally male occupations (Blau and Kahn 2000). Phyllis Tharenou (2012) argues

that the gender pay gap supports and maintains the lesser status of women in society and that it

helps to preserve the status quo with respect to gender roles. For university faculty members, the

research overall shows that effect of gender on pay is explained by gender difference in rank, pay

grade at entrance, and access to market premiums and CRCs (chair positions) (Ducet, Smith,

and Durand 2012). This paper aims to determine why a pay gap exists in academia, and the

methods involve studying data collected and interpreting sociological perspectives. The work

done by Violetta Khoreva is examined to potentially explain why the current pay compensation

structure favors men. Ducet, Smith, and Durand offer further research showing that despite an

increasing number of policies that allow paths to tenure to be put on hold for family obligations,

there is some evidence that shows taking time off to raise children still harms womens careers.

The paper finally concludes by suggesting that private market supplements and premiums tend to

determine higher wages for men.

INTRODUCTION

The problem in previous studies done on the gender pay gap, especially in academic

institutions, has tended to be the problem of comparing apples to oranges. There are typically too

many variables in play to determine whether or not a lesser amount of female pay can be directly

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attributed to discrimination. Some of these problems include human motivation. For instance, if

females do not want to pursue long, illustrious careers, and prefer to raise families instead, how

would that reflect womens pay at large? Some studies claim to account for variables like these.

Others corroborate the seventy-one cents for every dollar figure, but upon closer inspection they

reveal that the study when adjusted for variables such as job experience and education that there

is only a five cent discrepancy instead. Additionally, in the twenty-first century we have seen

something on par with a major success for women everywhere, as more women than men attend

college campuses and are twice as likely to be promoted to tenured STEM tracks as men. That

said, a significant amount of feminist researchers still argue that the current condition of

workplace environments are unacceptable for women and that they receive less pay and

recognition than their male counterparts.

As the debate still continues inside academia about whether or not institutional sexism

still clouds our current political and economic landscape, enough information about the gender

pay-gap is available to begin to look into and analyze the available statistics. A wide range of

voices from academics can also perhaps contribute to an understanding of why the statistics still

show that women make a lesser amount. They offer diverse sociological theories. Some are more

radical than others.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Violetta Khoreva (2011), although there is considerable evidence of the

gender pay gap, study after study demonstrates that many individuals do not perceive the gender

pay gap. Over the past twenty-five years, the gender pay gap has narrowed dramatically and

women have increasingly entered traditionally male occupations (Blau and Kahn 2000). The

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amount of studies that analyze gender discrimination reflects a change in awareness levels at

least in academia. Since the Equal Pay Act that became effective June 11, 1964 in order to

combat biased employer hiring preferences, scholars have continued to document the

effectiveness of the policy by collecting data across different professional fields. Some analyze

possible reasons why the gap still exists. Phyllis Tharenou (2012) argues that the gender pay gap

supports and maintains the lesser status of women in society and that it helps to preserve the

status quo with respect to gender roles.

For individuals that make up university faculty members, the research overall shows that

effect of gender on pay is explained by gender difference in rank, pay grade at entrance, and

access to market premiums and CRCs (chair positions) (Ducet, Smith, and Durand 2012).

Discretionary promotions based on merit rather than seniority seems to affect womens pay

negatively, and it is found that transparent promotional processes tend to favor women in a

greater way. The arguments that women have less access to positions of power and a general

undervaluation of female contribution in the workplace have additionally been put forward as

possible explanations for the gap. The studies have shown mixed results for institutional

discrimination. Identical studies such as the study done by Wenneras and Wold (1997) and then

repeated across a wider spectrum by Sandstrom and Hallsten (2008) showed first that there was

an undervaluation of womens doctoral theses, but the second study showed womens

applications faring a little better than mens.

Khoreva (2011) adds many perspectives to analyze the pay gap with. Among them are

social comparison, equity, occupational socialization, relative deprivation, expectancy, and social

dominance theories. The idea is that traditional gender roles have impacted the marketplace and

that negative consequences of gender socialization have affected wages. Trade unions, social

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campaigns, and government campaigns are keys to raising awareness about the gender wage gap,

and have been persistent in their attempts to increase recognition of the problem. It can be said

that those who do not participate in such campaigns usually are less aware of the gender gap in

relative pay. Khoreva cites Duehr and Bonos 2006 article arguing that individuals that hold

traditional gender role orientation are expected to follow a traditional division of labor

preserving power and superior privilege held by men. They are additionally expected to be less

concerned about gender inequalities and about the gender pay gap in particular.

A big component of the debate about the gender pay gap is child-rearing. Raising

children and family obligations is thought to be a reason why women show less research

productivity leading to a lower publication rate. Ducet, Smith, and Durands research shows

while there are an increasing number of policies that allow the qualifications leading to tenure to

be put on hold for family and child-rearing obligations, there is evidence that taking time off to

raise children still harms womens careers. Conversely, there have also been studies that show no

correlation between being married and becoming parents to female disadvantage, according to

the research of Wolfinger, Mason, and Goulden (2008). Furthermore, few women in the Durand

study at the Canadian university actually went on maternity leave. About 2.5% of female

professors went on leave during the period of study. Overall, Ducet, Smith, and Durand conclude

that the pay difference at the institution studied was due to pay supplements, which are not given

out formally, and the high number of females in particular academic fields.

METHODS
Policy Evaluation
Gathering information on my topic usually involves retrieving a consensus from different

sectors of the financial markets and then breaking them down by gender. The studies done on

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University campuses and in other fields usually take a survey of earnings reported by males and

females and then tallies them up to try and determine whether any patterns emerge. Sometimes,

though, more innovate studies are done to try and predict whether there are sociological biases in

the way pay is distributed, as Wenneras and Wold (1997) and Sandstrom and Hallsten (2008)

have tried to do. They did this by conducting experiments wherein different doctoral theses

papers were sent in to a test group for evaluation, and then noticing whether the acceptance of

any of the papers appeared to be predetermined based on gender.

My questions regarding most of the studies are whether other environmental

circumstances are factored into the study to explain differences in wages. What if a woman in the

survey simply did not want to earn more money than her male counterpart? Perhaps this plays

into the thinking behind traditional gender roles, but when other factors like maternal obligations

start to enter a womens mind, doesnt it make sense that she might be less inclined to climb the

corporate ladder? Along the same lines, sometimes studies dont take into consideration work

experience, hours worked, and educational background, and when these are taken into account

the numbers are a lot closer, and so often times statistics do not tell the whole story. To get a real

sense of how the genders compare to each other as far as earnings, I would be inclined to look at

men and womens educational and career choices and see whether they lead to a difference in

earnings over a lifetime.

Database Search Summary

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 This chart provides support for the notion that men tend to earn higher wages than

women. Even when men and women are working in the same field, men tend to earn higher

wages. This evidence helps to maintain the idea that we live in a male dominated society.

Though progress has been made in recent years we have not yet achieved full equality. The most

compelling information that this chart reveals is that even when men and women are in the same

profession they are still not getting paid equally with women being on the losing end. If men

were in a different line of work than women then a case could be made as to why they are getting

paid more but the fact that men and women are in the same profession and men are still getting

paid more shows the underappreciation the workforce has for women.

CONCLUSION
I found in my research that there are several explanations for why the gender pay gap still

exists. There are several reasons that can be explained in a variety of different ways through

multiple lenses. There is a sociological model that uses gender roles to explain why the female

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gender earns less than male counterparts. My research has found that this discrepancy in earnings

has been a problem ever since women were integrated into the workforce after the Second World

War. Legal measures like the Equal Pay Act have been passed in order to try to make sure that

equal compensation is being given to both men and women. Despite this, academics still point

out that there are deeply ingrained attitudes that perhaps can explain why the difference still

exists.

The shortcomings of the research available on the subject are that the research has a lot of

variables that make it hard to determine whether or not sexism is the root cause of the pay

difference. Also, different studies can contradict the findings of others. For instance, a study at a

University in Canada which reviewed doctoral candidate theses found that women were less

likely to get their papers approved and were undervalued, while another study found just the

opposite. The ultimate finding was that pay supplements tend to be the reason why men out-

earned women in academia, and there will need to be further research to determine what factors

are at play in other fields of the private sector.

APPENDIX

Survey

1. Do you identify as a male or female?

a) Male b) Female

2. Do you work in a field related to:

a) Government b) health care c) private sector

3. Do you feel adequately compensated for the work that you do?

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 4. How do your earnings compare to same gendered peers in your field?

a) Higher b) lower c) about the same

5. How do your earnings compare to opposite gendered peers in your field?

b) Higher b) lower c) about the same

REFERENCES

Doucet, C., Smith, M. R., & Durand, C. (2012). Pay structure, female representation and the

gender pay gap among university professors. Relations Industrielles. 34(3):237-51.

Blau, Francine & Kahn, Lawrence. Gender Differences in Pay. The Journal of Economic

Perspectives. 28(4):290-42.

Lynn Yoshino, Keiko. 2013. Reevaluating the equal pay act for the modern professional

woman. Valparaiso University Law Review. 88(6):122-34.

Tharenou, Phyllis. 2012. The Work of Feminists is Not Yet Done: The Gender Pay Gapa

Stubborn Anachronism. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. 74(3):74-21.

Khoreva, Violetta. (2011) "Gender pay gap and its perceptions", Equality, Diversity and

Inclusion: An International Journal. 81(12):42-13.

Rubery, J. (2015). Closing the gender pay gap in the EU. Intereconomics, 50(2), 62-63.

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