Inequality at the top: the gender earnings gap among the Italian educational elite

Does a gender earnings gap exist at the top of the educational distribution? Based on population data on two recent cohorts of PhD graduates in Italy, we find that women’s monthly earnings are on average 16 % lower than men’s after 5–6 years in the labor market. The gender earnings gap is even wider...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Passaretta, Giampiero, Triventi, Moris
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/57528
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/57528
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2023.100796
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Gender earnings gap
Gender pay gap
Doctoral graduates
Discrimination
Earning inequality
PhD
Educational elite
Descripción
Sumario:Does a gender earnings gap exist at the top of the educational distribution? Based on population data on two recent cohorts of PhD graduates in Italy, we find that women’s monthly earnings are on average 16 % lower than men’s after 5–6 years in the labor market. The gender earnings gap is even wider at the bottom and top of the earnings distribution, reaching approximately 22 % and 19 %, respectively. Educational pathways before and during PhD studies, occupational characteristics, and family situation explain almost half of women’s average penalty and working hours alone one-fifth of it. The wider penalties at the bottom and top of the earnings distribution remain largely unexplained.