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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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Passaretta, Giampiero, Triventi, Moris
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2023
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/57528
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/57528
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2023.100796
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Gender earnings gap
Gender pay gap
Doctoral graduates
Discrimination
Earning inequality
PhD
Educational elite
Description
Summary: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.