The gender pay gap for private sector employees in Canada and Britain

Marie Drolet, Karen Ann Mumford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper uses British and Canadian linked employer-employee data to investigate the importance of the workplace for the gender wage gap. Implementing a novel decomposition approach, we find substantial unexplained wage gaps in the private sector of both countries. Whilst this wage differential is partially offset by women, on average, receiving a workplace specific return which is relatively higher than that paid to men, a substantial and significant unexplained within workplace wage gap remains which is considerably higher in Britain than in Canada. The results are consistent with a prima facie argument that country-specific factors, such as the wage setting environment, are important determinants in explaining the relative size of the gender wage gap.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)529-553
Number of pages24
JournalBritish Journal of Industrial Relations
Volume50
Issue number3
Early online date3 Jun 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2012

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