Why women do not ask: Gender differences in fairness perceptions of own wages and subsequent wage growth

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This article analyses gender differences in fairness perceptions of own wages and subsequent wage growth. The main finding is that women perceive their wage more often as fair if controls for hourly wage rates, individual and job-related characteristics are taken into account. Furthermore, the gender difference is more pronounced for married than for single women. This points to the fact that social norms, gender roles and gender identity are at least partly responsible for the gap in fairness perceptions. Further analysis shows that individuals, who perceive their wage as unfair, experience larger wage growth in subsequent years. An explanation would be that a wage perceived as unfair triggers negotiations for a better wage or induces individuals to search for better-paid work. Thus, differences in fair own wage perceptions can contribute to explain the nowadays still persistent gender wage gap.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberbey035
JournalCambridge Journal of Economics
Volume43
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)295-310
Number of pages16
ISSN0309-166X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29.03.2019

    Research areas

  • Economics
  • Fairness, Gender differences, Social norms, Wage growth, Wages

DOI