Equity theory proposes that outcome distributions are perceived as fair when the ratio of one's own outcomes (e.g., pay) to inputs (e.g., work) is equivalent to that of a comparison other. Research on reward allocations and reward satisfaction, however, suggests that females' behavior frequently does not conform to equity theory predictions. Given…

Earnings inequality increased sharply in the early 1980s, tapered off in the later 1980s, and reaccelerated in the 1990s. Although inequality increased overall and for men and women separately, a combined analysis overlooks differences in the labor market dynamics of men and women. (Author)

Analysis of National Longitudinal Survey and of High School and Beyond data pinpoints the reason for a decline in the gender earnings gap, 1979-86 among college-educated workers. Changes in estimated effects of college grades and major for women account for almost all of the decline, indicating growth in the market price of women's skills. (SK)

From the humanities sample of the Survey of Doctoral Recipients 1977-95, a cross-sectional sample of tenured/tenure-track faculty and a longitudinal sample of doctoral recipients 1975-89 were studied. Gender salary differences were largely explained by rank. Substantial gender differences in tenure were found, with a slight decline in the gap for…

Women's share of employment in personnel and labor relations occupations grew from 30 percent in 1970 to 58 percent in 1989. Female personnel managers' earnings remained two-thirds of men's between 1986 and 1989. At least two-thirds of 1979 earnings differences reflected gender differences for age, education, and extent of work. (SK)

Data on major choice and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores show the following: (1) there is a widening gap between life and math/physical sciences in attractiveness to men and women; (2) SAT scores account for only part of the gap; and (3) gender gaps in major choice are attributable to different preferences, expectations, and gender-specific…

Elementary school, secondary school, and college students rated 12 jobs divided between primarily female, primarily male, and gender-neutral occupations according to how much they should make if they were in the occupation. A significant interaction was found between type of job and gender for pay expectations. Suggestions for use in applied…

A study of job satisfaction at a southeastern university received responses from 110 faculty and staff. Although no significant differences were found between faculty and staff, there were significant differences between males, who had higher satisfaction with pay, and females, who had higher satisfaction with co-workers. (JOW)

In the last 20 years, an increase in the number of working women has been accompanied by changes in the female labor force and in the concentration of women in particular occupations and industries. These changes have a profound effect upon women's earnings. The Current Population Survey (CPS) shows a wide disparity in the median earnings of women…

This document comprises a report on international progress to close the "wage gap", the differential between the earnings of women and men. Information was gathered on pay equity activities from a survey of government agencies, trade unions, women's organizations, and international bodies. Almost all of the jurisdictions surveyed have…

Women in the social work profession, as in other fields, receive lower salaries than their male counterparts. A study comparing career characteristics of male and female graduates of a school of social work verified this conclusion and pointed to some ways in which the trend could be reversed. (Author)

This paper reviews some of the past literature on male-female wage differentials in order to determine the early hypotheses which are the historical roots of the current theoretical and empirical work analyzing male-female wage differentials. Part 1 reviews the discrimination hypotheses, which emphasize differences in the labor market conditions…

Holding both the nature of the task and prestige constant, it is found that the earnings of both males and females are greater in male- than in female-dominated dominated occupations. This earnings differential may be a function of occupational characteristics that are not measured in this research, or of institutionalized discrimination.…

This paper presents an empirical analysis of wage differentials based on race and gender in the federal bureaucracy. The objective of the paper is to show that the availability of interfirm data on race and gender wage differentials provides a unique opportunity to expand the understanding of the measurement and interpretation of these…

Examined the extent to which labor-market conditions and the sex-composition of academic disciplines influenced average disciplinary salaries, based on the average, full-time 1988-89 salaries of new assistant professors for 16 academic disciplines. Findings from both cross-sectional and dynamic models indicated that both labor-market conditions…