Abstract
This study uses data from two national faculty surveys to estimate the extent of salary discrimination by sex in the academic labor market. Following the Oaxaca method, discrimination is measured as a residual, subtracting salary differences due to individual characteristics from total male/female salary differences. Several estimates are derived while controlling for various personal and professional characteristics including: publications, academic discipline, rank, and characteristics of the employing institution. From 1968 to 1977 there is a substantial reduction in measured discrimination, although a small salary difference remains after controlling for all available qualifications in 1977.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bayer, Alan E. and Helen A. Astin (1975). “Sex differentials in the academic reward system”, Science 188: 796–802.
The Carnegie Commission National Surveys of Higher Education, (1968). Princeton, N.J.
Dorfman, Robert (1976). “Nearly keeping up: report on the economic status of the profession”, Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors 62: 195–207.
Ferber, Marrianne A. (1984). “Citations: Are They An Objective Measure of Merit?”, CSWEP Newsletter Fall Issue: 6.
Goldberger, Arthur S. (1984). “Reverse Regression and Salary Discrimination”, The Journal of Human Resources XIX: 293–318.
Gordon, N., Thomas Morton, and Ina Braden (1974). “Faculty Salaries: Is There Discrimination by Sex, Race, and Discipline?”, American Economic Review 64: 419–427.
Hoffman, Emily P. (1976). “Faculty Salaries: Is There Discrimination by Sex, Race, and Discipline?”, American Economic Review 66: 196–198.
Johnson, George E. and Frank P. Stafford (1974). “The Earnings and Promotion of Women Faculty”, American Economic Review 64: 888–903.
Johnson, George E. and Frank P. Stafford (1979). “Pecuniary Rewards to Men and Women Faculty”, in Darrell R. Lewis and William E. Becker, Jr. (eds.), Academic Rewards in Higher Education. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Company.
Katz, David A. (1973). “Faculty Salaries, Promotions, and Productivity at a Large University”, American Economic Review 63: 469–477.
Koch, James V. and John F. Chizmar, Jr. (1976). “Sex Discrimination and Affirmative Action in Faculty Salaries”, Economic Inquiry 14: 16–24.
Lefkowitz, Mary R. (1979). “Education for Women in a Man's World”, Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 August 1979, p. 56.
Loeb, J.W. and M.A. Ferber (1971). “Sex as Predictive of Salary and Status on a University Faculty”, Journal of Educational Measurement 8: 235–244.
Loeb, J.W., M.A. Ferber and Helen Lowry (1978). “The Effectiveness of Affirmative Action for Women”, Journal of Higher Education 49: 218–230.
“Narrowing the Wage Gap”, Time, 12 November 1984, p. 41. 1977 Survey of the American Professoriate (1977). Storrs, Connecticut: Social Science Data Center, The University of Connecticut.
Oaxaca, Ronald (1973). “Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets”, International Economic Review 14: 693–709.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barbezat, D.A. Salary differentials or sex discrimination? Evidence from the academic labor market. Popul Res Policy Rev 6, 69–84 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00124803
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00124803