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The Sex Gap in Pay and Comparable Worth

An Update

  • Chapter
Sourcebook of Labor Markets

Part of the book series: Plenum Studies in Work and Industry ((SSWI))

Abstract

In the United States, as in most nations, employed women earn less than men. In this chapter, we review evidence on trends in the sex gap in pay and the explanation for the pay gap. One factor affecting the sex gap in pay is the assignment of child-rearing responsibility to women, which leads to sex differentials in employment experience. The linchpins of gender inequality within the workplace are the sex segregation of jobs (see Jacobs, Chapter 21, this volume) and the tendency to pay workers in predominantly female jobs less than workers in male jobs with comparable skills levels. We review a number of issues relevant to segregation and the pay gap but focus on the issue of comparable worth, the question of whether employers take the sex of the typical incumbent in a job into account when they assign wages. We provide evidence from 1990 Census data relevant to this claim.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, 19104, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Paula England & Jennifer Thompson

  2. 4257 29th Avenue South, 55405, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Carolyn Aman

Authors
  1. Paula England
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  2. Jennifer Thompson
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  3. Carolyn Aman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Ivar Berg

  2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Arne L. Kalleberg

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England, P., Thompson, J., Aman, C. (2001). The Sex Gap in Pay and Comparable Worth. In: Berg, I., Kalleberg, A.L. (eds) Sourcebook of Labor Markets. Plenum Studies in Work and Industry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1225-7_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1225-7_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5449-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1225-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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