Essay on GENDER AND WAGE DIFFERENCES

What is the research method they use?

In the research by Keith and McWilliams there are used a few methods of investigation. First of all, the authors use data from NLSY to analyze the patterns of male and female mobility. They also use this data for calculating wage growth percentage. As for methods, the above-stated researchers use the standard Heckman two-stage technique in order to analyze the extent of sample errors in the level of wages for certain periods. The authors of the article also use an instrumental variable technique and an OLS method. This variety of methods helped the researchers to provide a full statistics on the problem of gender-based wage growth. Certain methods helped them to analyze the patterns of job mobility for both male and female workers. This analysis distinguishes employer-initiated and employee-initiated separations, as well as a certain influence of mobility on wage growth.

How was that sample obtained?

The sample was obtained from NLSY data. One sample was limited to newly hired workers who were included into the labor market between 1979 and 1988. It has been done in order to decrease the gender-based sample errors. Despite the fact that the researchers limited this sample to newly-hired workers, they managed to observe the annual wage growth of the selected individuals. Another sample was obtained with the help of two criteria. The first required individuals to enter the labor market in 1979-1988. The other criterion required the individuals to have two wage analyses ”“ the first one should take place during the year when they entered the market, and the second three years after that. The primary criterion decreased the sample by 34, while the second one decreased it by another 21%, which is analyzed as the result of certain restrictions in the NLSY data. The fact that NLSY does not have appropriate information on every job resulted in the lack of data on wages for certain categories of workers. Thus, workers who had a part-time job or the job that lasted no more than nine weeks were included into this category. It accordingly influenced the choice of sample, as the authors obtained sample by examining the long-term jobs only. In such a way, missing observations decreased the sample by 9%. As a result, the complete number of observed individuals comprised 4,575 people, almost half of which were women.

How was the data collected?

The data was collected by the selection of sample as well as by means of various methods. Besides, major part of data was taken from NLSY, which helped to organize information and calculate statistics. The final data was collected according to the results of the research. The authors examined the turnover activity during a certain period on a single job, as it is the most effective way to examine primary wage observation with either the reason for job mobility or the growth of wages. In such a way, the data was collected in relation to every single job, in order to examine the gender-based wage growth as well as job change.

What were the results?

First of all, the analysis of various separation rates demonstrated that both male and female workers have more often reported an employee-initiated job separation, than an employer-initiated one. Nonetheless, there was some incongruity in the statistics. Thus, unlike women, men were more likely to be discharged than to quit due to some family-related reasons. As for the wage growth, the results were the following: the wage growth of the investigated men and women who worked between 1979 and 1991 comprised 4-5% a year (Keith & McWilliams, 2007). As for other results, they include the fact that educational changes, changes of experience and other changes have a considerable positive influence on wage growth both for men and women, and these results are suitable for any sample. The third sample has provided evidence that mobility has a significant influence on wage growth, although there is no justification for gender impact on mobility. In this regard the wage growth of male workers was nearly 9% lower than if followed by a layoff, 16% lower if followed by a discharge, and 33% lower if followed by a quit due to family reasons. As for women, the results are the following: in relation to remaining in the same work place, the wage growth of female workers was nearly 20% lower if followed by a discharge and 17% lower if followed by a quit due to family reasons. The authors also concluded that there have been considerable differences in regard to employer-initiated mobility and employee-initiated one. It proves that job mobility has a great influence on primary wage growth and it depends on the type of job mobility. However, the authors of the article could not find any gender difference between wage growth for women and for men, and it is not evident how to compare this influence from the point of gender, as there is no statistics on this matter.

What conclusions did the author draw?

The authors conclude by saying that they have found considerable gender differences in regard to mobility patterns for their sample. They draw the following conclusions:

-      Male workers often quit due to the employer’s initiative, such as a layoff or a discharge (Keith & McWilliams, 2007).

-      Female workers often quit jobs for employee-initiated reasons, which may be related with the family. Despite the fact that neither men, nor women have quit their jobs for some reasons related with the family, female workers have done so several times more often.

-      If to avoid quits related with family reasons, the difference between male and female workers in regard to job separations is insignificant.

-      The results of the investigation showed no gender difference in job mobility.

-      From the point of job mobility there was found no difference in the wage growth for men and women alike.

What is your evaluation of the article?

The article provides complete information on gender differences in regard to wage growth, job mobility and separation. It also shows evidence for all the results obtained. Focusing on new entrants the article gives details on gender role in various situations related to the labor market.  The article analyses the influence of job mobility on wage growth in regard to both male and female workers. The conclusions drawn by the authors are complete and describe the obtained results to full extent. This article also provides statistical data on gender-based wage growth which also represents valuable information. It is important to mention that the authors provide full information on job histories of young people, focusing on gender differences in relation with job change and wage-growth.



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