Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wage Distribution

• Published in: Industrial & labor relations review Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 163 - 186
• Main Authors: Arulampalam, Wiji, Booth, Alison L., Bryan, Mark L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University 01-01-2007; SAGE Publications; ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Series: Industrial and Labor Relations Review
• Subjects: Child care; Cross-national analysis; Europe; European Union; Finance; Gender differences; Gender differentiation; Gender inequality; Gender pay gap; Gender wage gap; Glass ceiling; Household economics; Income - European Union; Income Distribution; Income inequality; Labor relations; Labour relations; Men; Private sector; Public sector; Public sector industries; Quantile regression; Sex Differences; Sex discrimination; Wage determination; Wage differential; Wage differentials; Wages; Wages and salaries - Women; Women; Workforce
• ISSN: 0019-7939; 2162-271X
• DOI: 10.1177/001979390706000201

Using harmonized data for the years 1995-2001 from the European Community Household Panel, the authors analyze gender pay gaps by sector across the wage distribution in eleven countries. In estimations that control for the effects of individual characteristics at different points of the distribution, they calculate the part of the gap attributable to differing returns between men and women. The magnitude of the gender pay gap, thus measured, varied substantially across countries and across the public and private sector wage distributions. The gap typically widened toward the top of the wage distribution (the "glass ceiling" effect), and in a few cases it also widened at the bottom (the "sticky floor" effect). The authors suggest that differences in childcare provision and wage setting institutions across EU countries may partly account for the variation in patterns by country and sector.