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The Gender Pay Gap Begins to Increase Sharply at Age of 30

Author

Listed:
  • Annekatrin Schrenker
  • Aline Zucco

Abstract

The gender pay gap increases with age: While the average gross hourly wage gap between male and female 30-year-olds is nine percent, the gap triples to 28 percent by the age of 50. This stark increase is due to differences in employment behavior in the decades between the ages of 30 and 50. Beginning at age 30, women often switch to part-time work to be able to provide childcare, whereas men tend to increase the number of working hours at the same age. Because part-time work is, on average, paid more poorly per hour and part-time workers less frequently hold leadership positions, the average wages of women between 30 and 50 years of age remain virtually constant. In contrast, the average wages per hour for men continue to increase with age. Measures focusing on improving work-life balance must be taken to combat this pay gap. Such measures include restructuring work environments by allowing two part-time employees to share one executive position and increasing the amount of months of parental leave earmarked to one partner.

Suggested Citation

  • Annekatrin Schrenker & Aline Zucco, 2020. "The Gender Pay Gap Begins to Increase Sharply at Age of 30," DIW Weekly Report, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 10(10), pages 75-82.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwdwr:dwr10-10-1
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    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.741919.de/dwr-20-10-1.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kiessling, Lukas & Pinger, Pia & Seegers, Philipp & Bergerhoff, Jan, 2024. "Gender differences in wage expectations and negotiation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Virginia Sondergeld & Katharina Wrohlich, 2023. "Women in Management and the Gender Pay Gap," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2046, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Karla Cordova & Markus M. Grabka & Eva Sierminska, 2022. "Pension Wealth and the Gender Wealth Gap," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(4), pages 755-810, October.
    4. Wicke, Felix S. & Schmidt, Peter & Petersen, Julia & Ernst, Mareike & Krakau, Lina & Brähler, Elmar & Tibubos, Ana N. & Otten, Danielle & Reiner, Iris & Michal, Matthias & Schulz, Andreas & Münzel, Th, 2022. "Depression predicts equivalized income five years later, but not vice versa: Results from the prospective Gutenberg Health Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    5. Simon Ress & Florian Spohr, 2022. "Was it worth it? The impact of the German minimum wage on union membership of employees," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1699-1723, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender Pay Gap; Part-time employment;

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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