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The gender pay gap: what can we learn from Northern Ireland?
[Women’s labour market participation in Northern Ireland: a re-examination of the ‘traditionalism’ argument]

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  • Melanie Jones
  • Ezgi Kaya

Abstract

Northern Ireland (NI) forms an important outlier to the established international pattern of a pronounced gender pay gap (GPG) in favour of men. Using contemporary data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey we provide a comprehensive analysis of the GPG in NI and make comparisons to the rest of the UK. Despite the relatively common institutional and policy context, the GPG in NI is found to be far smaller than in the rest of the UK. This can largely be attributed to the superior productivity-related characteristics of women relative to men in NI, which partially offset the influence of gender differences in the returns to these characteristics. Our analysis highlights the importance of occupation—both in terms of occupational allocation and the returns to occupations—in explaining the cross-country differential. This is reinforced by the impact of lower earnings inequality in NI.

Suggested Citation

  • Melanie Jones & Ezgi Kaya, 2022. "The gender pay gap: what can we learn from Northern Ireland? [Women’s labour market participation in Northern Ireland: a re-examination of the ‘traditionalism’ argument]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 94-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:74:y:2022:i:1:p:94-114.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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