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Why Women Don’t Ask: Gender Differences in Fairness Perceptions of Own Wages and Subsequent Wage Growth

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  • Christian Pfeifer
  • Gesine Stephan

Abstract

The authors analyze gender differences in fairness perceptions of own wages and subsequent wage growth. The main finding is that women perceive their wage more often as fair if controls for hourly wage rates, individual and job-related characteristics are taken into account. Furthermore, the gender difference is more pronounced for married than for single women. This points to the fact that social norms, gender roles, and gender identity are at least partly responsible for the gap in fairness perceptions. Further analysis shows that individuals, who perceive their wage as unfair, experience larger wage growth in subsequent years. An explanation would be that a wage perceived as unfair triggers negotiations for a better wage or induces individuals to search for better paid work. Thus, differences in wage perceptions can contribute to explain the nowadays still persistent gender wage gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Pfeifer & Gesine Stephan, 2018. "Why Women Don’t Ask: Gender Differences in Fairness Perceptions of Own Wages and Subsequent Wage Growth," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 963, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp963
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    Cited by:

    1. Ricardo Pagan & Miguel Ángel Malo, 2021. "Performance Appraisal and Job Satisfaction for Workers Without and With Disabilities by Gender," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 1011-1039, February.
    2. Strauß, Susanne & Brüggemann, Ole & Lang, Julia, 2024. "Who perceives lower wages for women to be fair? How perceptions of the fairness of men's and women's wages vary by firm and workplace characteristics," Working Papers 29, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
    3. Hundsdoerfer, Jochen & Matthaei, Eva Kristina, 2020. "Gender discriminatory taxes, fairness perception, and labor supply," Discussion Papers 2020/6, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    4. Schröder, Carsten & König, Johannes & Fedorets, Alexandra & Goebel, Jan & Grabka, Markus M. & Lüthen, Holger & Metzing, Maria & Schikora, Felicitas & Liebig, Stefan, 2020. "The economic research potentials of the German Socio-Economic Panel study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 21(3), pages 335-371.
    5. Jochen Hundsdoerfer & Eva Matthaei, 2022. "Gender Discriminatory Taxes, Fairness Perception, and Labor Supply," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 78(1-2), pages 156-207.
    6. Claudia Roethlisberger & Franziska Gassmann & Wim Groot & Bruno Martorano, 2023. "The contribution of personality traits and social norms to the gender pay gap: A systematic literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 377-408, April.
    7. Anne‐Sophie Bruno & Nathalie Greenan & Jeremy Tanguy, 2021. "Does the Gender Mix Influence Collective Bargaining on Gender Equality? Evidence from France," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 479-520, October.
    8. Laura Luekemann & Anja-Kristin Abendroth, 2018. "Women in the German Workplace: What Facilitates or Constrains Their Claims-Making for Career Advancement?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-34, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender differences; fairness; social norms; wages; wage growth;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines

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