IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/halshs-01287775.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender differences in French undergraduates' academic plans and wage expectations

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Bonnard

    (CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019 - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Jean-François Giret

    (IREDU - Institut de recherche sur l'éducation : Sociologie et Economie de l'Education - UB - Université de Bourgogne)

Abstract

Gender differences in wage expectations may affect investment in human capital and increase inequalities in the labour market. Our research based on a survey of first-year students at a French university aims to focus on expectations at the beginning of the career. Our results show that anticipated earnings differ significantly between men and women. One year after graduation, we find a gender gap in pay of 16 percent. A wage decomposition method indicates that most of this effect is due to anticipation of discrimination. Ten years after graduation, anticipated discrimination is still almost as dominant in explaining the gender gap in pay. Finally, using a survey of recent college graduates, we show that growth in the anticipated gender gap differs greatly from growth in the observed gender gap. Our findings highlight the importance of policies promoting higher educational aspirations for young women. Career guidance counselling for students may play a decisive role in contributing to give women more ambitious aspirations, which may in turn serve to reduce inequalities in the labour market.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Bonnard & Jean-François Giret, 2016. "Gender differences in French undergraduates' academic plans and wage expectations," Post-Print halshs-01287775, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01287775
    DOI: 10.1080/09540253.2016.1156060
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01287775
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01287775/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09540253.2016.1156060?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paula England, 1985. "Occupational Segregation: Rejoinder to Polachek," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 20(3), pages 441-443.
    2. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    3. Francine D. Blau & Marianne A. Ferber, 1991. "Career Plans and Expectations of Young Women and Men: The Earnings Gap and Labor Force Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(4), pages 581-607.
    4. Julian R. Betts, 1996. "What Do Students Know about Wages? Evidence from a Survey of Undergraduates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(1), pages 27-56.
    5. Dominique Anxo & Letizia Mencarini & Ariane Pailhe & Anne Solaz & Maria Letizia Tanturri & Lennart Flood, 2011. "Gender Differences in Time Use over the Life Course in France, Italy, Sweden, and the US," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 159-195.
    6. Barbara R. Bergmann, 1974. "Occupational Segregation, Wages and Profits When Employers Discriminate by Race or Sex," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 103-110, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ana Fernandes & Martin Huber & Giannina Vaccaro, 2021. "Gender differences in wage expectations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-24, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana Fernandes & Martin Huber & Giannina Vaccaro, 2021. "Gender differences in wage expectations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-24, June.
    2. Leibing, Andreas & Peter, Frauke & Waights, Sevrin & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2023. "Gender gaps in early wage expectations," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Vaishali Zambre, 2018. "The Gender Gap in Wage Expectations: Do Young Women Trade off Higher Wages for Lower Wage Risk?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1742, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Bianca Buligescu & Lex Borghans & Didier Fouarge, 2020. "The impact of occupational segregation on occupational gender pay gap in the European union," Journal of Community Positive Practices, Catalactica NGO, issue 4, pages 86-111.
    5. Júlia Varga, 2002. "Earnings Expectations and Higher-education Enrolment Decisions in Hungary," Society and Economy, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 24(1), pages 121-152, July.
    6. Garcia, Rene & Bonomo, Marco, 2001. "Tests of conditional asset pricing models in the Brazilian stock market," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 71-90, February.
    7. Pamela Giustinelli & Charles F. Manski, 2018. "Survey Measures Of Family Decision Processes For Econometric Analysis Of Schooling Decisions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 81-99, January.
    8. Basit Zafar, 2011. "How Do College Students Form Expectations?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 301-348.
    9. Koral Zeynep Aktaş & Mercan Murat Anıl, 2021. "Assessing the gender wage gap: Turkey in the years 2002–2019," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 7(1), pages 90-112, March.
    10. Bedaso, Fenet Jima, 2024. "Occupational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Ethiopia," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1393, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Solomon W. Polachek & Jun Xiang, 2009. "The Gender Pay Gap across Countries: A Human Capital Approach," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Danquah, Michael & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Boakye, Ernest Owusu & Owusu, Solomon, 2021. "Do gender wage differences within households influence women's empowerment and welfare? Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 916-932.
    13. Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz & Maria Stanfors, 2021. "The Great Convergence: Gender and Unpaid Work in Europe and the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(1), pages 181-217, March.
    14. Brunello, Giorgio & Lucifora, Claudio & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2001. "The Wage Expectations of European College Students," IZA Discussion Papers 299, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Andrea Cutillo & Marco Centra, 2017. "Gender-Based Occupational Choices and Family Responsibilities: The Gender Wage Gap in Italy," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 1-31, October.
    16. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde & Irene van Staveren, 2015. "Differences in the Estimates of Gender Wage Gap Over The Life Cycle," Working Papers 2015-29, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    17. Lisa Giddings, 2002. "Changes in gender earnings differentials in Bulgaria's transition to a mixed-market economy," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 28(4), pages 481-497, Fall.
    18. Clara Champagne & Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2015. "Le temps domestique et parental des hommes et des femmes : quels facteurs d'évolutions en 25 ans ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 478(1), pages 209-242.
    19. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    20. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:693-785 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Montmarquette, Claude & Cannings, Kathy & Mahseredjian, Sophie, 2002. "How do young people choose college majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 543-556, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01287775. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.