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Equal Opportunities in Science? Evidence on Gender Pay Gaps amongst Scientists Working in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Connolly

    (School of Economics, University of East Anglia)

  • Susan Long

    (School of Economics, University of East Anglia)

Abstract

The groundbreaking MIT report (1999) was the first study to quantify the disadvantages faced by female scientists. This has been followed by studies of gender pay differentials amongst academics working in the humanities (US), economics (UK and US) and the sciences (US). This paper provides the first detailed study of gender pay differentials amongst scientists working in the UK. Our data allows us to contrast the experiences of scientists working in Higher Education (academic scientists) with those working in Research Institutes (research scientists). We find that there is a gender pay differential of 22% (?6-7,000), most of which can be accounted for in terms of age, grade, subject, research esteem, workplace and domestic responsibilities, but a significant proportion remains unexplained (19% in academic and 30% in research science). Our results suggest that across grades, if female scientists were to receive the same returns as male scientists, the gender pay gap would narrow significantly and would close at the bottom end of the distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Connolly & Susan Long, 2011. "Equal Opportunities in Science? Evidence on Gender Pay Gaps amongst Scientists Working in the UK," University of East Anglia Applied and Financial Economics Working Paper Series 027, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    • Handle: RePEc:uea:aepppr:2011_27
    as

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    File URL: https://ueaeco.github.io/working-papers/papers/afe/UEA-AFE-027.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yekaterina Chzhen & Karen Mumford, "undated". "Gender Gaps Across the Earnings Distribution in Britain: Are Women Bossy Enough?," Discussion Papers 09/27, Department of Economics, University of York.
    2. Wiji Arulampalam & Alison L. Booth & Mark L. Bryan, 2007. "Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wage Distribution," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(2), pages 163-186, January.
    3. Donna K. Ginther & Shulamit Kahn, 2009. "Does Science Promote Women? Evidence from Academia 1973-2001," NBER Chapters, in: Science and Engineering Careers in the United States: An Analysis of Markets and Employment, pages 163-194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Booth, Alison L., 2009. "Gender and competition," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 599-606, December.
    5. David Blackaby & Alison L Booth & Jeff Frank, 2005. "Outside Offers And The Gender Pay Gap: Empirical Evidence From the UK Academic Labour Market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages 81-107, February.
    6. McNabb, Robert & Wass, Victoria, 2006. "Male-female earnings differentials among lawyers in Britain: a legacy of the law or a current practice?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 219-235, April.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    occupation; pay; decomposition; institutions;
    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
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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