The impact of education and labour market experience on earnings: what is the difference between men and women?

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Colin, Christel^{; 1; 2}

Affiliations: INSEE, 18 boulevard Adolphe Pinard, F-75675 Paris Cedex 14, France

Note: [1] This contribution is based on Colin C., “La valorisation de l’éducation et de l’expérience professionnelle à travers le salaire: quelles différences entre hommes et femmes?”, Les cahiers du MAGE 2/97, pp. 21–34.

Note: [2] The views mentioned here are not the INSEEs position and commit only the author.

Abstract: Recent years have seen an increase in the educational level of women and their participation in the labour market. In such a context, a natural question is to compare this favourable evolution to the one of wage inequalities between men and women. From a general point of view, wage differences still exist for “equal jobs”, but male and female jobs are rarely equal. Recent French studies on the differences between men and women in the wage premium associated with education and professional experience show that, with a same level of education, women are paid less, in particular because they less often reach high-paid jobs or high-paying firms. In the same way, the experience premium appears lower for women than for men.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1998-15203

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 137-148, 1998