Salaries at the top

Issue title: Gender Statistics

Subtitle: A study of salaries for women and men at higher managerial positions in private and public sector in Sweden

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hedman, Birgitta

Affiliations: Statistics Sweden, S-11581 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: Official statistics on employment and salaries for 1990, covering the whole labour market, have been used for a unique study of women and men at higher managerial positions. For different industries and occupational groups in the private sector, and for various spheres of activities in the public sector, numbers of women and men are presented. Information is also given by age and education. Although there is an equal distribution of women and men among all employees, the sex distribution among managers is very skewed. For full-time managers a more detailed analysis of salaries is made, giving information on average salaries and percentile distributions. The salaries for both women and men differ greatly in various parts of the labour market. However, salary differences between women and men are, with a few exceptions, always to the men's advantage. This is true even when taking into consideration age as well as level and field of education. After standard weighting the remaining differentials in average salary lie between 5 and 25 percent. For the private sector managers' salaries have been compared with those of salaried employees of lower qualificational levels. Many of these employees attain the lowest salary level of women managers, but few earn the same as men managers.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1995-12201

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 87-98, 1995