The Influence of Age and Type of Job on Gender Differences in Pay Expectations

✍ Scribed by Michael B. Gasser; Jennifer A. Oliver; Rowena N. Tan

• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 897 KB
• Volume: 47
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0889-4019
• DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-0045.1998.tb00727.x

✦ Synopsis

This study examined the extent to which gender and type of job influenced pay expectations in elementary school, secondary school, and college students. Participants were presented with a list of 12 jobs evenly divided between primarily female, primarily male, and gender neutral occupations. Using a relative rating scale, participants were asked to indicate how much they should make if they were in the occupation. A significant interaction was found between type of job and gender for pay expectations. Suggestions for using this information in applied settings are provided.

It is widely known that pay inequality exists between men and women in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). In 1990, women's earnings as a percentage of men's were 76.6% for weekly earnings and 68.2% for hourly earnings (Davidson & Cooper, 1992). Although the data presented by the Bureau of the Census and by Davidson and Cooper indicate this inequity is slowly shrinking, it remains a sizable difference. A number of reasons for gender differences in pay have been suggested, including gender differences in the value of monetary rewards (Major & Konar