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Working Paper 8708

THE STRUCTURE OF THE FEMALEIMALE
WAGE DIFFERENTIAL: I S I T WHO YOU ARE,
WHAT YOU DO, OR WHERE YOU WORK?

by E r i c a L. Groshen

E r i c a L. Groshen i s an economist a t t h e Federal
Reserve Bank o f Cleveland. The author thanks
p r o f e s s o r s Richard B. Freeman and John T.
Dunlop f o r h e l p i n o b t a i n i n g these data, and
t h e Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s f o r p r o v i d i n g
access t o them. Paula Loboda provided
i n v a l u a b l e research a s s i s t a n c e . Comments from
Paul Bauer, P a t t y Beeson, Francine Blau, John
Bound, Charles Brown, S h i r l e y Cassing, Mary
Dei l y , Randal 1 Eberts, and Joe Stone are
g r a t e f u l l y acknowledged.
Working papers o f the Federal Reserve Bank o f
Cleveland a r e p r e l i m i n a r y m a t e r i a l s c i r c u l a t e d
t o s t i m u l a t e discussion and c r i t i c a l comment.
The views expressed h e r e i n a r e those o f t h e
a u t h o r and n o t n e c e s s a r i l y those o f t h e Federal
Reserve Bank o f Cleveland o r o f t h e Board o f
Governors o f the Federal Reserve System.

September 1987

ABSTRACT

T h i s paper decomposes t h e observed wage d i f f e r e n c e between male and
female workers i n t o t h e p o r t i o n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h r e e types o f s e g r e g a t i o n
and w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s sex.

The c o n t r i b u t i o n o f each t y p e o f s e g r e g a t i o n

i s t h e p r o d u c t o f two f a c t o r s :

t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n and t h e wage p e n a l t y

( e s t i m a t e d c o e f f i c i e n t ) a s s o c i a t e d w i t h w o r k i n g i n a female- dominated
constituent.
I n f i v e Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s I n d u s t r y Wage Surveys, t h e e a r n i n g s
o f men and women i n t h e same o c c u p a t i o n a t t h e same e s t a b l i s h m e n t d i f f e r b y
o n l y 1%.

Much o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n pay between men and women i s a s s o c i a t e d

w i t h s e g r e g a t i o n by o c c u p a t i o n ( t h i s reduces women's wages by 11% t o 28%).
B u t s e g r e g a t i o n by e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group a l s o lowers t h e wages o f women
by a t o t a l o f 12%.
Comparisons a r e a l s o made between t h e u n i o n and nonunion s e c t o r s o f two
industries.

Union e s t a b l i s h m e n t s a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by l e s s v a r i a t i o n based on

o c c u p a t i o n a l and i n d i v i d u a l wage p e n a l t i e s , b u t more v a r i a t i o n based on
establishment segregation.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE FEMALEIMALE WAGE DIFFERENTIAL:
I S I T WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO, OR WHERE YOU WORK?

I. I n t r o d u c t i o n

A v a r i e t y o f p o l i c i e s have been enacted and proposed t o reduce wage

differences between men and women.
total differential.

Each addresses c e r t a i n components o f t h e

For example, equal pay p r o v i s i o n s focus on i n d i v i d u a l

d i f f e r e n c e s w i t h i n work group;

'

comparable worth t a r g e t s i nequal i t y based on

p r o p o r t i o n female i n occupation o r work group; equal o p p o r t u n i t y l e g i s l a t i o n
attempts t o reduce interemployer and work group segregation.

The p o t e n t i a l

e f f i c a c y o f each p o l i c y depends on the r e l a t i v e magnitude o f the component(s)
addressed.

For example, equal pay l e g i s l a t i o n may be f u l l y e f f e c t i v e , b u t i t

w i l l n o t reduce the femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l

s i g n i f i c a n t l y i f very l i t t l e

i n e q u a l i t y i s due t o wage d i f f e r e n c e s between the sexes w i t h i n work group.
Thus, one step toward comparing the p o l i c i e s i s t o consider which a r e
aimed a t the l a r g e s t source(s).

This paper addresses the question by

e s t i m a t i n g the c o n t r i b u t i o n o f each of t h e f o l l o w i n g t o the wage d i s p a r i t y
between men and women:

d i f f e r e n c e s between i n d i v i d u a l s i n the same occupation

and e s t a b l i shment, o r sex segregation by occupation, by e s t a b l i shment, o r by
work group.
The r o l e o f the workplace ( i . e . ,

establishment and work group) has been

r e l a t i v e l y neglected i n previous s t u d i e s o f the e f f e c t of segregation on
wages.

The composition o f the femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i s s t u d i e d i n

f i v e i n d u s t r i e s , u s i n g Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s (BLS) I n d u s t r y Wage Surveys.

A l t h o u g h most s t u d i e s a s c r i b e observed wage d i f f e r e n t i a l s t o d i f f e r e n c e s
i n human c a p i t a l , many observed d i f f e r e n t i a l s ( e s p e c i a l l y those l i n k e d t o
demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s such as sex and r a c e ) d e f y attempts t o a t t r i b u t e
them s o l e l y t o human c a p i t a l .

The s i z e o f e s t i m a t e d i n d u s t r y , employer, and

work group wage d i f f e r e n t i a l s suggests t h a t t h e y c o u l d be a l a r g e p a r t o f t h e
wage d i f f e r e n c e s observed among races o r between men and women.'
i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e workplace as a source o f wage d i f f e r e n t i a l s

Thus,
seems

p a r t i c u l a r l y relevant.
Models o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l f a l l i n t o t h r e e b a s i c groups:
human c a p i t a l , compensating d i f f e r e n t i a l s , and d i s c r i m i n a t i o n .

The f i r s t t y p e

e x p l a i n s d i f f e r e n c e s i n earnings by d e f i c i e n c i e s i n a c q u i r e d human c a p i t a l
(education, on- the- job- training, etc.).

I n t h e s t r i c t v e r s i o n , women i n v e s t

i n l e s s human c a p i t a l because t h e y expect t o work o u t s i d e t h e home f o r l e s s of
t h e i r a d u l t l i v e s (Polachek C19811).

Alternatively, differential returns o r

c o s t s t o investment caused by d i s c r i m i n a t i o n c o u l d a l s o l i n k p r o p o r t i o n female
w i t h l o w wages among occupations.
i n t h i s model i s n o t obvious.

I n e i t h e r case, t h e r o l e o f t h e workplace

Most wage d i f f e r e n c e s should be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

o c c u p a t i o n and w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l w i t h i n t h e work group, unless
e s t a b l i s h m e n t s o r work groups a r e s o r t e d by q u a l i t y .
The second e x p l a n a t i o n assumes t h a t women have a g r e a t e r t a s t e f o r nonwage
compensation (perhaps because o f uneven a l l o c a t i o n o f homemaking
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ) and t h a t employers g e n e r a l l y o f f e r t h e same b e n e f i t package
t o groups of employees.

Or, working c o n d i t i o n s a r e a s s o c i a t e d p r i m a r i l y w i t h

o c c u p a t i o n o r i n d u s t r y , and women have s t r o n g e r p r e f e r e n c e s f o r c l e a n , q u i e t ,
f l e x i b l e , o r a t t r a c t i v e environments ( F i l e r C19831).
a r e s o r t e d i n t o t h e high-benefitllow-wage

jobs.

I n e i t h e r v e r s i o n , women

- 3 Compensating d i f f e r e n t i a l s should generate an a s s o c i a t i o n between
s e g r e g a t i o n and wages i n e s t a b l i s h m e n t s and occupations.

Work group e f f e c t s

should be minimal, and l i m i t e d t o cases where work c o n d i t i o n s v a r y b y
e s t a b l i s h m e n t w i t h i n o c c u p a t i o n o r where b e n e f i t packages change s i g n i f i c a n t l y
among d i f f e r e n t occupations i n an e s t a b l i s h m e n t (e.g.,
nonexempt p o s i t i o n s ) .

between exempt and

Also, i n d i v i d u a l e f f e c t s should be p o s i t i v e , t o

compensate women f o r t h e i n f e r i o r package o f b e n e f i t s o f f e r e d .
F i n a l l y , t h e t h e o r e t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e o f f e r s v a r i o u s models of
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n t h e ~ o r k p l a c e . ~The problem w i t h t h e s i m p l e s t models i s .
t h a t employer d i s c r i m i n a t i o n should l o w e r p r o f i t s (unless i t i s due t o t a s t e s
o f coworkers o r customers).

Thus, owners o f c a p i t a l w i l l p r e f e r t o i n v e s t i n

f i r m s t h a t do n o t d i s c r i m i n a t e , t h e r e b y r e d u c i n g t h e p r e v a l e n c e of
discrimination.
Agency c o s t s , however, i n t r o d u c e s l a c k i n t o t h e system, which loosens t h e
d i s c i p l i n e imposed by t h e marketplace.

Suppose t h a t , i n each e s t a b l i s h m e n t ,

managers e x e r c i s e t h e i r t a s t e f o r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n o n l y a few of t h e
o c c u p a t i o n s t h e y oversee, o r t h a t o n l y a subset o f each e s t a b l i s h m e n t ' s
supervisors discriminate.

Then, a f i r m ' s expected g a i n s f r o m e l i m i n a t i n g

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n may be small o r n e g a t i v e , when coupled w i t h t h e c o s t of
i n t e r n a l monitoring.

Furthermore, i f a l l f i r m s have a random amount o f

d i s c r i m i n a t o r y a c t i v i t y among t h e i r s u p e r v i s o r s o r managers, most v a r i a t i o n i n
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n occurs w i t h i n f i r m s , r a t h e r t h a n between them.
T h i s v e r s i o n suggests t h a t s e g r e g a t i o n b y e s t a b l i s h m e n t w i l l have a
s m a l l e r impact than s e g r e g a t i o n by work group.

But e s t a b l i s h m e n t , work group,

and i n d i v i d u a l sex w i l l a l l c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l .
L i t t l e e m p i r i c a l work has been o f f e r e d on t h e workplace e f f e c t s on wage
d i f f e r e n t i a l s , i n p a r t because of d a t a l i m i t a t i o n s .

I n a major e x c e p t i o n ,

B l a u (1977) proposes and t e s t s a model i n which employers s e t wages a c c o r d i n g
t o e x t e r n a l wage contours and i n t e r n a l l a b o r markets, r a t h e r t h a n s o l e l y
a c c o r d i n g t o l o c a l labor- market c o n d i t i o n s .

Thus, f i r m s w i t h h i g h wages

choose f r o m a queue o f a p p l i c a n t s , i n t r o d u c i n g l a t i t u d e f o r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n
hiring.

I n BLS Area Wage Surveys, B l a u f i n d s t h a t wages and t h e percentage o f

females i n o n e ' s work group were n e g a t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h i n o c c u p a t i o n ,
c o n t r o l l i n g f o r sex o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l .
Another e x c e p t i o n i s B i e l b y and Baron (1984), who f i n d t h a t f i r m s a r e
h i g h l y and permanently segregated by work group:

i n d i v i d u a l s a r e employed i n

work groups composed almost e n t i r e l y o f members o f t h e i r own sex.
This s t u d y expands B l a u ' s work by comparing t h e s i z e o f f o u r components o f
t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l w i t h i n i n d u s t r y - - t h e i n d i v i d u a l , o c c u p a t i o n ,
e s t a b l i s h m e n t , and work group- - to e s t i m a t e how much each c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e
t o t a l observed d i f f e r e n t i a l .

The observed femal elmal e wage d i f f e r e n t i a l is

d i v i d e d i n t o s e v e r a l components t h a t each r e f l e c t t h e e x t e n t t o which sex
s e g r e g a t i o n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a labor- market s t r u c t u r e c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e t o t a l
d i f f e r e n t i a l i n a working p o p u l a t i o n .
component depends on two f a c t o r s :

I t w i l l be shown t h a t t h e s i z e of a

t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n by sex among

c o n s t i t u e n t s o f t h e component, and t h e magnitude o f t h e p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h w o r k i n g i n a female- dominated c o n s t i t u e n t .
The method uses o r d i n a r y l e a s t squares r e g r e s s i o n t o decompose an observed
wage d i f f e r e n t i a l , w i t h o u t assuming any p a r t i c u l a r t h e o r y o f wage
determination o r discrimination.

I t p r o v i d e s a way t o examine t h e e x t e n t t o

which segregation- based models have an e m p i r i c a l f o u n d a t i o n .

The method o f

decomposition i s a v a r i a n t o f t h a t i n t r o d u c e d i n Oaxaca (1973) and B l i n d e r
( 1 973).

Method

11.

For ease o f e x p o s i t i o n , t h e method i s presented i n terms o f o n l y two
components ( i n d i v i d u a l and o c c u p a t i o n ) , a l t h o u g h two more ( e s t a b l i s h m e n t and
work group) a r e considered i n t h e a c t u a l e s t i m a t i o n .
i n d i v i d u a l i i n o c c u p a t i o n j, w i t h l o g wage

Cansider t h e case o f

W i j .

L e t f i , = female dummy v a r i a b l e f o r i n d i v i d u a l i i n o c c u p a t i o n j,
n = number o f i n d i v i d u a l s i n t h e working p o p u l a t i o n ,
n j = number o f i n d i v i d u a l s i n o c c u p a t i o n j,
r = c c f i j l n , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e work f o r c e t h a t i s female, and
j

rj

=

i

c f i j / n j , t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f o c c u p a t i o n j t h a t i s female.
I

The f o l l o w i n g wage e q u a t i o n i s e s t i m a t e d :

wi,

(1)

=

A + Gefij

+ Barj+ eij,

where A i s t h e work- force mean wage and G i s t h e e s t i m a t e d wage e f f e c t o f
b e i n g female, c o n t r o l l i n g f o r t h e p r o p o r t i o n female o f o n e ' s o c c u p a t i o n .

B is

t h e e s t i m a t e d wage e f f e c t o f w o r k i n g i n a female- dominated occupation,
c o n t r o l l i n g f o r t h e sex o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l .

A person who switched f r o m an

a l l - m a l e o c c u p a t i o n t o an a l l - f e m a l e o c c u p a t i o n would s u f f e r an average wage
L a s t , e , j i s t h e e s t i m a t e d e r r o r term.

l o s s o f B.

F o l l o w i n g Oaxaca (1973) and B l i n d e r (19731, t h e observed femalelmale wage
d i f f e r e n t i a l i n a working p o p u l a t i o n i s s i m p l y t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e
average wage o f women and t h e average wage o f men:
D

(2)

where
-

=

Wfemale -

r; = c c f , r j 1 r n ,
j

-

ry

=

Wma i

=

G

+ B ( ~ -f F?),

t h e mean p r o p o r t i o n female i n o c c u p a t i o n among females, and

i

c c (1-fi,)rj/(l-r>n,

j

e

i

t h e mean p r o p o r t i o n female i n o c c u p a t i o n among males.

As D becomes more n e g a t i v e , t h e wage d i f f e r e n c e between men and women
increases.

The observed d i f f e r e n c e between t h e wages o f men and women i n t h e

work f o r c e i s t h e sum o f G ( t h e e s t i m a t e d w i t h i n - o c c u p a t i o n wage d i f f e r e n t i a l
between men and women) and a t e r m f o r t h e estimated impact o f s e g r e g a t i o n
among o c c u p a t i o n s .

The impact o f s e g r e g a t i o n i s t h e p r o d u c t o f two terms:

B

( t h e wage change a s s o c i a t e d w i t h an i n c r e a s i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f women i n an
o c c u p a t i o n ) and t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n among o c c u p a t i o n s ( t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n
t h e average p r o p o r t i o n o f women i n t h e occupations h e l d by women compared t o
t h a t o f t h e average o c c u p a t i o n h e l d by men).
A c c o r d i n g l y , d e f i n e S as t h e e x t e n t o f segregation:

S measures t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n on a s c a l e from 0 t o 1 ( i n c r e a s i n g as
o c c u p a t i o n s become more segregated) and can be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a commonly used
measure o f s e g r e g a t i o n .

where p j

=

=

s:
j

n,/n,

Another a l g e b r a i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r S i s as f o l l o w s :

t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e work f o r c e i n o c c u p a t i o n j, and

c C p j r g l - r 2 , t h e sample v a r i a n c e o f r j .
j

This form i s i n t u i t i v e l y a p p e a l i n g if one notes t h e range o f t h e v a r i a n c e

of r j .

A t t h e lower extreme, i f t h e work f o r c e were t o t a l l y i n t e g r a t e d ,

t h e n r, = r for a l l j, so t h e v a r i a n c e o f r j would be z e r o .

On t h e o t h e r

hand, t o t a l s e g r e g a t i o n o f t h e work f o r c e maximizes t h e v a r i a n c e o f r j :

2

(5)

max s,

= r(1-r)'

+ (1-r>(0-r)2

= r(1-r).

j

Thus, S, t h e r a t i o o f t h e v a r i a n c e o f r, t o r ( 1 - r ) ,

i s the r a t i o o f

- 7

-

t h e a c t u a l v a r i a n c e t o t h e maximum p o s s i b l e v a r i a n c e .
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f t h e impact o f s e g r e g a t i o n (e.g.,

Most o t h e r

B e l l e r [19841) use another

measure, t h e displacement index, t o measure s e g r e g a t i o n .

The p r o p e r t i e s o f

t h e displacement index (SD) a r e q u i t e s i m i l a r t o those o f S.'

The most

f a m i l i a r v e r s i o n o f t h e f o r m u l a f o r SD i s as f o l l o w s :

where M j = p r o p o r t i o n o f male work f o r c e i n o c c u p a t i o n j, and
F j = . p r o p o r t i o n o f female work f o r c e i n o c c u p a t i o n j.
I n t h e n o t a t i o n used i n t h i s paper, SD reduces t o t h e f o l l o w i n g :

Comparing e x p r e s s i o n (7) t o e x p r e s s i o n ( 4 ) , i t i s c l e a r t h a t S and SD a r e
b o t h r a t i o s o f a measure o f d e v i a t i o n t o t h e maximum p o s s i b l e v a r i a n c e .

S and

SD share common bounds (0 = p e r f e c t l y i n t e g r a t e d , t o 1 = c o m p l e t e l y

segregated), and a r e composed o f t h e same terms.

The d i f f e r e n c e between them

i s t h a t SD measures d e v i a t i o n by t h e mean a b s o l u t e d e v i a t i o n o f p r o p o r t i o n
female, w h i l e S takes t h e mean squared d e v i a t i o n .

SD and S w i l l be most

s i m i l a r c l o s e t o t h e bounds o r i f r i s c l o s e t o 112.

The advantages o f t h e SD

measure a r e i n s e n s i t i v i t y t o o u t l i e r s , and easy i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e
p r o p o r t i o n o f women who would have t o be r e d i s t r i b u t e d among occupations i n
o r d e r t o achieve p e r f e c t i n t e g r a t i o n .
The p a r t i c u l a r advantage o f S i s i t s use i n t h e s i m p l e decomposition o f
t h e femalefmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l shown i n e q u a t i o n ( 2 ) .

This t r e a t m e n t may

be e a s i l y g e n e r a l i z e d t o i n c l u d e s e g r e g a t i o n among e s t a b l i s h m e n t s and o t h e r
l a b o r market i n s t i t u t i o n s , s i m p l y by adding terms t h a t a r e t h e p r o d u c t o f t h e
p e n a l t y and t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n :

where k
Bk

Sk

=

l a b o r market s t r u c t u r e k (occupation, e s t a b l i s h m e n t , o r work group),

e s t i m a t e d c o e f f i c i e n t on p r o p o r t i o n female i n i n s t i t u t i o n k , and
= r: = e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n among c o n s t i t u e n t s o f k .

=

Expression (8) i s a decomposition o f t h e t y p e i n t r o d u c e d by Oaxaca (1973)
and B l i n d e r (1973>, where t h e male and female c o e f f i c i e n t s a r e c o n s t r a i n e d t o
e q ~ a l i t y . ~Table 1 summarizes t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of t h i s technique.

The

components and t h e i r f a c t o r s a r e l i s t e d w i t h d e f i n i t i o n s and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .
The sum o f t h e f o u r components i s t h e t o t a l observed wage d i f f e r e n t i a l .

111.

D e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e Data

T h i s study p r e s e n t s decompositions o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i n
t h e miscellaneous p l a s t i c s products, l i f e i n s u r a n c e , n o n e l e c t r i c a l machinery,
banking, and computer and d a t a p r o c e s s i n g i n d u s t r i e s .

These i n d u s t r i e s were

chosen as examples because t h e y employ s i g n i f i c a n t numbers o f b o t h men and
women, r e p r e s e n t b o t h m a n u f a c t u r i n g and s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s , and have a l o w
i n c i d e n c e o f i n c e n t i v e - b a s e d compensation.
A n a l y s i s o f i n d u s t r i e s separat;ly

a1 lows o c c u p a t i o n s t o be d e f i n e d

n a r r o w l y , w h i l e a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n o f each e m p l o y e r ' s work f o r c e i s covered.
I n c r o s s - i n d u s t r y surveys, e i t h e r o c c u p a t i o n s must be v e r y b r o a d l y d e f i n e d o r
t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h e employees o f each e s t a b l i s h m e n t must be excluded f r o m
a n a l y s i s , because o n l y support occupations a r e employed i n common across
employers.

Since i n d u s t r i e s a r e themselves somewhat segregated by sex, b u t do

n o t ( i n g e n e r a l ) o v e r l a p much i n occupations, a n a l y s i s w i t h i n i n d u s t r y tends

-

9 -

t o underestimate t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group s e g r e g a t i o n .
The a n a l y s i s uses f i v e Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s I n d u s t r y Occupational
Wage Surveys (INS).

Table 2 p r e s e n t s means o f t h e r e l e v a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

The d a t a c o n s i s t o f t h e wages, sex, o c c u p a t i o n , and e s t a b l i s h m e n t i d e n t i f i e r
o f i n d i v i d u a l p r o d u c t i o n and maintenance workers i n t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g
i n d u s t r i e s , and o f i n d i v i d u a l nonsupervisory workers i n t h e s e r v i c e
industries.

The j o b s covered a r e d e s c r i b e d i n g r e a t d e t a i 1, a r e p a r t i c u l a r t o

t h e i n d u s t r y i n q u e s t i o n , and g e n e r a l l y cover a p p r o x i m a t e l y 60% o f
e s t a b l i s h m e n t employment.

Wages r e p o r t e d a r e s t r a i g h t - t i m e h o u r l y e a r n i n g s

( n o o v e r t i m e o r s h i f t premiums i n c l u d e d ) f o r h o u r l y workers, and average
h o u r l y earnings f o r i n c e n t i v e workers.

'

The surveys a r e e x t e n s i v e , c o v e r i n g 15,000 t o 76,000 workers i n 221 t o 876
establishments.

I n g e n e r a l , e s t a b l i s h m e n t s surveyed f o r an INS a r e a random

sample o f those employing 25 o r more workers i n t h e i n d u s t r y , though t h e
c u t o f f v a r i e s somewhat by i n d u s t r y .

A unique e s t a b l i s h m e n t i d e n t i f i e r i s

p r o v i d e d f o r each p l a c e o f employment, b u t a c t u a l i d e n t i t y o f employers i s
withheld.
An i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e o f these d a t a i s t h e d e t a i l o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n
definitions.

The appendix c o n s i s t s o f l i s t i n g s o f t h e j o b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s

surveyed i n t h e f i v e samples.

For example, i n t h e p l a s t i c s sample, codes

d i s t i n g u i s h among t h r e e o c c u p a t i o n s working on a blow- molding machine:
" operate," " s e t up," and " s e t up and o p e r a t e . "

This level o f

i n d u s t r y - s p e c i f i c d e t a i l c o n t r o l s more c o m p l e t e l y f o r d i f f e r e n c e s i n j o b
c o n t e n t and worker t r a i n i n g t h a n do t h e broader o c c u p a t i o n a l codes used i n
o t h e r surveys; f o r example, f o u r - d i g i t D i c t i o n a r y o f Occupation T i t l e s o r
t h r e e - d i g i t Census codes.

F o l l o w i n g BLS p r a c t i c e , f o r b r e v i t y i n t h e

d i s c u s s i o n t h a t f o l l o w s (except where noted), t h e term " o c c u p a t i o n " w i l l be
used as a synonym f o r IWS j o b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ,

which i s t h e more a c c u r a t e term.

- 10 -

IV.

1.

Decomposition o f t h e FemaleIMale Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l i n F i v e I n d u s t r i e s

Decomposition o f t h e D i f f e r e n t i a l i n Two M a n u f a c t u r i n g I n d u s t r i e s
Table 3 r e p o r t s t h e decomposition o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i n

t h e miscellaneous p l a s t i c s products and n o n e l e c t r i c a l machinery manufacturing
industries.

The t o t a l d i f f e r e n t i a l between t h e wages o f men and women i n t h e

two samples (-.240 and -.298> i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y lower than t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l
observed i n broader samples.

For example, t h e C u r r e n t P o p u l a t i o n Survey

u s u a l l y r e c o r d s a d i f f e r e n t i a l o f about 40% because o f t h e i n c l u s i o n o f
w h i t e - c o l l a r workers and o t h e r i n d u s t r i e s .

Thus, t h e r e s u l t s f o r t h e

o c c u p a t i o n and e s t a b l i s h m e n t components below would almost c e r t a i n l y be l a r g e r
i n a broader sample--because more d i v e r s e o c c u p a t i o n s and e s t a b l i s h m e n t s would
be r e p r e s e n t e d .

The e f f e c t s on t h e i n d i v i d u a l and work group components a r e

d i f f i c u l t t o predict.
F i r s t , l o g wages o f i n d i v i d u a l s a r e regressed on a c o n s t a n t term and f o u r
regressors:

a female dummy, and t h e p r o p o r t i o n female i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s

o c c u p a t i o n , e s t a b l ishment, and work group.

The c o e f f i c i e n t s and s t a n d a r d

e r r o r s f r o m t h i s r e g r e s s i o n a r e r e p o r t e d i n t h e f i r s t column o f Table 3.

All

e s t i m a t e d c o e f f i c i e n t s a r e n e g a t i v e and s i g n i f i c a n t , except f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l
t e r m i n machinery.

The c o e f f i c i e n t s on t h e i n d i v i d u a l dummy i n b o t h

i n d u s t r i e s a r e v e r y s m a l l , suggesting t h a t males and females i n t h e same
o c c u p a t i o n and e s t a b l i s h m e n t ( i . e . ,

work group) a r e n o t p a i d v e r y d i f f e r e n t l y .

The f a c t t h a t i n c l u s i o n o f simple l i n e a r measures o f "femaleness" o f
o c c u p a t i o n , e s t a b l i s h m e n t , and work group reduces t h e c o e f f i c i e n t on t h e
female dummy t o 1% o r l e s s suggests t h a t t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n used i s

appropriate.

There i s no a l g e b r a i c reason t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l term should be

reduced so d r a m a t i c a l l y .

Although more complex measures and n o n l i n e a r i t i e s

could be introduced, the maximum a d d i t i o n a l impact o f such terms i s l i m i t e d t o
l e s s than 2%, the s i z e o f the i n d i v i d u a l component i n Table 3.
I n both i n d u s t r i e s , the three c o e f f i c i e n t s on the p r o p o r t i o n female a r e
a l l l a r g e , and occupation has the l a r g e s t c o e f f i c i e n t .

Converting from l o g

d i f f e r e n c e s t o percentage d i f f e r e n c e s , a switch from an all- male t o an
a l l - f e m a l e occupation would mean a wage l o s s o f about 22% f o r a worker i n
p l a s t i c s and a l o s s o f 36% f o r a worker i n machinery, regardless o f t h e
person's sex.

The wage impact o f such a switch may simply r e f l e c t l a r g e

d i f f e r e n c e s i n the average human c a p i t a l between the sexes.
The r e s u l t s f o r work group and establishment a r e l e s s c o n s i s t e n t across
industry.

A switch e i t h e r t o an establishment o r t o a work group dominated by

the o t h e r sex e n t a i l s a wage change of about 9% i n p l a s t i c s .

I n machinery,

the c o e f f i c i e n t on a switch i n t h e sex composition o f one's establishment i s
much l a r g e r (.330) than the e f f e c t o f a sex-of-work-group switch (.058).
The second column o f Table 3 shows the e x t e n t o f segregation among
occupations, establishments, and work groups; t h a t i s , the l i k e l i h o o d o f
switches such as those mentioned above.

Consistent w i t h B i e l b y and Baron

(19841, work groups are h i g h l y segregated by sex.

I t i s very unusual f o r a

worker t o have a j o b i n a work group dominated by the opposite sex--more
unusual than f o r the worker t o work i n an i n t e g r a t e d occupation.

The variance

o f p r o p o r t i o n female i n work groups i s 65% t o 75% o f what i t would be i n a
t o t a l l y segregated s o c i e t y ( i . e . ,
single- sex work groups).

where men and women always worked i n

I n p l a s t i c s , occupations are more segregated than

establishments, w h i l e the opposite i s t r u e i n machinery.

- 12 The t h i r d column f o r each i n d u s t r y r e p o r t s t h e p r o d u c t of columns 1 and 2
f o r each l a b o r market s t r u c t u r e .

I n each case, t h i s number i s t h e s i z e o f t h e

wage d i f f e r e n t i a l t h a t would be observed i n t h e p o p u l a t i o n i f t h i s were t h e
o n l y source o f femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n c e s .

I t i s a l s o t h e amount by which

t h e observed wage d i f f e r e n t i a l would decrease, were t h i s source o f t h e
d i f f e r e n t i a l t o be e l i m i n a t e d .
C o n s i s t e n t w i t h Blau (19771, Buckley (1971), McNulty (1967) and B i e l b y and
Baron (19841, t h e r e s u l t s f r o m t h e two i n d u s t r i e s agree t h a t t h e s m a l l e s t
source o f t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l i s i n d i v i d u a l sex w i t h i n work group.

I n plastics,

e l i m i n a t i o n o f t h i s source would narrow t h e wage gap between men and women b y
o n l y about 1.6%, w h i l e i n machinery i t would leave t h e gap unchanged.
I n p l a s t i c s , a l t h o u g h t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s on p r o p o r t i o n female i n
e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group a r e s i m i l a r , t h e g r e a t e r amount of s e g r e g a t i o n by
work group causes a l a r g e r d i f f e r e n t i a l component.
o n l y -.029

Establishment c o n t r i b u t e s

l o g p o i n t s , w h i l e work group i s t h e source o f -.078

t h e t o t a l -.240 d i f f e r e n c e .

log points o f

I n machinery, e s t a b l i s h m e n t s a r e more h i g h l y

segregated t h a n occupations, and more t h a n compensate f o r a lower wage p e n a l t y .
Occupation, by v i r t u e o f t h e l a r g e wage p e n a l t y ( i . e . ,

c o e f f i c i e n t ) on

p r o p o r t i o n female and t h e amount o f s e g r e g a t i o n among i t s c o n s t i t u e n t s , i s
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h h a l f o f t h e observed d i f f e r e n c e i n wages between men and
women.

T h i s i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h much o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e on o c c u p a t i o n a l

s e g r e g a t i o n (e.g.,

B e l l e r C19841 and Johnson and Solon C19861).

I n both

i n d u s t r i e s , however, even i f o c c u p a t i o n s were e v e n l y i n t e g r a t e d , wages of men
would s t i l l be 12% h i g h e r than those o f women.
Another way t o l o o k a t t h e r e s u l t s i s t o n o t e t h a t i n p l a s t i c s , f o r
example, a woman i n a 50% female o c c u p a t i o n earns about .14 l o g wage p o i n t s
l e s s (-.016

p l u s one h a l f o f -.242)

t h a n t h e average man i n t h e same

- 13 establishment.

But i f she worked i n an a l l - f e m a l e work group, h e r wages would

be as low as i f she worked i n an a l l - f e m a l e occupation.

And i f she worked a t

an a l l - f e m a l e e s t a b l i s h m e n t , her wages would be .34 l o g wage p o i n t s l o w e r t h a n
those o f a man working i n an a l l - m a l e e s t a b l i s h m e n t i n t h e same o c c u p a t i o n .
But how l i k e l y a r e these s c e n a r i o s ?

The amount o f s e g r e g a t i o n by each of

these s t r u c t u r e s suggests t h a t single- sex work groups a r e q u i t e common.
A p p a r e n t l y , i t i s unusual f o r a woman t o be employed i n an i n t e g r a t e d o r ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y , p r e d o m i n a n t l y male o c c u p a t i o n o r work group.

For whatever

reason (human c a p i t a l , p r e f e r e n c e s , o r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n ) , people work i n work
groups composed p r e d o m i n a n t l y o f members o f t h e i r own sex.

2.

Decomposition o f t h e D i f f e r e n t i a l i n Three S e r v i c e I n d u s t r i e s
Table 4 r e p o r t s t h e decomposition o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i n

three service industries.

The t o t a l d i f f e r e n t i a l between t h e wages o f men and

women i n t h e samples i s about -.45 l o g wage p o i n t s .
s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f t h e U.S.

This d i f f e r e n t i a l i s

and i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y more t h a n t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l i n

t h e two m a n u f a c t u r i ng i n d u s t r i es, where t h e occupations were n o t as v a r i e d .
Nevertheless, the service i n d u s t r y r e s u l t s are f a i r l y consistent w i t h t h e
manufacturing r e s u l t s .
Most c o n s i s t e n t i s t h e s i z e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o e f f i c i e n t .

I t i s again

v e r y small (-.013 t o -.017> and v i r t u a l l y t h e same as t h e -.016 e s t i m a t e i n
plastics.

Most o f t h e femalelmale d i f f e r e n t i a l a r i s e s f r o m r a t e s a p p l i e d t o

a l l i n d i v i d u a l s i n a category, r a t h e r than f r o m d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e t r e a t m e n t

of individuals.
Occupations i n t h e s e r v i c e s a r e about as segregated as those i n p l a s t i c s
and machinery.

However, banking and l i f e insurance e s t a b l i s h m e n t s a r e f a r

l e s s segregated t h a n those i n computers and t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r i e s .

Work groups appear t o be somewhat l e s s segregated i n t h e s e r v i c e s .

-

14 -

C o u n t e r a c t i n g lower s e g r e g a t i o n , e s t i m a t e d c o e f f i c i e n t s on p r o p o r t i o n
female a r e g e n e r a l l y l a r g e r ( i n a b s o l u t e v a l u e ) i n t h e s e r v i c e samples.
P r a c t i c a l l y t h e e n t i r e e x t r a d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t h e s e r v i c e samples ( r e l a t i v e t o
those i n manufacturing) can a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e magnitude o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n
coefficient i n the service industries.

Although i n s e r v i c e s men and women a r e

i n t h e same work group more o f t e n , wages a r e so s t r o n g l y l i n k e d t o p r o p o r t i o n
male i n s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s t h a t women earn s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s t h a n men i n
these three i n d u s t r i e s .

T h i s c o u l d r e f l e c t h i g h e r v a r i a t i o n i n t h e human

c a p i t a l requirements (perhaps, t e c h n i c a l t r a i n i n g ) o f n o n s u p e r v i s o r y j o b s i n
the service industries.
The c o e f f i c i e n t s on p r o p o r t i o n female i n e s t a b l i s h m e n t a r e t i g h t l y
c l u s t e r e d (-.256

t o -.375> and l a r g e r ( i n a b s o l u t e value) t h a n those f o r work

group (+.023 t o -.283).

E x t e n s i v e s e g r e g a t i o n among work groups m a g n i f i e s

t h e impact o f t h e r e l a t i v e l y small c o e f f i c i e n t s on p r o p o r t i o n female i n work
group.

Thus, t h e sum o f t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group i s

q u i t e t i g h t l y c l u s t e r e d among i n d u s t r i e s , r a n g i n g f r o m a low o f .08 l o g p o i n t s
(computers) t o a h i g h o f .18 l o g p o i n t s (machinery).

3.

Unionism and t h e S t r u c t u r e o f t h e FemaleIMale Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l
Tables 5 and 6 p e r f o r m t h e same decomposition as i n Table 3, f o r t h e u n i o n

and nonunion e s t a b l i s h m e n t s i n t h e p l a s t i c s and machinery i n d u s t r i e s
separately.

The r e s u l t s a r e i n t r i g u i n g and suggest some major d i f f e r e n c e s

between t h e u n i o n and nonunion s e c t o r s .

While t h e t o t a l d i f f e r e n t i a l s and t h e

p a t t e r n s o f e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n a r e about t h e same s i z e i n t h e union and
nonunion s e c t o r s , t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n among components changes c o n s i d e r a b l y .
A t the top o f the tables, the individual p o r t i o n o f the differential

in

p l a s t i c s i s about 2% i n nonunion j o b s and i s n o n e x i s t e n t i n u n i o n j o b s , which

- 15 i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e impact o f union s t a n d a r d - r a t e p o l i c i e s (Freeman
C19821).

I n machinery, v i r t u a l l y no d i f f e r e n c e e x i s t s w i t h i n work group i n

e i t h e r t h e u n i o n o r nonunion s e c t o r .
Moving t o the f o u r t h row, t h e s i z e o f t h e work group component i s a b o u t
t h e same i n t h e union and nonunion s e c t o r s f o r p l a s t i c s , b u t i s worse f o r
union women i n t h e machinery sample (due t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n c o e f f i c i e n t s ) .
Two r e s u l t s stand o u t .

Among occupations, u n i o n standard- rate p o l i c i e s

s u b s t a n t i a l l y diminish t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f occupational segregation t o t h e
wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i n b o t h i n d u s t r i e s .
moderate amount o f comparable worth.

I n e f f e c t , unions i n s t i t u t e some
That i s , w h i l e occupations a r e e q u a l l y

segregated i n t h e u n i o n and nonunion s e c t o r s , t h e c o e f f i c i e n t on p e r c e n t
female i n occupation i s o n e - t h i r d t o four- sevenths l o w e r i n t h e u n i o n s e c t o r .
U n i o n i z a t i o n may n o t d i m i n i s h o c c u p a t i o n a l s e g r e g a t i o n , b u t i t a p p a r e n t l y
s u b s t a n t i a l l y reduces t h e wage p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h such s e g r e g a t i o n .
The most unexpected d i f f e r e n c e between t h e s e c t o r s i s i n t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t
component.

I n p l a s t i c s , t h e estimated c o e f f i c i e n t on p e r c e n t female i n t h e

nonunion s e c t o r i s zero, compared t o -.I56
t h e nonunion c o e f f i c i e n t i s -.152,

under u n i o n i z a t i o n .

I n machinery,

which r i s e s t o -.406 under u n i o n i z a t i o n .

T h i s e f f e c t has a number o f p o t e n t i a l e x p l a n a t i o n s t h a t cannot be
d i s t i n g u i s h e d here:
1.

Unions w i t h more male workers a r e more s u c c e s s f u l a t e x t r a c t i n g r e n t s

from employers;
2.

Union employers f o r c e d t o pay above- market wages t o workers s e l e c t

p r o p o r t i o n a l l y more males f r o m t h e queue o f a p p l i c a n t s a t t r a c t e d by t h e h i g h
wages ;
3.

Establishments employing more men a r e more p r o d u c t i v e , b u t o n l y i n a

u n i o n i z e d s e t t i n g can workers c l a i m some o f these r e n t s ; o r

- 16 4.

Women have a g r e a t e r t a s t e f o r nonwage compensation and can v o i c e

t h e i r preferences i n a u n i o n i z e d s e t t i n g .
A f i n a l e f f e c t i n these i n d u s t r i e s i s t h a t u n i o n employers i n b o t h

i n d u s t r i e s employ fewer women t h a n t h e i r nonunion c o u n t e r p a r t s , c o n s i s t e n t
w i t h Blau (1977).

I n s h o r t , these r e s u l t s i n v i t e more i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e

r e l a t i o n s h i p between u n i o n i z a t i o n and t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e femalelmale wage
differential.

V.

Conclusion

1.

Findinqs
This paper a p p l i e s a decomposition o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l

t h a t c l a r i f i e s t h e c o n n e c t i o n between s e g r e g a t i o n and wage d i s p a r i t i e s .

For a

l a b o r market i n s t i t u t i o n t o be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i n e q u a l i t y , two c o n d i t i o n s a r e
necessary:

i t s c o n s t i t u e n t s must be segregated, and wages must d e c l i n e w i t h

i n c r e a s i n g p r o p o r t i o n s o f female workers.

The v a r i a n c e o f p r o p o r t i o n f e m a l e

among c o n s t i t u e n t s must be s i z a b l e , and t h e c o e f f i c i e n t on p r o p o r t i o n female
i n t h e combined wage r e g r e s s i o n must be s i g n i f i c a n t and n e g a t i v e , o r
s e g r e g a t i o n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n i s n o t a l a r g e source o f t h e
femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l .
T h i s decomposition suggests t h a t p o l i c y a t t e m p t s t o reduce i n e q u a l i t y may
be e v a l u a t e d on t h e b a s i s o f t h e p o t e n t i a l impact o f t h e proposal on t h e
differential.

Furthermore, t h e r e a r e two p o t e n t i a l t a r g e t s i n t h e r e d u c t i o n

o f segregation- based sources o f i n e q u a l i t y :
s i z e o f t h e wage p e n a l t y .

t h e e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n and t h e

Elimination o f either i s s u f f i c i e n t t o eliminate a

source o f i n e q u a l i t y , b u t one may be e a s i e r t o implement t h a n t h e o t h e r .

- 17 The e m p i r i c a l f i n d i n g s r e p o r t e d i n t h i s paper a r e remarkably c o n s i s t e n t
across t h e f i v e i n d u s t r i e s s t u d i e d :
1.

Wages o f males and females i n t h e same o c c u p a t i o n and e s t a b l i s h m e n t

d i f f e r by about 1%.
2.

The l a r g e s t source o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l i s t h e

a s s o c i a t i o n between wage r a t e s and p r o p o r t i o n female i n occupations, which
accounts f o r h a l f t o t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l observed, o r a
d i f f e r e n c e i n wages o f 11% (manufacturing) t o 26% ( s e r v i c e s ) when c o n v e r t e d t o
percentages.

The wage l o s s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a s w i t c h f r o m an a l l - m a l e t o an

a l l - f e m a l e o c c u p a t i o n ranges f r o m 21% t o 57% i n t h e f i v e i n d u s t r i e s s t u d i e d .

3.

S e g r e g a t i o n by e s t a b l i s h m e n t w i t h i n i n d u s t r y and by work group ( i . e . ,

t h e s t r u c t u r e s most under c o n t r o l o f employers) a l s o c o n t r i b u t e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y
t o wage i n e q u a l i t

~ Work
. ~
groups a r e f a r more segregated t h a n

e s t a b l i s h m e n t s , b u t t h e wage p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h an i n c r e a s i n g p r o p o r t i o n
female i s l a r g e r f o r e s t a b l i s h m e n t s than f o r work groups.

These o f f s e t t i n g

f a c t o r s cause v a r i a t i o n i n t h e r e l a t i v e impact o f e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group
s e g r e g a t i o n among i n d u s t r i e s ; s e g r e g a t i o n b y each o f these two s t r u c t u r e s
reduces women's wages by 6% t o 7%, f o r a t o t a l l o s s o f 8% t o 16% ( o r from
one- quarter t o o n e - h a l f o f t h e t o t a l d i f f e r e n t i a1 1.
4.

I n two m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r i e s , u n i o n i s m has a pronounced e f f e c t on

t h e composition o f t h e femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l w i t h o u t a f f e c t i n g
p a t t e r n s o f segregation.

Any wage d i s p a r i t y t h a t e x i s t s between men and women

i n t h e same work group disappears under unionism.
w i t h two o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g e f f e c t s :

Unionism i s a l s o a s s o c i a t e d

wages a r e l e s s c l o s e l y t i e d t o t h e

p e r c e n t female i n o n e ' s occupation, b u t a r e more c l o s e l y t i e d t o t h e
p r o p o r t i o n female i n o n e ' s e s t a b l i s h m e n t .

- 18 -

These figures suggest that men and women who work in the same occupation
and establishment earn about the same amount. However, occupations are either
mostly male or mostly female, and within establishments, occupations are
almost completely segregated. Furthermore, establishments as a whole tend to
employ either more men or more women than average in the work force for the
industry.
Thus, the role of high-wage employers in segregation takes one of two
forms. If their wages for all occupations are higher than average, they tend
to concentrate on hiring men for all occupations. Just as important
empirically, when they pay a subset of occupations more than their
occupational average (adjusting for overall establishment differential), they
hire a disproportionate number of men for those work groups.
So, even a worker who has chosen an integrated occupation will probably be
hired to work primarily with members of hislher own sex. If he is male, this
will tend to raise his wages. If she is female, it will lower them.

2. Relevance to Theory

In order to fully evaluate policy to reduce the femalelmale wage
differential, it is necessary to know the source(s> of the differential.
Although this decomposition cannot fully distinguish among the three major
models of the source of the femalelmale wage differential, it throws some
light on which versions of each model are most consistent with observed
patterns. In particular, any version invoked must predict no sex differential
within work group, and wide segregation by sex, especially among work groups.
Omission of human capital or worker quality variables that are negatively
correlated with proportion female would bias downward the estimated
coefficient on proportion female for institutions whose constituents are

-

s o r t e d by human c a p i t a l .

19 -

No doubt, a s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n o f t h e o c c u p a t i o n

component i s due t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e human c a p i t a l o f men and women.

As a

c o r o l l a r y , t h e r e a r e no s i z a b l e d i f f e r e n c e s i n human c a p i t a l between men and
women w i t h i n t h e work group.

That makes p r o b l e m a t i c t h e importance o f t h e

work group and e s t a b l i s h m e n t components ( c o n t r o l l i n g f o r p r o p o r t i o n female i n
occupation) w i t h i n a pure human c a p i t a l framework.

Research i s needed on t h e

q u e s t i o n o f whether f i r m s e f f e c t i v e l y s o r t among a p p l i c a n t s on t h e b a s i s of
q u a l i t y w i t h i n occupation.

I f such s o r t i n g does n o t t a k e p l a c e , o n e - t h i r d t o

one - half o f t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l ( t h e work group and e s t a b l i s h m e n t components) i s
n o t due t o d i f f e r e n t i a l p r o d u c t i v i t y .
Previous e m p i r i c a l evidence f o r t h e e x i s t e n c e o f s u b s t a n t i a l compensating
d i f f e r e n t i a l s i s weak, b o t h f o r w orking c o n d i t i o n s (Brown C19801, Smith
C19791, somewhat countered by F i l e r C19831) and f o r f r i n g e b e n e f i t s (Freeman
C19811>, Smith and Ehrenberg C19811, and A t r o s t i c C19831).

I n t h i s study, t h e

i n d i v i d u a l component i s n o t p o s i t i v e , and t h e work group component i s
sizable.

Combined w i t h weak evidence on t h e impact of compensating

d i f f e r e n t i a l s i n g e n e r a l , these r e s u l t s argue a g a i n s t e q u a l i z i n g d i f f e r e n c e s ,
except, perhaps, among occupations.

As i n o t h e r s t u d i e s , evidence o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n t h i s case c o n s i s t s
p a r t l y o f p r o v i d i n g d i r e c t evidence t o e l i m i n a t e competing t h e o r i e s . "
However, t h e p a t t e r n uncovered here ( p r i m a r i l y t h e s i z e o f t h e work group and
e s t a b l i s h m e n t components) i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e e x i s t e n c e o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n
by employers.

To t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h i s p a t t e r n a r i s e s f r o m d i s c r i m i n a t o r y

b e h a v i o r , t h e d i r e c t i o n o f c a u s a l i t y i s o f g r e a t i n t e r e s t , b u t these r e s u l t s
cannot d i s t i n g u i s h whether (exogenously) high-wage employers tend t o
d i s c r i m i n a t e , or whether d i s c r i m i n a t o r s a r e f o r c e d t o pay h i g h wages.
The decomposition performed here suggests some i m p o r t a n t t o p i c s f o r
f u r t h e r research.

I n p a r t i c u l a r , t o what e x t e n t do employers s o r t among j o b

- 20 a p p l i c a n t s by p r o d u c t i v i t y - r e l a t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ?

Are d i s c r i m i n a t o r s f o r c e d

t o pay h i g h wages, o r do high-wage employers tend t o d i s c r i m i n a t e ?
determines t h e sex composition o f a work group?

What

What i s t h e reason f o r t h e

h i g h e r a s s o c i a t i o n between p r o p o r t i o n female and wages i n u n i o n e s t a b l i s h m e n t s ?

3.

Relevance t o P o l i c y
These f i n d i n g s a r e b e s t i n t e r p r e t e d i n l i g h t o f e x t a n t and proposed

p o l i c i e s t o reduce wage i n e q u a l i t y between men and women.
summary o f f i v e such p o l i c i e s :

Table 7 p r e s e n t s a

f o u r f e d e r a l a c t s o r o r d e r s , and comparable

w o r t h (which has been proposed, n o t enacted).

Table 8 r e l a t e s t h e p r o v i s i o n s

d e s c r i b e d i n Table 7 t o t h e decomposition performed i n t h i s paper.

Each

component's f a c t o r s and t h e i r mean values (as e s t i m a t e d here) a r e l i s t e d w i t h
t h e p r o v i s i o n s i n t e n d e d t o reduce them, d i s t i n g u i s h i n g between p r o v i s i o n s
aimed a t human c a p i t a l and employer d i s c r i m i n a t i o n models.
The compensating d i f f e r e n t i a l model i s n o t i n c l u d e d because a l l b e h a v i o r
i s e f f i c i e n t under t h i s model, so t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e sex d i f f e r e n t i a l
compensating d i f f e r e n t i a l , no c o r r e c t i v e p o l i c i e s a r e necessary.

is a

Under a

human c a p i t a l model, equal access t o e d u c a t i o n may i n c r e a s e t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y
of women, r e d u c i n g t h e i n d i v i d u a l and o c c u p a t i o n a l components.

1 1

I n c o n t r a s t , d i s c r i m i n a t i o n e x p l a n a t i o n s generate two p o t e n t i a l p o l i c y
i n s t r u m e n t s f o r t h e t h r e e components o f t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
segregation.

The i n d i v i d u a l component (which i s n o t a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

s e g r e g a t i o n ) has o n l y one p o t e n t i a l i n s t r u m e n t :

l o w e r i n g t h e wage p e n a l t y

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h an i n d i v i d u a l ' s sex w i t h i n work group- - via equal pay and
perhaps EEO t r a i n i n g .

For t h e o t h e r t h r e e components, t h e two p o t e n t i a l

i n s t r u m e n t s a r e r e d u c t i o n o f s e g r e g a t i o n ( t h r o u g h EEO p r o v i s i o n s and
a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n ) and r e d u c t i o n o f t h e wage p e n a l t y ( t h r o u g h comparable
worth).

- 21

-

How e f f e c t i v e c o u l d each o f these p o l i c i e s be?

Taking t h e f o u r components

i n d i v i d u a l l y , wages o f women a r e o n l y 1% below those o f men i n t h e i r work
group.

T h i s , then, i s t h e maximum p o s s i b l e e f f e c t o f t h e p r o v i s i o n s t a r g e t e d

a t t h i s component:

i n p a r t i c u l a r , equal pay, b u t a l s o p a r t s o f equal

e d u c a t i o n and EEO t r a i n i n g .

E i t h e r these p r o v i s i o n s have a l r e a d y been q u i t e

s u c c e s s f u l , o r t h i s component was never t h e main source o f t h e
differential.

'*

I n c o n t r a s t , p o l i c i e s t h a t reduce t h e occupation component c o u l d c u t t h e
femalelmale wage d i f f e r e n t i a l by o n e - h a l f (manufacturing) t o t h r e e - q u a r t e r s
( s e r v i c e s ) i n o u r samples.
The n e x t l a r g e s t components a r e work group and e s t a b l i s h m e n t , which
t o g e t h e r account f o r about a 13% r e d u c t i o n i n women's r e l a t i v e wages.

Unless

e s t a b l i s h m e n t s and work groups a r e s o r t e d by human c a p i t a l t h a t i s u n e q u a l l y
d i s t r i b u t e d between men and women, t h e p r o v i s i o n s based on models o f
discrimination o f f e r the only solutions.
EEO, a f f i r m a t i v e a c t i o n , and equal education have been on t h e books f o r
more t h a n a decade, w h i l e t h e f e m a l e l m a l e wage d i f f e r e n t i a l remains l a r g e .
These p o l i c i e s aim t o reduce wage i n e q u a l i t y by r e d u c i n g a1 1 t h r e e types of
segregation, i.e.,

So, S e , and Sw.

I f people have judged them

i n e f f e c t i v e , i t i s no s u r p r i s e t h a t those i n t e r e s t e d i n r e d u c i n g t h e
d i f f e r e n t i a l would support comparable worth--because i t s t a r g e t s a r e B

O

and

Bw, t h e o t h e r w i s e u n r e g u l a t e d f a c t o r s o f t h e two l a r g e s t components of t h e
wage d i f f e r e n t i a l .

Footnotes
I n t h i s paper, t h e term "work group" r e f e r s t o t h e occupatione s t a b l i s h m e n t i n t e r a c t i o n ; t h a t i s , t o a l l employees w i t h t h e same
occupation ( j o b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ) i n a p a r t i c u l a r establishment.
I n d u s t r y wage d i f f e r e n t i a l s p e r s i s t i n t h e f a c e o f a t t e m p t s t o a t t r i b u t e
them t o human c a p i t a l . See Dickens and Katz (1986) and Krueger and
Summers (1986) f o r r e c e n t summaries o f these i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . A l s o ,
Groshen (1986) shows t h a t even w i t h i n i n d u s t r i e s , s u b s t a n t i a l s t a b l e wage
d i f f e r e n t i a l s e x i s t among employers and work groups, c o n t r o l l i n g f o r v e r y
d e t a i l e d occupation, whereas wage v a r i a t i o n among i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n a
work group i s minimal.
See B l a u and Ferber (1986) and Reskin and Hartmann (1986) f o r summaries.
W i l l i a m s and R e g i s t e r (1986) p e r f o r m a s i m i l a r a n a l y s i s on U.S. Census
d a t a f o r 50 c i t i e s and e i g h t o c c u p a t i o n s and f i n d t h a t wages a r e
n e g a t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h p r o p o r t i o n male w i t h i n o c c u p a t i o n i n a c i t y ,
c o n t r o l l i n g f o r various characteristics o f the c i t y .
The p r o p e r t i e s o f t h e displacement index a r e e x p l o r e d i n Duncan and Duncan
( 1 955).
' h i s c o n s t r a i n t i s a p p r o p r i a t e because e s t a b l i s h m e n t wage p o l i c i e s a r e ( b y
aw) designed t o be s e x - b l i n d i n t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n . What d i f f e r s between
,he sexes i s t h e i r access t o p o s i t i o n s . Oaxaca (1973) e s t i m a t e s s e p a r a t e
e q u a t i o n s f o r men and women, d i v i d i n g t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l s between t h e
p o r t i o n s due t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n slopes f r o m those due t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n
mean values o f independent v a r i a b l e s .
A p o s i t i v e c o e f f i c i e n t suggests t h a t wages i n c r e a s e w i t h t h e p r o p o r t i o n
female, c o u n t e r a c t i n g t h e e f f e c t o f t h e n e g a t i v e c o e f f i c i e n t s t o some
extent.

Work group s e g r e g a t i o n i s c o n t r o l l e d by employers i n t h e sense t h a t t h e y
a p p a r e n t l y have a s t r o n g tendency n o t t o employ b o t h men and women i n t h e
same o c c u p a t i o n . Even i n h e a v i l y female occupations, t h e few males i n t h e
o c c u p a t i o n a r e c l u s t e r e d i n j u s t a few e s t a b l i s h m e n t s .
Note t h a t i f s e g r e g a t i o n by i n d u s t r y were added t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t
e f f e c t (as i n Blau C19771), t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t component would c l e a r l y
dominate t h e work group component.
T h i s phenomenon i s n o t unexpected when t h e t y p e o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n under
investigation i s illegal.

11. P o l i c y p r e s c r i p t i o n s w i l l be i n e f f e c t i v e o r i n e f f i c i e n t i f t h e y i n t e r f e r e
w i t h u n c o n s t r a i n e d o p t i m i z a t i o n on t h e p a r t o f market p a r t i c i p a n t s . Thus,
equal access t o e d u c a t i o n f o r women w i l l reduce t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l o n l y t o
t h e e x t e n t t h a t p r e v i o u s i n e q u a l i t i e s i n access l e d t o d i f f e r e n t i a l
a c q u i s i t i o n o f human c a p i t a l . An equal d i s t r i b u t i o n o f human c a p i t a l
would e l i m i n a t e t h e c o r r e l a t i o n between p r o p o r t i o n female and t h e human
c a p i t a l requirements o f a j o b , so t h e e s t i m a t e d c o e f f i c i e n t would be
zero. The r e a l reason f o r d e c l i n e i n i n e q u a l i t y would be t h e r e d u c t i o n i n
segregation by sex. A l l c o r r e c t l y measured wage d i f f e r e n t i a l s would
remain t h e same, because t h e y a r e based on p r o d u c t i v i t y d i f f e r e n c e s , b u t
women would h o l d more o f t h e high-wage j o b s . The p o t e n t i a l e f f i c a c y o f
equal e d u c a t i o n on t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t and work group components depends on
whether some e s t a b l i s h m e n t s r e q u i r e more human c a p i t a l i n a l l o r some
occupations than do o t h e r s .
12. A t h i r d p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t employers adapted t o t h e i n t r u s i o n o f equal
pay l e g i s l a t i o n by r e d e f i n i n g j o b t i t l e s . Workers o f d i f f e r e n t sex were
given s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n order t o preserve t r a d i t i o n a l
wage d i s p a r i t i e s between women and men w i t h i n work group and t o j u s t i f y
t h e i r d i f f e r e n t pay schedules. The s i z e o f t h e work group component w i l l
increase w i t h t h e e x t e n t t o which j o b s were r e d e f i n e d a r b i t r a r i l y f o r t h i s
purpose by independent e s t a b l i s h m e n t s .

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l
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1121-1 134.

Table 1
Summary o f Terms i n t h e Decomposition o f t h e FemaleIMale
Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l i n a P o p u l a t i o n
Component
(Estimated Size)
Individual
(G )

Factor
G

Occupation
Segregation
(BO'SO)

Be

E s t a b l i shment
Segregation
(B e 'Se>

Work Group
Segregation
(0"-Sw>

Definition
Estimated c o e f f i c i e n t
on female dummy i n t h e
wage e q u a t i o n below.

Interpretation
Average d i f f e r e n c e i n wages
between men and women i n
t h e same o c c u p a t i o n i n t h e
same e s t a b l i s h m e n t ( i . e . ,
i n t h e same work g r o u p ) .

Estimated c o e f f i c i e n t
on p r o p o r t i o n female
o f occupation i n the
wage e q u a t i o n below.

Wage p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h increasing proportion
female i n an o c c u p a t i o n .
The d i f f e r e n c e between an
a l l - f e m a l e and an a l l - m a l e
occupation.

Sample v a r i a n c e o f
p r o p o r t i o n female
across occupations,
d i v i d e d by maximum
possible variance.

E x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n by
sex i n occupations, on a
scale from 0 ( f u l l y i n t e grated) t o 1 (completely
segregated).

Estimated c o e f f i c i e n t
on p r o p o r t i o n female
o f establishment i n
t h e wage e q u a t i o n
below.

Wage p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h increasing proportion
female i n an e s t a b l i s h m e n t .
The d i f f e r e n c e between an
a l l - f e m a l e and an a l l - m a l e
establishment.

Sample v a r i a n c e o f
p r o p o r t i o n female
across e s t a b l i s h m e n t s ,
d i v i d e d by maximum
p o s s i b l e variance.

Extent o f segregation by
sex i n e s t a b l i s h m e n t s , on
a scale from 0 ( f u l l y i n t e grated) t o 1 (completely
segregated).

Estimated c o e f f i c i e n t
on p r o p o r t i o n female
o f work group i n t h e
wage e q u a t i o n below.

Wage p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h increasing proportion
female i n a work group.
The d i f f e r e n c e between an
a l l - f e m a l e and an a l l - m a l e
work group.

Sample v a r i a n c e o f
p r o p o r t i on femal e
across work groups,
d i v i d e d by maximum
p o s s i b l e variance.

E x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n by
sex i n work groups, on a
s c a l e from 0 ( f u l l y i n t e grated) t o 1 (completely
segregated).

Wage e q u a t i o n e s t i m a t e d :
w = A + G ' f + B O ' r O+ B e - r e + B W - r W+ e ,
i

i

i

i

I

i

w i = n a t u r a l l o g o f wage o f i n d i v i d u a l i , A = constant term,
f i = 1 i f i n d i v i d u a l i i s female, 0 o t h e r w i s e ,
r O , r e , r w = p r o p o r t i o n female i n i n d i v i d u a l i ' s o c c u p a t i o n , e s t a b l i s h m e n t ,
i
i
and work group, r e s p e c t i v e l y .
where

Table 2
Summary o f I n d u s t r y Wage Survey Sample C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
M i s c e l 1aneous
P l a s t i cs P r o d u c t s
( 1 974)

Mean Wage

None1e c t r i c a l
Machinery
(1983)

Life
Insurance
( 1980)

Banki ng
( 1 980)

$3.31

$10.20

$6.67

52.5%

61.6%

2.1%

100-249

2,500+

876

795

221

580

6,198

7,619

4,246

8,028

-. 298

-. 469

-.426

Computer and
Data P r o c e s s i ng
(1983)

$4.73

V a r i a n c e I n (Wage)
P e r c e n t Male
Percent i n M o s t l y Union P l a n t s
Mode E s t a b l ishment S i z e

5,000+

0.5%
2,500+

Sample S i z e
Number o f Occupations
Number o f E s t a b l i s h m e n t s
Number o f Work Groups
Average Number o f Persons
p e r Work Group
Femal e/Mal e Wage D i f f e r e n t i a1

11.4

- .240

I

Source:

T a b u l a t i o n s from BLS I n d u s t r y Wage Surveys.

Table 3
D e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e Female/Male Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l i n Two M a n u f a c t u r i n g I n d u s t r i e s
Mi s c e l l aneous P l a s t i c s P r o d u c t s
1
2
C o e f f i c i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e l
Extent o f
(s.e.)
S e a r e a a t i on 2

Labor
Market
Structure
Individual

-. 0 16

1 .O

None1 e c t r i c a l Machi n e r v
3

Structure
C o n t r i b u t i on 3

1
C o e f f i c i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e'

..

2
Extent o f
S e g r e a a t i on 2

3
Structure
Contri bution3

-.016

( .003)

Occupation

- .242

.485

-. 117

.288

-. 029

.761

-. 078

( .004)

Establishment
Work Group 4

-.099
( .004)

-. 103

( .005)

T o t a l Observed D i f f e r e n t i a l s

- .240

-. 298

C o e f f i c i e n t and s t a n d a r d e r r o r s from an OLS r e g r e s s i o n o f l o g wage on p r o p o r t i o n female i n
o c c u p a t i o n , p r o p o r t i o n f e m a l e i n e s t a b l i s h m e n t , p r o p o r t i o n female i n work g r o u p , and an i n d i v i d u a l
female dummy.
E x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n = (sample v a r i a n c e o f p r o p o r t i o n female among c o n s t i t u e n t s o f l a b o r m a r k e t
s t r u c t u r e ) / (maximum p o s s i b l e v a r i a n c e ) .
Coefficient

( f r o m column 1 ) m u l t i p l i e d by e x t e n t o f s e g r e g a t i o n ( f r o m column 2 ) .

An i n d i v i d u a l ' s work g r o u p i s d e f i n e d as a l l w o r k e r s i n t h e same o c c u p a t i o n a t t h e same
establishment.
Any d i f f e r e n c e between t h e observed d i f f e r e n t i a l and t h e t o t a l o f t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s of t h e
s t r u c t u r e s i s due t o r o u n d i n g e r r o r .
Source:

T a b u l a t i o n s f r o m t h e BLS P l a s t i c s and N o n e l e c t r i c a l Machinery I n d u s t r y Wage Surveys.

Table 4
Decomposition of the Female/Male Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l in Three Service I n d u s t r i e s
Banki no

Li f e Insurance
1
2
Coefficient on
Proporti ~n
Femal e
Extent of
(s.e.)
Seareaati on 2

Labor
Market
Structure
Individual

-.013
( .006)

Occupation

-.686

.477

Establ i shment

-.256
( .004)

.050

Work Group4

-. 195

.596

3
Structure
Contri buti on3

1
2
Coefficient on
Proporti yn
Femal e
Extent of
(s.e.)
Seareaati on 2

Com~uterand Data Processine
3
Structure
c o n t r i bution 3

1
2
Coefficient on
Proporti on
Female'
Extent of
(s.e.)
~ e a r e a a toin 2

3

Structure
Contri buti on3

1 .O

(.011)

( .005)

R-Square

.513

Total Observed Di f f e r e n t i a1 '

'

Coefficient and standard e r r o r s from an OLS regression of log wage on proportion female in occupation, proportion female in establishment,
proportion female in work group, and an individual female dummy.

*

Extent. of segregation = (sample variance of proportion female among c o n s t i t u e n t s of labor market s t r u c t u r e ) / (maximum possible v a r i a n c e ) .
C o e f f i c i e n t (from column 1 ) multiplied by extent of segregation (from column 2 ) .
An i n d i v i d u a l ' s work group i s defined as a l l workers in t h e same occupation a t t h e same establishment.

'

'

~ d inf f e~r e n c e between t h e observed d i f f e r e n t i a l and the t o t a l of t h e contributions of t h e s t r u c t u r e s i s due t o rounding e r r o r .

Source:

Tabulations from the BLS Industry Wage Surveys.

Table 5
Union E f f e c t s on t h e S t r u c t u r e o f t h e Female/Male
Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l i n t h e Miscellaneous P l a s t i c s
Products I n d u s t r y
Union Establ ishments

Nonunion Establishments

Labor Market
Structure

1
C o e f f i c i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e'
(s.e.)

2
Extent
of
Seareaati on 2

3
Structure
C o n t r i b u t i on3

1
C o e f f i c i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e l

..

3

2
Extent
of
Seareaati on 2

Structure
C o n t r ib u t i o n 3

Individual
Occupation
Establ i shment
Work Group4

Total
Observed Di f f e r e n t i a1
Percent Female

56.2

48.1

C o e f f i c i e n t and standard e r r o r s from separate union and nonunion OLS regressions o f l o g wage on p r o p o r t i o n female
i n occupation, p r o p o r t i o n female i n establishment, p r o p o r t i o n female i n work group, and an i n d i v i d u a l female dummy.
E x t e n t of segregation = (sample variance o f p r o p o r t i o n female among c o n s t i t u e n t s o f l a b o r market s t r u c t u r e ) /
(maximum p o s s i b l e v a r i a n c e ) .
C o e f f i c i e n t (from column 1) mu1 t i p 1 i e d by e x t e n t o f segregation ( f r o m column 2 ) .
An i n d i v i d u a l ' s work group i s d e f i n e d as a l l workers i n t h e same occupation a t t h e same establishment.
Differences between t h e observed d i f f e r e n t i a l and t h e t o t a l o f t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f t h e s t r u c t u r e s a r e due t o use
of industry- wide p r o p o r t i o n female i n occupation r a t h e r than sector- speci f ic estimates.
Source:

BLS P l a s t i c s I n d u s t r y Wage Survey.

Table 6
Union E f f e c t s on t h e S t r u c t u r e o f t h e Female/Male
Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l i n t h e N o n e l e c t r i c a l Machinery
Industry
Nonunion Establ ishments

Labor Market
Structure

1
Coef f ic i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e '

..

2
Extent
of
S e ~ r e a a ton
i 2

Union Establishments
3

Structure
Contribution3

1
C o e f f i c i e n t on
P r o p o r t i on
Femal e l

..

2
Extent
of
Seareaati on 2

3
Structure
Contribution3

Individual
Occupation
Establ ishment

-. 152

.444

-.015
(.011)

.634

(.010)

Work Group4

-. 223
-. 249

Total
Observed Di f f e r e n t i a1
Percent Female

'

25.2

-. 302
-. 277
9.4

C o e f f i c i e n t and standard e r r o r s from separate union and nonunion OLS regressions o f l o g wage on p r o p o r t i o n female i n
occupation, p r o p o r t i o n female i n establishment, p r o p o r t i o n female i n work group, and an i n d i v i d u a l female dummy.
Extent o f segregation
possi b l e v a r i a n c e )

.

= (sample v a r i a n c e o f p r o p o r t i o n female among c o n s t i t u e n t s o f l a b o r market s t r u c t u r e ) / (maximum

C o e f f i c i e n t ( f r o m column 1 ) mu1 t i p 1 i e d by e x t e n t o f segregation ( f r o m column 2 ) .
An i n d i v i d u a l ' s work group i s d e f i n e d as a l l workers i n t h e same occupation a t the same establishment.
D i f f e r e n c e s between the observed d i f f e r e n t i a l and t h e t o t a l o f t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f the s t r u c t u r e s a r e due t o use of
industry- wide p r o p o r t i o n female i n occupation r a t h e r than sector- speci f i c estimates.
Source:

BLS None1e c t r i c a l Machinery I n d u s t r y Wage Survey.

Table 7
Summary of U.S.

Pol ic y
(Year)

Equal O p p o r t u n i t y P o l i c y P r o v i s i o n s

Provisions (Description)

'

E n f o r c i ng
Body

Equal Pay A c t
(1 963)

Equal Pay ( p r o h i b i t s pay i n e q u a l i t y on
t h e b a s i s o f sex among workers p e r f o r m i n g
equal j o b s i n t h e same e s t a b l i s h m e n t )

Federal
Courts

T i t l e VII,
C i v i 1 Righ.ts
A c t (1964)

Equal Pay and
Equal Employment O p p o r t u n i t y (EEO) ( p r o h i b i t s sex d i s c r i m i n a t i o n Cbv e m ~ l o v e r sw i t h
more t h a n 15 employees1 i n u v i r t u a i l y a1 1
aspects of employment: h i r i n g , f i r i n g ,
t r a i n i n g , promotions, and o t h e r terms and
c o n d i t i o n s o f employment)

Equal
Emp 1oymen t
Opportuni t y
Commi s s i o n

Executive
Orders
11246 (1965)
and
11376 (1967)

Equal Pay,
Equal Employment O p p o r t u n i t y (EEO) and
A f f i r m a t i v e Action (requires s e t t i n g goals
and t i m e t a b l e s t o reduce under-representat i o n o f women i n an f i r m ' s employment p a t t e r n s as a c o n d i t i o n o f r e c e i p t o f f e d e r a l
c o n t r a c t s o r subcontracts)

Office o f
Federal
Contract
Compl iance

Title IX,
C i v i l Rights
A c t (1975)

Equal Education ( p r o h i b i t s sex d i s c r i m i nat i o n i n course o f f e r i n g s , a t h l e t i c a c t i v i t i e s and f a c i l i t i e s , f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e ,
c o u n s e l i n g , textbooks, e t c . , i n e d u c a t i o n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s r e c e i v i n g federal funds)

Equal
Employment
Opportunity
Commi s s i o n

proposed

Comparable Worth ( r e q u i r e s equal pay f o r
j o b s of comparable v a l u e t o t h e employer
.
- or
worth, i .e.; o f comparable s k i 11, respons i b i l i t y , working c o n d i t i o n s , knowledge, e t c

'Some p r o v i s i o n s o f these a c t s a r e r e p e t i t i v e .
a r e i n c l u d e d o n l y once i n t h i s t a b l e .

For b r e v i t y , d e s c r i p t i o n s

Table 8
R e l a t i o n s h i p Between Equal O p p o r t u n i t y P o l i c y P r o v i s i o n s
and Components o f t h e FemaleIMale Wage D i f f e r e n t i a l
Pol icy P r o v i s i o n ' t o Reduce Component,
Assuming Source i s :
Component
(Estimated Mean
% D i f f l . ' )-

Factor
(Estimated
Mean)

Equal E d u c a t i o n

Comparable Worth

n.a.

EEO H i r i n g and Promotion,
EEO T r a i n i n g ,
Affirmative Action

Equal Education

B e (-.28)

none

n.a.

Se

EEO H i r i n g ,
Affirmative Action

n.a.

Bw (-.12)

Comparable Worth

n.a.

Sw

EEO H i r i n g and Promotion,
EEO T r a i n i n g ,
Affirmative Action

n.a.

G

Occupation
Segregation
(mfg: -11%
svc: -26%)

B

Establishment
Segregation

(-6%)

Work Group
Segregation
(-7%)

Human C a p i t a l

Equal Pay,
EEO T r a i n i n g

Individual
(-1%)

O

So

(-.01>

Employer
Discrimination

(mfg: -.35
svc: -.73)
(

.40)

(.21)

(.61>

4

4

TOTAL WAGE DIFFERENTIAL (mfg: -23%, svc: -36%)
n.a.:

Not a p p l i c a b l e ; no p o l i c y remedy w i l l a f f e c t t h i s f a c t o r .

'See Table 7 f o r summary o f these p o l i c y p r o v i s i o n s and t h e l e g i s l a t i o n and
r e g u l a t i o n s t h a t c o n t a i n them. EEO an acronym f o r Equal Employment
O p p o r t u n i t y . This t a b l e l i s t s o n l y s h o r t - r u n e f f e c t s o f these p o l i c i e s ;
long- run e f f e c t s a r e v e r y l i k e l y t o be s i z a b l e , b u t a r e d i f f i c u l t t o
c l a s s i f y . For i n s t a n c e , EEO promotions presumably enhance t h e s k i l l s of t h e
women promoted, i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r human c a p i t a l .
2

Expressed as percentage d e v i a t i o n s f r o m t h e geometric mean wage.

3These f a c t o r s a r e d e f i n e d i n t h e t e x t and i n Table 1. Estimates a r e s i m p l e
means f o r t h e values r e p o r t e d i n Tables 3 and 4. G, B , B e and Bw a r e
e s t i m a t e d OLS c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r t h e wage e f f e c t s o f i n c r e a s i n g p r o p o r t i o n
female. So, Se and Sw a r e measures o f t h e amount o f s e g r e g a t i o n by
c o n s t i t u e n t s o f t h e components.
O

41f e s t a b l i s h m e n t s o r work groups a r e s o r t e d by qua1i t y o f worker, t h e n
Equal Education c o u l d reduce t h i s component. Otherwise, no p o l i c y remedies
would a f f e c t t h i s f a c t o r .

- 34 -

Appendi x
Job Classifications Surveyed in Industry Wage ~urvevs'

MISCELLANEOUS PLASTICS PRODUCTS (1974)
Processing Jobs
Blenders
Blow-molding-machine operators (set up and operate)
Blow-molding-machine operators (operate only)
Compression-molding-machine operators (set up and operate)
Compression-molding-machine operators (operate only)
Extrusion-press operators (set up and operate)
Extrusion-press operators (operate only)
Finishers, molded plastics products
Injection-molding-machine operators (set up and operate)
Injection-molding-machine operators (operate only)
Laminating-press operators
Mandrel men
Plastics cutters, machine
Preform-machine operators
Scrap-preparing operators
Setup
161
162
163
164

165
166
170
180

190

Men, Plastic-Molding Machines
Blow-mol di ng machines
Compression-molding machines
Extrusion presses
Injection-molding machines
Vacuum-plastics-forming machines
Other (including combination of above)
Tumbler operators
Vacuum-plastics-forming-machine operators (set up and operate)
Vacuum-plastics-forming-machine operators (operate only)

Maintenance Jobs
200

210
220
230
240

250
260
270

Electricians, maintenance
He1 pers, trades, maintenance
Machine-tool operators, toolroom
Machinists, maintenance
Maintenance men, general uti 1 i ty
Mechanics, maintenance
Pipefitters, maintenance
Tool and die makers

'SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of
Occupational Wage Structures.

PLASTICS, c o n t i n u e d
Miscellaneous Jobs
310
320
330
340
350
360
370

I n s p e c t o r s , molded p r o d u c t s
Jan it o r s
Laborers, m a t e r i a l h a n d l i n g
Packers, s h i p p i n g
Recei v i ng c l e r k s
Shipping c l e r k s
S h i p p i n g and r e c e i v i n g c l e r k s

Truckers, Power
381
Forklift
382
Other t h a n f o r k l i f t
390
Hatchmen
2.

NONELECTRICAL MACHINERY

(1983)

Machine-Tool Operator, P r o d u c t i o n
Automatic- Lathe Operator
5111 C l a s s A
5112 Class B
5113 Class C
5114 NIC, s e t up and operate
5115 NIC, o p e r a t e o n l y
D r i l l - P r e s s Operator, Radial
5121 Class A
5122 Class B
5123 Class C
5124 NIC, s e t up and operate
5125 NIC, o p e r a t e o n l y
D r i 11-Press Operator, S i n g l e - o r Mu1t i p l e - S p i n d l e
5131 Class A
5132 Class B
5133 Class C
5134 NIC, s e t up and operate
5135 NIC, o p e r a t e o n l y
Engine- Lathe Operator
5141 Class A
5142 Class B
5143 Class C
5144 NIC, s e t up and operate
5145 NIC, o p e r a t e o n l y
Grinding- Machine Operator
5151 Class A
5152 Class B
5153 Class C
5154 NIC, s e t up and operate
5155 NIC, o p e r a t e o n l y

MACHINERY, continued
Machi ne- Tool Operator, M i s c e l 1aneous
5161 Class A
5162 Class B
5163 Class C
5164 NIC, s e t up and o p e r a t e
5165 NIC, operate o n l y
M i l l i n g - M a c h i n e Operator
5171 Class A
5172 C l a s s B
5173 Class C
5174 NIC, s e t up and o p e r a t e
5175 NIC, operate o n l y
Screw-Machine Operator, Automatic
5181 Class A
5182 Class B
5183 Class C
5184 NIC, s e t up and o p e r a t e
5185 NIC, operate o n l y
Turret - Lathe Operator, Hand
5191 Class A
5192 Class B
5193 Class C
5194 NIC, s e t up and o p e r a t e
5195 NIC, operate o n l y
Other Jobs
Set-Up Worker, Machine Tools
5201 Conventional machi nes
5202 NIC machines
Punch-Press Operator
5211 Class A
5212 Class B
Assembler
5221 C l a s s A
5222 C l a s s B
5223 Class C
5230
5240

P o l i s h e r and b u f f e r , metal
P o l i s h i n g - and buffing- machine o p e r a t o r

Welder, Hand
5251 Class A
5252 Class B
Welder, Machine
5261 Class A
5262 Class B

MACHINERY, c o n t i nued
Tool and D i e Maker
5271 Tool and d i e maker ( j o b b i n g )
5272 Tool and d i e maker ( o t h e r t h a n j o b b i n g )
Inspector
5281 C l a s s A
5282 C l a s s B
5283 C l a s s C
5290

Tool c l e r k

3070 M a c h i n i s t , maintenance
5330 M a c h i n i s t , p r o d u c t i o n
3100 Mechanic, maintenance
3010 C a r p e n t e r , maintenance
3020 E l e c t r i c i a n , maintenance
4030 J a n i t o r , p o r t e r , o r c l e a n e r
4070 L a b o r e r , m a t e r i a l h a n d l i n g

'

Machine- Tool O p e r a t o r , T o o l r o o m (Operates O n l y One Type o f Machine T o o l )
3061 D r i l l - p r e s s o p e r a t o r , r a d i a l
3062 E n g i n e - l a t h e o p e r a t o r
3063 Grinding- machine o p e r a t o r
3064 M i l l i n g - m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r
3065 O t h e r ( n o t s p e c i f i e d ) t o o l r o o m machine
3068 Operates more t h a n one t y p e o f machine t o o l
3.

L I F E INSURANCE CARRIERS

(1979)

Selected Insurance Occupations
Actuaries
101
Class A
102
ClassB

Cl a i m Approvers
201
202

Class A
Class B

300
310

Clerks, p o l i c y evaluation
C l e r k s , premium- ledger- card

Correspondents
321
ClassA
322
Class B
330

Premi um a c c e p t o r s

Underwriters
401
Class A
402
ClassB

INSURANCE, continued
Selected General Clerical Occupations
Clerks, Accounting
501 Class A
502 Class B
503 Not classifiable by level
Clerks, File
511 ClassA
512 Class B
513 Class C
514 Not classifiable by level
Key Entry Operators
521 ClassA
522 Class B
523 Not classifiable by level .
Secretaries
531 ClassA
532 Class B
533 Class C
534 Class D
535 Class E
536 Not classifiable by level
Stenographers
541 General
542 Senior
543 Not classifiable by level
Switchboard Operators
551 Class A
552 Class B
560

Transcribing-machine typists

Typists
571 Class A
572 Class B
573 Not classifiable by level
Selected Computer Occupations
Computer Operators
601 Class A
602 ClassB
603 Class C
604 Not classifiable by level

INSURANCE, c o n t i n u e d
Computer Programmers, B u s i n e s s
611
ClassA
612
Class B
613
Class C
Not c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
614
Computer Systems A n a l y s t s , B u s i n e s s
621
ClassA
622
Class B
623
Class C
Not c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
624
630
4.

D a t a 1i b r a r i a n s

BANKING

(1979)

S e l e c t e d General C l e r -i c a l O c c u p a t i o n s
Bookkeeping- Machine O p e r a t o r s
1010 C l a s s A
1020 C l a s s B
Clerks, F i l e
1030 C l a s s A
1040 C l a s s B
1050 C l a s s C
1053 Not c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
Clerks, Accounting
1055- C l a s s A
1056 C l a s s B
1057 N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
Key E n t r y O p e r a t o r s
1060 C l a s s A
1070 C l a s s B
1075 N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
Secretaries
1101 C l a s s A
1102 C l a s s B
1103 C l a s s C
1104 C l a s s D
1105 C l a s s E
1106 N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l
Stenographers
1110 General
1120 S e n i o r
1125 N o t c l a s s i f i a b l e b y l e v e l

BANKING, continued
Switchboard Operators
1130 Class A
1140 Class B
Typists
1150 Class A
1160 Class B
1165 Not classifiable by level
Selected Computer Occupations
Computer Operators
2010 Class A
2020 Class B
2030 Class C
2035 Not classifiable by level
Computer Programmers, Business
2040 Class A
2050 Class B
2060 Class C
2065 Not classifiable by level
Computer Systems Analysts, Business
2070 Class A
2080 Class B
2090 Class C
2095 Not classifiable by level
Selected Banki ng Occupations
1080 Proof-machine operators
1090 Safe-deposit-rental clerks

Tel lers
3010 Note
3020 Commercial-savings (paying and receiving)
3030 Commercial
3040 Savings
3050 All-round
Loan
4010
4011
4012
4013

Officers
Personal credi t
Commercial loans
Mortgage
Not classifiable by type of loan

5.

COMPUTER AND DATA PROCESSING SERVICES
Computer O p e r a t o r s
101
Level I
102
Level I 1
103
LevelIII
104
Level I V
105
Level V
106
Level V I
110

Data L i b r a r i a n s

Electronics Technicians
121
LevelI
122
LevelII
123
Level I11
Key E n t r y O p e r a t o r s
131
Level I
132
Level I 1
140

P e r i p h e r a l Equipment O p e r a t o r s

ProgrammerIProgrammer A n a l y s t s
151
Level I
152
LevelII
LevelIII
153
154
Level I V
155
Level V
Systems A n a l y s t s
161
Level I
162
Level I 1
163
Level I11
Systems Programmers
LevelI
171
172
LevelII
173
L e v e l I11
174
Level I V

(1982)