Male-female discrimination: an analysis of gender gap and its determinants

In recent years, the occupational dynamics have brought in significant innovations in Italy, as the increased participation of women in the labour market, that have stimulated studies about the gender wage gap, concerning the different remuneration reserved to male and female workers. In this work the Authors, following Oaxaca and Blinder approach, estimate the gap for Italian employers and proceed to its decomposition, one part due to differences in individual characteristics (endowment effect) and another part due to the different returns on the same characteristics (coefficient effect), related to discrimination. Then, the gender wage gap and its decomposition is analyzed with reference to Italian macro-areas considered separately with the aim to highlight the different fundamental dynamics. The model has also been modified using the Heckmann correction to eliminate the bias due to self-selection; i.e. the different propensity to work for men and women.