SEX, EARNINGS, AND THE NATURE OF WORK: A JOB-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF MALE-FEMALE INCOME DIFFERENCES

Information was collected by interviews with work-group supervisors & questionnaires given to employees in those work groups for 20 large white-collar employers; 130 supervisors & 1,308 employees responded. There was substantial sexual segregation across jobs; jobs were classed as 'M' or 'F' according to whether the proportion of Ms exceeded the marginal proportion of Ms in the sample. The differences in mean income between M & F jobs was $2,250. There are striking differences in the relative importance of different characteristics for income determination for M & F jobs, all of the unstandardized coefficients being higher for Ms except for infrequency of supervision. Of the $2,250 difference in income, difference in work characteristics & in qualifications account for $608 altogether. While the intercept is higher for F jobs, the slope is sufficiently great so that even the lowest paying M jobs pay more than F jobs. 4 Tables. W. H. Stoddard.