Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap

Barbara Biasi () and Heather Sarsons
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Barbara Biasi: Yale School of Management

No 13754, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Does flexible pay increase the gender wage gap? To answer this question we analyze the wages of public-school teachers in Wisconsin, where a 2011 reform allowed school districts to set teachers' pay more flexibly and engage in individual negotiations. Using quasi-exogenous variation in the timing of the introduction of flexible pay driven by the expiration of preexisting collective-bargaining agreements, we show that flexible pay increased the gender pay gap among teachers with the same credentials. This gap is larger for younger teachers and absent for teachers working under a female principal or superintendent. Survey evidence suggests that the gap is partly driven by women not engaging in negotiations over pay, especially when the counterpart is a man. This gap is not driven by gender differences in job mobility, ability, or a higher demand for male teachers. We conclude that environmental factors are an important determinant of the gender wage gap in contexts where workers are required to negotiate.

Keywords: teacher salaries; flexible pay; gender wage gap; bargaining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J45 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 74 pages
Date: 2020-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen, nep-hrm, nep-lma and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published - published in: Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2022, 137 (1), 215 - 266

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Working Paper: Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap (2020)
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