Women earn less than men. The earnings difference narrows substantially when comparing individuals within the same firm; however, we know little about why men and women sort into different firms, or earn different wages within the same firm.

Our project contributes to the literature on gender inequality in the labor market. The first goal is to offer novel descriptive evidence on the importance of within-firm dynamics for gender differences on the labor market. This allows us to examine how much of the gender differences in wages within firms are due to differences in tasks and promotions, and whether women sort to lower-paying firms because these firms compensate with non-monetary amenities.

The second goal is to investigate the underlying economic and social causes of gender differences on the labor market. To achieve this, we build on our within-firm characterization to understand the differential costs of children across men and women, and investigate the roles of firm-level policies, such as flexible work hours, and specialization in paid versus unpaid work.

Project manger: Ingrid Huitfeldt

Participants:

  • Andrea Weber, Central European University
  • Andreas Kostøl, Arizona State University
  • Anna Godøy, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
  • Edda Solbakken, Statistics Norway
  • Edwin Leuven, University of Oslo
  • Jan Nimczik, ESMT Berlin
  • Magne Mogstad, Statistics Norway and University of Chicago
  • Martin Andresen, Statistics Norway
  • Simon Bensnes, Statistics Norway
  • Arizona State University
  • Central European University
  • ESMT Berlin
  • Norwegian Institute of Public Health
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Oslo

Funder: Norwegian Research Council (project number 3266391)

Period: 2021-2025