Gainsharing and women's and men's relative pay satisfaction

Abstract

There is some evidence that women have equal or higher pay satisfaction than similarly situated men, even though they may earn less than these men. Using Major's (1994) model of entitlement, this study examined gender dierences in pay satisfaction in two companies before and after gainsharing bonus programmes were introduced. Results indicated that women had higher pay satisfaction than men prior to the introduction of gainsharing and there was some evidence that this dierence was greater among lowerpaid employees. Women did not exhibit higher pay satisfaction after gainsharing was introduced. The potential association of gainsharing with changes in female±male pay satisfaction is discussed. Crosby (1982) coined the term`paradox of the contented female worker' to describe a phenomenon in which women tend to have equivalent or higher pay satisfaction than men, despite the fact that in many cases, women earn less than their male counterparts (Crosby, 1982;Major and Konar, 1984;Sauser and York, 1978;Steel and Lovrich, 1987). While there exists some empirical evidence that women's pay satisfaction is higher than that of men, results are not conclusive, in part because little research directly examines gender dierences in pay satisfaction. Moreover, researchers documenting this paradox have only been able to speculate about the stability, or permanence, of gender dierences in pay satisfaction. Crosby (1982) suggested that because of the intransigence of gender dierences in individuals' work and non-work experiences and psychological barriers in recognizing inequity,`nothing in the foreseeable future' would equalize the satisfaction of comparable women and men (Crosby, 1982, p. 171). Others speculate that elimination of structural inequities such as occupational segregation, or workplace interventions that encourage individuals to compare themselves with those in other occupations, would eliminate

An empirical examination of the role of attributions in psychological entitlement and its outcomes

“…Naumann et al (2002) posited that entitlement would promote low levels of job satisfaction, stemming from unmet expectations. In support of this notion, Graham and Welbourne's (1999) study indicated that employees with high levels of pay entitlement, who expect relatively high levels of compensation, were more likely than those with low pay entitlement to experience pay dissatisfaction. This negative relationship likely exists because entitlement promotes inflated expectations regarding rewards and compensation (Campbell et al 2004;Graham & Welbourne,1999;Naumann et al, 2002), often independent of input levels (Feather, 2003).…”

The Paradox of the Contented Female Worker in a Traditionally Female Industry

“…This study finds the existence of the paradox of the contented female worker in a traditionally female industry. The existence of the paradox in human services is consistent with previous studies of the paradox (Mueller and Wallace 1996;Hodson 1989;Graham and Welbourne 1999;Crosby 1982;Steel and Lovrich 1987;Keaveny and Inderrieden 2000;McDuff 2001). Women reported 7 The interaction term demonstrates a gender difference in the impact of pay on satisfaction.…”

“…that women are as satisfied with their jobs as men (Mueller and Wallace 1996;Hodson 1989;Graham and Welbourne 1999;Crosby 1982;Steel and Lovrich 1987;Keaveny and Inderrieden 2000;McDuff 2001). The disparity between objective job conditions and reported job satisfaction has been referred to as ''the paradox of the contented female worker'' (Crosby 1982).…”

Gender, Pay and Work Satisfaction at a UK University

“…Therefore these women compare their own pay with similarly low-paid women rather than with higher paid men. Satisfaction is therefore relative to expectations that depend on the work environment (Graham and Welbourne, 1999). The concept of relative income has also been discussed by Nguyen et al (2003).…”