Outside Offers and the Gender Pay Gap: Empirical Evidence from the UK Academic Labour Market

Abstract

Using a unique data source on academic economist labour market experiences, we explore gender, pay and promotions. In addition to earnings and productivity measures, we have information on outside offers and perceptions of discrimination. We find both a gender promotions gap and a within-rank gender pay gap. A driving factor may be outside offers: men receive more outside offers than women of comparable characteristics, and gain higher pay increases in response. This may arise due to discrimination. We find that perceptions of discrimination and also outside job applications correlate with an individual receiving earnings below that expected, given their characteristics.In contrast to junior women, many tenured women faculty feel marginalized and excluded from a significant role in their departments. Marginalization increases as women progress through their careers at MIT. Examination of data revealed that marginalization was often accompanied by differences in salary, space, awards, resources, and response to outside offers between men and women faculty with women receiving less despite professional accomplishments equal to those of their male colleagues. A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT, (MIT 1999).A number of recent studies have investigated gender, promotions and pay in the academic labour market. McDowell et al. (1999McDowell et al. ( , 2001 look at US academic economists and find that women have been disadvantaged in promotions, although the effect seems to be diminishing over time. Hayes (1999, 2003) examine salaries of US humanities academics and find a gender gap, although they conclude that this is explained by rank rather than within-rank differentials. Ward (2001) looks at Scottish academic salaries (across disciplines)

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