A Glass Escalator for Female UVA Graduates? Gender Gaps Across the Starting Salary Distribution

摘要

The gender pay gap in the United States substantially narrowed beginning in the 1950s (Blau and Kahn, Journal of Economic Literature, 2017), driven in part by increases in women's college attendance (Goldin et al., Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2006). However, gender differences in the skills that students developed during college failed to converge after the 1980s (Turner and Bowen, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 1999). Progress in closing the gender pay gap also slowed, suggesting an important link between gender differences in schooling content and earnings. This study examined the impact of gender differences in educational investments on gender differences in career outcomes for graduates of a public flagship university, the most prominent public university in a given state. Using Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition models and unconditional-quantile-decomposition methods on new self-reported data from the University of Virginia, the gender pay gap was analyzed across the starting salary distribution. Applying quantile-decomposition methods in addition to standard Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition models permitted identification of a potential glass ceiling experienced by female graduates. Glass ceilings are likely to be a concern for graduates of selective universities, many of whom graduate with very high earnings potential. As such, this study provides important insight into the pre-market human capital specialization and subsequent labor market treatment of highly qualified female college graduates.