462 Chapter 12experience than men, women should be paid
more than men. The fact that the pay gap per-
sists suggest discrimination is still operating.
Similarly, a cross-cultural study of 28 coun-
tries concluded that sex discrimination per-
sists because married men made more money
than married women in 26 of the countries
when age, number of children, education,
hours worked, and nature of occupation were
taken into consideration (Stickney & Konrad,
2007). That is, supply-side theory did not
account for the pay disparity.
One study in support of supply-side
theory involved 16,000 executives (Gayle,
Golan, & Miller, 2008). Over 14 years of follow-
up, women were found to be promoted at the
same rate as men when they had comparable
background characteristics and occupational
experience. However, females were more likely
than males to leave their jobs by taking time
off, retiring, or moving to another job, and this
difference in behavior contributed to the pay
disparity. When turnover history was statisti-
cally controlled along with other supply-side
variables, women were paid slightly more than
men. The reasons that more women than men
left their jobs are not known. It could be the
case that characteristics of women and/or their
family situations were associated with a higher
turnover rate, supporting supply-side theory,
or it could be that characteristics of the work
environment were associated with a higher
turnover rate, reflecting discrimination.
There are so many ways in which wom-
en’s and men’s situations may differ that it is
difficult to estimate all human capital charac-
teristics. It is easier to distinguish supply-side
theory from demand-side theory conceptu-
ally than empirically.Sex Segregation and Comparable Worth.
A primary reason for the pay disparity is that
work is segregated by sex. That is, womenand using annual salaries neglects the fact that
women work fewer weeks per year than men.
In 2009, among those employed full time,
men worked on average 40 hours per week
and women worked on average 35 hours per
week, with a 5-hour discrepancy consistent
across Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics
(U.S. Department of Labor, 2010d).
Different theories explain the wage gap.
Supply-side theory, or human capital the-
ory, emphasizes the difference characteristics
of workers that may contribute to the wage
gap (Dunn, 1996); thus, the focus is on the
person. Today, women and men tend to have
more similar job qualifications, such as edu-
cation and experience. The other explanation
for the wage gap is referred to asdemand-
side theory, or discrimination, which em-
phasizes the different ways women and men
are treated (Dunn, 1996); the focus here is on
the environment. The effects of discrimina-
tion are typically estimated by the propor-
tion of the wage gap that cannot be explained
by all the personal characteristics that distin-
guish women and men (i.e., supply-side the-
ory). Discrimination is difficult to estimate,
and its accuracy fully depends on whether all
other factors are taken into consideration.
In an analysis of three longitudinal
studies, the pay gap that spanned the years
1978 through 2000 was examined to dis-
entangle how much of the gap was due to
human capital and how much was due to
unequal treatment or discrimination (Joshi,
Makepeace, & Dolton, 2007). Because the pay
gap decreased over this period of time, people
assumed it was due to women’s greater edu-
cation, greater labor force participation, and
more equal opportunities—that is, changes in
human capital. However, education, experi-
ence, and other human capital factors do not
explain much of the pay gap. In fact, because
women today have more education and moreM12_HELG0185_04_SE_C12.indd 462 6/21/11 9:16 AM