Tim Worstall

That European Gender Pay Gap

How wonderful, the European Union has decided to get to grips with the gender pay gap across the continent:

  Women are paid less even though they are better educated on average, as almost 60 percent of university graduates are female.

Really? Women are on average better educated? 60% of all graduates are female? I realy never knew both of those facts.

What I did know was that in the younger generation the majority of graduates are female: but that this has not in fact yet spread through the whole society: for women a generation ago were rather less likely to go to university than the men were.

I’m also aware that there is no (or only a tiny) gender pay gap in that younger generation: while there’s quite a large one in the older ones.

I do wonder if the two things are connected?

In

7 responses

  1. Mark Wadsworth Avatar
    Mark Wadsworth

    “I really never knew both of those facts”
    shouldn’t that be “either”?
    Tim adds: Probably.

    Reply
  2. gene berman Avatar
    gene berman

    It should be neither “both” nor “either,” as in “I really never knew those facts.” Less is more better.

    Reply
  3. Jackart Avatar
    Jackart

    As everyone gets more and more degrees, education and the “qualifications” received become less and less meaningful. In direct correlation.
    Thus women get the degrees which do not increase life-time earning and are surprised when men, with a 3-year head start in the workplace and no risk of lengthy maternity absences get the plum jobs.

    Reply
  4. Bruce G Charlton Avatar
    Bruce G Charlton

    *If* the so-called gender gap data really meant what the people who whitter on about them _think_ they mean (but of course they don’t) – then what is stopping greedy capitalist employers from replacing all men with equally good women and saving 40 percent on the wages, and such companies thereby growing bigger and faster than their competitors?
    The fact that this doesn’t strike the gender gap complainers is evidence that they lack even the most rudimentary understanding of economics.
    And this is, in fact, the case.

    Reply
  5. john b Avatar
    john b

    @ Jackart: the data doesn’t support you, since the graduate premium for women (i.e. the amount the average graduate earns in excess of the average worker, across all subjects) is higher than for men.
    http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/downloads/research-gradprem.pdf#page=7
    @ Bruce: you’re making too many ‘perfect market, perfect information, profit maximising’ assumptions. For example, if managers overall fail to appreciate the returns possible from employing more women and paying them more (e.g. if they value presenteeism over actual work done, which is clearly and obviously true across a wide range of high-, middle- and low-end roles), then fewer women will be employed than optimal.

    Reply
  6. Roger Thornhill Avatar
    Roger Thornhill

    Yes, this is more nonsensical stats.
    Women could be more likely to study lower earning degrees.
    I thought I was a curmudgeonly old scrote for saying that the degree is being devalued, but after the response from the Student audience in BBC’s Question Time the other week, I think they agree with me and the “grand-baby boomers” – kids of the baby boomers – are the ones out of step.

    Reply
  7. ad Avatar
    ad

    So what is the cause of the gender education gap?
    Why is one gap caused by sexism, and the other not?

    Reply

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