Gender stereotyping and wage discrimination among Italian graduates

8
explained by differences in average observed characteristics. The remaining 88% of the gender gap
is attributable to gender differences in unobserved characteristics⁷.

3 - Gender pay gap versus other differences in pay between groups

We ask first whether our data are too poor to explain wage differences arising among heterogeneous
individuals since the early years after graduation. So we try to check the adequacy of the data to
explain the differences in wages other than the gender pay gap.

Tab. 4 - Gender pay gap versus other differences in pay between groups

Table 4 presents the gender pay gap and other differences in pay between groups separating the
differential explained by observable characteristics from the residual unexplained reflecting the
different returns to the same characteristics. The comparison between several types of wage
differentials shows that the gender wage gap is of substantial amount and by far the most
unexplained among the above considered groups.

In the literature, the factor most commonly cited to explain the gender pay gap is the impact of
motherhood and the uneven division of domestic responsibilities on women lifetime earnings
profile (Eurostat 2009, p. 7). For example, more women than men tend to match to part-time jobs
that have lower returns and less training opportunities due to coping with childbirth and care. These
differences in labour market choices make women to accumulate lower work experience compared
to men and therefore to have lower earnings. But in our sample we only consider individuals

⁷ - Castagnetti and Rosti (2009) find very similar results using a different data set and Castagnetti and Rosti (2010) find
very similar results running a slightly different methodology. Rustichelli (2010) finds a gender pay gap in employees
hourly earnings of 7% using data from ISFOL-GPG 2007 survey (13,9% for the sample of graduates).

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