Working for the Woman? Female Managers and the Gender Wage Gap

Most previous research on gender inequality and management has been concerned with the question of access to managerial jobs and the "glass ceiling." We offer the first large-scale analysis that turns this question around, asking whether the gender characteristics of managers-specifically,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American sociological review 2007-10, Vol.72 (5), p.681-704
Main Authors: Cohen, Philip N., Huffman, Matt L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blue Collar Occupations
Censuses
Data collection
Empirical research
Employee promotions
Employers
Employment discrimination
Equal pay
Females
Gender
Gender differentiation
Gender Discrimination
Gender equity
Gender inequality
Gender pay gap
Gender roles
Income inequalities
Income Inequality
Industrial market
Industry
Inequality
Labor market
Labor markets
Learning
Linear analysis
Management
Managerial Occupations
Managers
Men
Occupations
Professional Women
R&D
Representation
Research & development
Restaurant industry
Sexual Inequality
Social interaction
Social research
Sociology
Sociology of work
Sociology of work and sociology of organizations
Studies
Subordinates
Supervisors
Wage differential
Wage differentials
Wages
Wages & salaries
Women
Women's work
Working population. Employment. Women's work
Working Women
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Summary:Most previous research on gender inequality and management has been concerned with the question of access to managerial jobs and the "glass ceiling." We offer the first large-scale analysis that turns this question around, asking whether the gender characteristics of managers-specifically, the gender composition and relative status of female managers-affect inequality for the nonmanagerial workers beneath them. Results from three-level hierarchical linear models, estimated on a unique nested data set drawn from the 2000 Census, suggest that greater representation of women in management does narrow the gender wage gap. Model predictions show, however, that the presence of high-status female managers has a much larger impact on gender wage inequality. We conclude that the promotion of women into management positions may benefit all women, but only if female managers reach relatively high-status positions.
ISSN:0003-1224
1939-8271
DOI:10.1177/000312240707200502