The gender pay gap in Europe: an international comparison with matched employer-employee data

Abstract

This study examines the origin of the gender wage gap and of its cross-country heterogeneity using unique harmonized international matched employer-employee microdata for nine representative European countries. Evidence obtained uncovers that female segregation into low-paying workplaces is by and large an outstanding origin of both the gender pay gap in every European economy and of international differences in its magnitude. Empirical results also suggest that, in contrast with the findings of previous comparative studies, international disparities in global structures, and particularly in wage dispersion, are not major determinants of inter-country differences in the size of the gender wage gap. Finally, also of concern is that an important diversity exists both in the size of the gender wage gap and in its underlying causes across transitional new members of the European Union.