Personality and pay: do gender gaps in confidence explain gender gaps in wages? (original) (raw)

Gender Differences in Behavioral Traits and Labor Market Outcomes

The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy, 2017

Despite a policy push toward equality, substantial gender gaps in earnings and vertical gender segregation persist in the labor market. Studies point to gender-specific occupational sorting as one of the primary explanatory factors. But why do men and women sort into different careers? In this chapter, we document the evidence that suggests that gender differences along four behavioral traits may offer a plausible explanation. Specifically, the consensus in the literature is that women, on average, exhibit greater risk aversion, lower levels of competitiveness, and less desire to negotiate as compared to men. Gender differences in social preferences are less robust, but women appear to be more sensitive to social context and framing. Importantly, there is no conclusive evidence on whether these differences are inherent or societal for any of the individual traits, although most studies point to the latter.

The Role of Personality in Individual Differences in Yearly Earnings

We examined the role of personality in accounting for sex differences in yearly earnings among Australians (N =533). Men reported they earned modestly more money than women did, as did married and fully employed people, but these three factors did not interact. Narcissism, psychopathy, extraversion, conscientiousness, and limited neuroticism predicted self-reported higher earnings; associations that differed little by participant's sex, although a slight pattern suggests women may pay a higher pay penalty for neuroticism but benefit more from conscientiousness than men do. Narcissism and neuroticism mediated sex differences in self-reported income suggesting men who were more narcissistic and women who were less neurotic reported more yearly earnings. The results are discussed in terms of how individual differences may play a role in apparent sex differences in earnings.

The Gender Pay Gap: A Multi-Stage Model to Understanding Sex-Based Income Disparities

Intending to explore the Gender Pay Gap from a biological, personality & interest based perspective, the present investigation found significant differences between men & women across the Neuroticism (p = <0.0001) & Openness (p = 0.0025) dimensions, partially supporting previous research in which women score higher on these traits. Out of the 14.9% variance observed within gender pay disparities, this investigation accounted for 6.3% of it, displaying how it principally stemmed from differing vocational interests. Vocational interests were coded using the RIASEC model, which found significant differences between men & women across the Realistic (p = 0.0001), Artistic (p = 0.0365), Social (0.0002) and Conventional (p = 0.0001) dimensions; the first favouring men and the rest favouring women. No correlation was found between Big Five personality traits and earning prospects.