Does pay transparency affect the gender wage gap? Evidence from Austria

Arbeitspapier

We study the 2011 Austrian Pay Transparency Law, which requires firms above a size threshold to publish internal reports on the gender pay gap. Using an event-study design, we show that the policy had no discernible effects on male and female wages, thus leaving the gender wage gap unchanged. The effects are precisely estimated and we rule out that the policy narrowed the gender wage gap by more than 0.4 p.p.. Moreover, we do not find evidence for wage compression within establishments. We discuss several possible reasons why the reform did not reduce the gender wage gap.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 21-076

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Labor Economics Policies ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials ; Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy ; Labor Discrimination: Public Policy
• Subject: Gender Pay Gap ; Pay Transparency

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Gulyas, Andreas ; Seitz, Sebastian ; Sinha, Sourav
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/244405
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET