Prague Economic Papers 2021, 30(6):675-723 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.787

Gender Pay Gap in the Czech Republic - Its Evolution and Main Drivers

Drahomíra Zajíčková ORCID...a, Miroslav Zajíček ORCID...a
a Department of Law and Social Sciences, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

The study estimates the size of the gender pay gap (GPG) for the Czech Republic in the years 2006-2017 using data from the EU-SILC survey. The size of the GPG (and the related variables) remains relatively time-invariant with a statistically weak relation to the business cycle. Using the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we found out that the unexplained part of the GPG amounts to 50% of the whole GPG (on average) and only one third of the GPG is caused by an endowment effect or an interaction between the endowment effect and the coefficient effect. Selection bias plays a statistically insignificant role in terms of the GPG formation and explanation. Parenthood is the most important driver of the GPG. For parents, the GPG is about 30 percentage points higher than the one for non-parents. Women are able to narrow the GPG created by the effect of motherhood and reach original unexplained levels of approximately 15% after reaching the age of 50 and higher. Besides parenthood, there is no other demographic characteristic that has any substantial impact on the formation and persistence of the GPG. The GPG is most pronounced for the lowest- and the highest-earning quantiles, indicating the existence of a glass ceiling and a sticky floor on the Czech labour market.

Keywords: Gender, gender pay gap, parenthood, labour market, EU-SILC, quantile regression
JEL classification: D10, J24, J30

Received: December 20, 2020; Revised: July 9, 2021; Accepted: July 23, 2021; Prepublished online: November 25, 2021; Published: December 15, 2021  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Zajíčková, D., & Zajíček, M. (2021). Gender Pay Gap in the Czech Republic - Its Evolution and Main Drivers. Prague Economic Papers, 30(6), 675-723. doi: 10.18267/j.pep.787
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Balcar, J., Filipová, L., Machová, Z. (2012). Gender Wage Gap in the Czech Republic: First Descriptive Analysis Based on Survey 2011. Review of Economic Perspectives - Národohospodářský obzor, 12(3), 151-167, https://doi.org/10.2478/v10135-012-0007-5 Go to original source...
    2. Becker, G. (1981). A Treatise on the Family. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
    3. Becker, G. S. (1965). A Theory of the Allocation of Time. Economic Journal, 75(299), 493-517, https://doi.org/10.2307/2228949 Go to original source...
    4. Blinder, A. (1973). Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates. The Journal of Human Resources, 8(4), 436-455, https://doi.org/10.2307/144855 Go to original source...
    5. Boll, C., Leppin, J. S. (2015). Die geschlechtsspezifische Lohnlücke in Deutschland: Umfang, Ursachen und Interpretation. Wirtschaftsdienst, 95(4), 249-254, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10273-015-1814-y Go to original source...
    6. Boll, C., Leppin, J. S., Rossen, A., et al. (2016). Magnitude and Impact Factors of the Gender Pay Gap in EU Countries. Report Prepared for and Financed by the European Commission - Directorate-General for Justice, European Union (Hrsg.), Hamburg.
    7. Brainerd, E. (2000). Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 54(1), 138-162, https://doi.org/10.2307/2696036 Go to original source...
    8. Del Río, C., Gradín, C., Cantó, O. (2011). The Measurement of Gender Wage Discrimination: The Distributional Approach Revisited. The Journal of Economic Inequality, 9(1), 57-86, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-010-9130-7 Go to original source...
    9. Doeringer, P. B., Piore, M. J. (1971). Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis. Lexington, MA: Heath.
    10. Dohmen, T., Falk, A. (2010). You Get What You Pay For: Incentives and Selection in the Education System. The Economic Journal, 120(546), 256-271, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02376.x Go to original source...
    11. Donohue, J. J. (2007). Chapter 18 Antidiscrimination Law, in Polinsky, A. M., Shavell, S., eds., Handbook of Law and Economics, Volume 2. North Holland, pp. 1387-1472, https://doi.org/10.1016/s1574-0730(07)02018-X Go to original source...
    12. Filer, R. K., Jurajda, Š., Plánovský, J. (1999). Education and Wages in the Czech and Slovak Republics during Transition. Labour Economics, 6(4), 581-593, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-5371(99)00032-9 Go to original source...
    13. Gneezy, U., Niederle, M., Rustichini, A. (2003). Performance in Competitive Environments: Gender Differences. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(3), 1049-1074, https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530360698496 Go to original source...
    14. Ham, J., Svejnar, J., Terrell, K. (1995). The Czech and Slovak Labor Markets during the Transition, in Commander, S., Coricelli, F., eds., Unemployment. Restructuring, and the Labour Market in Eastern Europe and Russia. Washington DC: The World Bank, pp. 91-146.
    15. Heckman, J. J. (1979). Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error. Econometrica, 47(1), 153-163, https://doi.org/10.2307/1912352 Go to original source...
    16. Hedija, V. (2014). Gender Pay Gap in Different Sectors of Czech Economy. In 32nd International Conference Mathematical Methods in Economics, pp. 275-280.
    17. Hedija, V. (2017). Sector-specific Gender Pay Gap: Evidence from the European Union Countries. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 30(1), 1804-1819, https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2017.1392886 Go to original source...
    18. Hedija, V. (2018). Is the Rule of Law Significant for the Explanation of the Differences in the Gender Pay Gap? Prague Economic Papers, 27(6), 704-722, https://doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.684 Go to original source...
    19. Christofides, L. N., Polycarpou, A., Vrachimis, K. (2013). Gender Wage Gaps, 'Sticky Floors' and 'Glass Ceilings' in Europe. Labour Economics, 21, 86-102, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2013.01.003 Go to original source...
    20. Jurajda, Š. (2003). Gender Wage Gap and Segregation in Enterprises and the Public Sector in Late Transition Countries. Journal of Comparative Economics, 31(2), 199-222, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-5967(03)00040-4 Go to original source...
    21. Jurajda, Š. (2005). Gender Segregation and Wage Gap: An East-West Comparison. Journal of the European Economic Association, 3(2-3), 598-607, https://doi.org/10.1162/jeea.2005.3.2-3.598 Go to original source...
    22. Křížková, A., Penner, A. M., Petersen, T. (2008). Genderové nerovnosti v odměňování na stejné pracovní pozici: sociální vyloučení žen. Gender, rovné příležitosti, výzkum, 9(2), 55-67.
    23. Křížková, A., Pospíšilová, K., Maříková, H., et al. (2018). Rozdíly v odměňování žen a mužů v ČR. Pracoviště, zaměstnání, stejná práce a rozklad faktorů. Praha: Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí. ISBN 978-80-7421-162-1.
    24. Light, A., Ureta, M. (1995). Early-career Work Experience and Gender Wage Differentials. Journal of Labor Economics, 13(1), 121-154, https://doi.org/10.1086/298370 Go to original source...
    25. Mysíková, M. (2007). The Gender Wage Gap and its Determinants, in Večerník, J., ed., The Czech Labour Market: Changing Structures and Work Orientations. Sociologické studie / Sociological Studies 07:4. Praha: Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., pp. 55-68. ISBN 978-80-7330-132-3.
    26. Mysíková, M. (2012). Gender Wage Gap in the Czech Republic and Central European Countries. Prague Economic Papers, 21(3), 328-346, https://doi.org/10.18267/j.pep.427 Go to original source...
    27. Newell, A., Reilly, B. (2001). The Gender Pay Gap in the Transition from Communism: Some Empirical Evidence. Economic Systems, 25(4), 287-304, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0939-3625(01)00028-0 Go to original source...
    28. Niederle, M., Vesterlund, L. (2007). Why Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(3), 1067-1101, https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.122.3.1067 Go to original source...
    29. Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-female Wage Differentials in Urban Labour Markets. International Economic Review, 14(3), 693-709, https://doi.org/10.2307/2525981 Go to original source...
    30. Olivetti, C., Petrongolo, B. (2008). Unequal Pay or Unequal Employment? A Cross-Country Analysis of Gender Gaps. Journal of Labor Economics, 26(4), 621-654, https://doi.org/10.1086/589458 Go to original source...
    31. Pertold-Gebicka, B. (2019). Parental Leave Length and Mothers' Careers: What Can be Inferred from Occupational Allocation? Applied Economics, 52(9), 879-904, https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2019.1646870 Go to original source...
    32. Phelps, E. S. (1972). The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism. American Economic Review, 62(4), 659-661.
    33. Pytliková, M. (2015). Wage Differences Related to Motherhood and Children in the Family. CERGE-EI IDEA. Prague Study No. 11/2015.
    34. Večerník, J. (1995). Changing Earnings Distribution in the Czech Republic: Survey Evidence from 1988-1994. Economics of Transition, 3(3), 355-371, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0351.1995.tb00147.x Go to original source...
    35. Waldfogel, J. (1997). The Effect of Children on Women's Wages. American Sociological Review, 62(2), 209-217, https://doi.org/10.2307/2657300 Go to original source...
    36. Zajíčková, D., Zajíček, M. (2020). Mateřská sankce v České republice, její vývoj a zdroje. Politická ekonomie, 68(5), 569-604, https://doi.org/10.18267/j.polek.1292 Go to original source...
    37. Zajíčková, D., Zajíček, M., Rašticová, M. (2021). Does Anti-Discrimination Legislation Work? The Case of Motherhood Penalty in the Czech Republic. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 33(1), 25-45, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-020-09360-0 Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content