Y a-t-il vraiment discrimination salariale contre les femmes ?

Abstract

Trying to ascertain scientifically the existence and importance of gender-based salary discrimination runs into conceptual and technical difficulties, the implications of which are not always fully appreciated: depending on the approach used, our analysis of a large sample for Switzerland in 1997 concludes that there is significant discrimination against women; or that no discrimination can be detected; or that there is significant discrimination against...men. The approaches used are: direct general regression (for given attributes such as qualification levels, do salaries differ according to gender ?); inverse general regression (for a given salary level, do employers require different attributes, such as qualification levels, depending on gender ?); the Oaxaca-Blinder method (the effect of a given attribute - e.g. age or marital status - on salaries may differ depending on gender and one must therefore estimate and compare separate equations for women and for men); Heckman's correction (focusing on working persons only may give rise to a selection bias). Our general conclusion is agnostic : given the present state of techniques and knowledge, it is not (yet ?) possible to ascertain scientifically the existence of gender-based salary discrimination in Switzerland. This conclusion differs from that reached by pre-existing studies, which tended to underpin the existence of salary discrimination against women.gender-based salary discrimination; direct and inverse regressions; the Oaxaca-Blinder approach; Heckman's correction; Switzerland