The gap in wages between men and women has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years, accompanying the increase in women’s labor force participation. Understanding what determines this difference is no easy matter, since wages themselves are the outcome of a number of factors, each of which may differ for men and women. Most analyses of the gender gap focus on gender-specific issues such as differences in human capital or labor market discrimination. This article adds another dimension: wage structure – the prices offered by the labor market and the institutions that influence them. Wage structure contributes to our understanding of the wage gap, while bringing gender (and race) into the equation increases our understanding of the wage structure itself.
