Nursing Gender Pay Differentials in the New Millennium

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Sociology of Occupations
• Gender Studies

Background:

• The gender pay gap persists in the U.S., with men often earning more in male-dominated fields compared to female-dominated ones.
• Evidence suggests gender-based pay differences exist even within the same occupation.
• This disparity affects women across most professions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare gender wage disparities for registered nurses (RNs) against those for teachers, another female-dominated profession.
• To analyze these disparities while controlling for sociodemographic factors.
• To investigate the impact of gender on wages in two key female-dominated occupations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the American Community Survey (ACS), a large, representative U.S. sample.
• Analyzed data for self-identified RNs and primary/secondary school teachers from 2000 to 2013.
• Employed fixed-effects regression analysis to control for unobserved heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• Greater gender pay disparity observed in nursing compared to teaching.
• The wage return on additional education is significantly higher for teachers (21.7%) than for RNs (4.7%).
• Men appear to receive preferential wages in nursing to a greater extent than in teaching.

Conclusions:

• Findings indicate preferential wage treatment for men in nursing, exceeding that observed in teaching.
• The study underscores significant gender-based wage gaps in these professions.
• These disparities may indirectly reflect resource misallocation affecting patient care.