The Female Educator Tax: Documenting the Gendered Wage Gap in Public Education

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: All About the Money? New Perspectives on Teacher Compensation

Abstract

While wage gaps between women and men have been well documented, few studies have examined gaps in the field of public education in the United States. Using an individual-level dataset from Pennsylvania public schools (N = 124,000), we explore whether female educators are systematically paid less money than males. The authors specifically analyze salary trends of teachers, school leaders, and district leaders. We find that female teachers and school leaders earn significantly less salaries within than their male counterparts even when accounting for education, experience, school district context, and assignment. Surprisingly, results do not hold for district leaders, as salary differences are not significantly different from zero. Implications and calls for further research are discussed.

Authors

• James Sadler, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• James Samuel Carter, III, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill