Institutional Staff Salary Inequality: The Role of Institutional Type, Occupational Structure, and Labor Market Conditions

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Division J Poster Session: Organization, Management, and Leadership

Abstract

Current research neglects one glaring iteration of inequality within our institutions – the compensation of college and university staff members. Therefore, we evaluated the variation in non-instructional staff salaries and the factors that influence wage differences across institutions over time. We analyzed non-instructional staff salaries of 1,630 U.S. universities between 2012 and 2017, using t-tests, descriptive statistics, and multi-level regression models. Our results highlight the importance of institutional occupational structure and labor market conditions in understanding within institutional inequality in non-instructional staff salaries. This study takes us a step further in understanding non-instructional staff and pay inequity within institutions and across occupations, so that we can address the relevant stakeholders to revise institutional compensation policy to more equitably compensate staff members.

Authors

• Karley Riffe, Auburn University

• Sondra Nicole Barringer, Southern Methodist University