The Gender Pay Gap on YouTube: Unpacking Gender Inequality in Creator Earnings

• In Event: 50220 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Technology and Platform Work

Abstract

Despite improvements in pay equity between men and women in recent decades, the gender pay gap (GPG) persists. Research suggests several explanations for these differences: occupational segregation (Busch, 2020), job position in the life course (Meara et al., 2020), and workforce interruptions (Blau & Kahn, 2017). We know, however, little about the extent of and the mechanisms contributing to the GPG in the digital sphere, particularly regarding the new group of algorithm-dependent occupations on digital platforms.
Evidence suggests that the GPG for digital work on some platforms (e.g., Instagram, Uber) is smaller than in many established ”offline” occupations but cannot fully be mitigated through increased job flexibility or algorithmic curation (Cook et al., 2020; Gaenssle, 2024). However, there has been no systematic GPG study among content creators (CCs) on YouTube. This paper fills this gap by answering the following research question: Is there a GPG among content creators on YouTube across topics? What are the decisive factors enforcing or diminishing the GPG on that platform?
The study employs the Duncan-Duncan segregation index, multivariate regressions, and matching analyses (Meara et al., 2020). Empirically, we use a random sample of N=800 active CCs from German-speaking countries and add socio-structural characteristics using a standardized classification survey. The average monthly earnings from the YouTube Partner Program is our dependent variable. First results show a strong inequality of earnings on YouTube (Gini: 86,6). Regression analysis indicates a GPG, but favorable earnings of women in topics like gaming.

Authors

• Sarah Weissmann, University Potsdam

• Aaron Philipp, University of Potsdam

• Roland Verwiebe

• Chiara Osorio Krauter, Humboldt University of Berlin