Supplementary Data for: Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, “The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations”, Journal of Economic Literature , 55 ,3 (Sept 2017): 789-865

<span>Using PSID microdata over the 1980-2010, we provide new empirical evidence
on the extent of and trends in the gender wage gap, which declined considerably
over this period. By 2010, conventional
human capital variables taken together explained little of the gender wage gap,
while gender differences in occupation and industry continued to be
important. Moreover, the gender pay gap declined
much more slowly at the top of the wage distribution that at the middle or the
bottom and by 2010 was noticeably higher at the top. We then survey the literature to identify what
has been learned about the explanations for the gap. We conclude that many of the traditional
explanations continue to have salience. Although
human capital factors are now relatively unimportant in the aggregate, women’s work
force interruptions and shorter hours remain significant in high skilled
occupations, possibly due to compensating differentials. Gender differences in occupations and
industries, as well as differences in gender roles and the gender division of
labor remain important, and research based on experimental evidence strongly suggests
that discrimination cannot be discounted. Psychological attributes or noncognitive
skills comprise one of the newer explanations for gender differences in
outcomes. Our effort to assess the quantitative
evidence on the importance of these factors suggests that they account for a
small to moderate portion of the gender pay gap, considerably smaller than say
occupation and industry effects, though they appear to modestly contribute to
these differences. </span>