Markets in Hierarchies: Organizational and Market Influences on Gender Inequality in a State Pay System

Bridges, William P.; Nelson, Robert L.

doi:10.1086/229328

Cited by 87 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…However, as the selectivity corrected estimates for the public sector mirror the estimates obtained without a correction for selection effects, caution needs to be exercised in drawing this conclusion. Differences between males and females in the methods of pay setting across the public sector wage distribution are a further possible explanation (see Bridges and Nelson 1989), although confirming this will require alternative and richer data than the census data used in the current study.…”

Section: Aggregate-level Analysismentioning

confidence: 61%

The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Does Sector Make a Difference?

Miller

2008

J Labor Res

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Section: Aggregate-level Analysismentioning

confidence: 61%

The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Does Sector Make a Difference?

Miller

2008

J Labor Res

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“…Except in studies that have examined the role of the state (e.g., Bridges and Nelson 1989), the specific mechanisms that link the internal mobility of individuals to the external context within which the employer is embedded is less developed (Jacobs 1989). We address this gap by exploring whether constituencies controlling key resources may pressure organizations to reduce gender inequality.…”

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confidence: 99%

Interorganizational Determinants of Promotion: Client Leadership and the Attainment of Women Attorneys

2005

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S ince Baron and Bielby's (1980) call to engage more directly the role of organizations in stratification processes, an informative and compelling set of research has improved our understanding of how organizations affect individual attainment (see Kerckhoff 1995 for a review). One of the principal areas of research within this vein has been the mobility of women within organizations (e.g., Baron, Mittman, and Newman 1991;Cohen, Broschak, and Haveman 1998). Through work that has emphasized both individual ascriptive differences and structural bases of mobility and inequality (Rosenbaum 1984;Chase 1991;Blair-Loy 1999), a wealth of insight has been produced on the relationship between organizations and the attainment of women.The attainment of women is linked to a number of organizational and institutional factors. Many past studies examine factors internal to the employer (e.g., size, hierarchical structure, the use of job titles, demographic composition). Other research incorporates the environment of employers and often conceptualizes the environment abstractly in terms of market or institutional pressures (Edelman 1992; DiPrete and Explanations of gender inequality typically emphasize individual characteristics, the structure of internal labor markets, or pressures from the institutional environment. Extending the structuralist and institutional perspectives, this article argues that the demographic composition of an organization's exchange partners can influence the demographic composition of the focal organization when the focal organization is dependent upon its partners. Specifically, law firms with women-led corporate clients increase the number of partners who are women attorneys. Data on elite law firms and their publicly traded clients support a bargaining power hypothesis whereby law firms promote women attorneys when their corporate clients have women in three key leadership positions: general (legal) counsel, chief executive officer, and board director. These effects are stronger when the law firm has few clients, reinforcing the hypothesis that interorganizational influence is more vital when a focal organization is dependent on its exchange partner. The results also support a related explanation based on homophily theory. The analysis rules out several alternative explanations and establishes a relationship between the presence of women-led clients and the promotion of women attorneys in law firms.

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“…(Bielby 1987). Bridges (1989) (Bridges and Villemez 1986, Boxman, De Graaf, and Flap 1991, Simon and Warner 1992 and chances for upward mobility (Burt 1995). Social networks in work organizations also offer informal support systems (Blau, Ferber, and Winkler 1998) that in turn may enhance employees' reward opportunities.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Inequality. Unequal Access to Organizational Power and the Gender Wage Gap

Hultin

Szulkin

2003

European Sociological Review

116

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In this paper, it is argued that women's limited access to organizational power structures is a constituent part of the explanation of gender wage inequality. Multi-level analyses conducted on a comprehensive Swedish data set combining information on a large number of private sector employers and all their employees confirm that establishments' gender wage gaps are wider the stronger the male representation among organizational decision-makers, net of individuals' human capital and various organizational features relevant for wage setting. Theoretical explanations focus on gender unequal outcomes of i) general rules and policies decided at higher organizational levels, and ii) everyday decision-making and daily interaction between superiors and their subordinates. On basis of the empirical results, we conclude that gender wage inequality is to a substantial degree driven by everyday decision-making in organizations. It seems as if close supervisors' decisions and suggestions about wage rates, promotions, internal training et cetera are to some extent based on personal preferences, l oyalties, and contacts that are not gender neutral.

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Markets in Hierarchies: Organizational and Market Influences on Gender Inequality in a State Pay System

Cited by 87 publications

References 11 publications

The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Does Sector Make a Difference?

The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Does Sector Make a Difference?

Interorganizational Determinants of Promotion: Client Leadership and the Attainment of Women Attorneys

Mechanisms of Inequality. Unequal Access to Organizational Power and the Gender Wage Gap

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