The gap between male and female pay in the Spanish tourism industry

Abstract

This paper analyzes wage differentials between male and female workers in the Spanish tourism industry, using a large, administratively matched employer-employee data set obtained from a representative sample of companies. This allows us to control for unobserved firm-specific factors likely to affect the magnitude of the gender wage gap. Our findings indicate that male workers earn on average 6.7% higher monthly wages than their socially comparable female counterparts. In particular, the type of contract held, the qualifications required for the job and the specific sub-sector of employment are very important variables in explaining this gender wage difference. We also find that only around 12% of the mean wage difference in the tourism industry cannot be explained by differences in observable characteristics, which is well below the average for the rest of the industries in Spain (87%). Our interpretation is that minimum wage legislation provides a particularly effective protection to women in the tourism industry, which is characterized by a large number of low-wage earners.

Tourism economics research: A review and assessment

“…In addition to the income effect which dominates economic impact analyses, the employment effect is another well established research area, dating back to the 1970s (e.g., Diamond, 1974Diamond, , 1977. The focus has shifted from the level of tourism employment, input-output analysis and the multiplier effect (Dwyer & Forsyth, 1998) to the quality and structure of employment (e.g., Sinclair, 1990Sinclair, , 1997, particularly the gender wage gap (e.g., Campos-Soria, Ortega-Aguaza, & Ropero-Garcia, 2009;Munoz-Bullon, 2009). These discussions provide useful policy implications in relation to poverty alleviation, labour immigration, and education (Riley & Szivas, 2009;Lillo-Bañuls & Casado-Diaz, 2010).…”

Gender differences in the hospitality industry: A Job quality index

“…In tourism, there are several studies that confirm this wage discrimination (i.e. ; García-Pozo et al, 2012;Muñoz-Bull on, 2009) and in addition, women are also underrepresented in the type of tourist businesses where remuneration is highest.…”

The regional wage gap in the Spanish hospitality sector based on a gender perspective

“…The empirical evidence suggests that the contribution of the discriminatory component in the tourism industry is less than in other economic activities (Delfin and Varejao, 2007;Muñoz-Bullón, 2009). Muñoz-Bullón (2009) suggests that the minimum wage legislation in Spain is particularly effective in protecting women in the tourism industry, as this legislation has a very strong impact on such low-wage industries. Personal characteristics increase the gender pay gap across all regions, except for the Community of Madrid.…”