Can non-cognitive skills explain the gender wage gap in Russia? An unconditional quantile regression approach

Purpose This article disentangles the complex relationship between non-cognitive skills and the gender wage gap across wage distribution. Design/methodology/approach Re-centred Influence Function regressions and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition for 10th, 50th and 90th percentile of the wage distribution are applied. Data are collected from a nationally representative Russian survey RLMS-HSE and include detailed information on individuals aged 20–60. We use the Big Five factor model, locus of control and attitudes towards risk to represent non-cognitive skills. Findings Our findings suggest that non-cognitive skills explain from 2.0 to 8.1 per cent of the gender wage gap, although significant variation is observed with different measures of personality and across the wage distribution. They are especially significant for the upper part of the wage distribution. However, even after the inclusion of personality, a large fraction of the gap remains unexplained. Originality/value This article explores the contribution of non-cognitive skills to various labour market outcomes. In particular, it adds to the limited literature dedicated to the effect of non-cognitive skills on the gender gap across wage distribution, which is primarily focused on high-income Western countries.