CEO COMPENSATION AND GENDER PAY GAP

In this paper we study the gender pay gap among top executives of 2,043 public companies listed on the different stock exchanges in the United States.First, we not only find that there is a significant relationship between total compensation and the gender of the CEO, but also that male executives earn more than double the salary of women, but generate lower returns for the corporation.Secondly, we focus on the bonuses granted to CEOs, because it is an instrument that is used to incentivize senior executives to generate value for shareholders; In this case we find that for every $1 that a woman receives, the male CEO receives $1.89, but women are more efficient in achieving better returns for the company.That is, for every dollar invested by shareholders, female executives achieve approximately 70% more profitability than their male peers.As for base salary, for every dollar received by female executives, men receive $1.27.Finally, we conclude that there is a gender pay gap.