Labor force attachment, college majors, and the gender earnings gap

Workplace stratification research has been clear regarding ongoing earnings inequalities by gender and how both family dynamics and long-term employment may be playing a role. Gender gaps in both earnings and labor force integration, however, may also be partially shaped by divergences in post-secondary educational backgrounds. In this article, we draw on NLSY97 data and interrogate gender wage inequalities among college educated individuals in the U.S., how they may be tied to distinct fields of study, and the implications especially for labor force attachment and detachment over time. Results show clear divergences and significant contemporary baccalaureate underrepresentation of women in STEM fields—i.e., fields where eventual labor force attachment and wages tend to be highest. Although well-represented among non-STEM degree holders, women’s wage returns to these degrees are depressed relative to their male counterparts; a pattern partly tied to women’s concentration in “applied” fields of study that tend to lead to care-centered forms of employment. Further analyses show how observable earnings gaps across majors are partly a consequence of differences in labor force attachment across time; and that earnings benefits associated with labor force attachment are nearly double for men than for women. We conclude by discussing the stratified gender pipeline in educational pathways, its implications for employment integration and, consequently, ongoing earnings gaps.