Wage gap and education – a gender perspective

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to identify the relationship between the wage gap and the educational level of men and women. Design/methodology/approach: Desk research was conducted using secondary data (Statistics Poland) on wages for men and women, as well as data on college graduates by groups of education majors. Findings: A large number of women achieve higher education; additionally, there are more female graduates than male graduates in many groups of education majors, nevertheless the wage gap mainly affects women. Research limitations/implications: Limitations are mainly due to the fact that not all female graduates of the groups of education majors identified in the article enter the workforce according to their education. For this reason, comparing the percentage of female graduates of specific groups of education majors to data on the amount of the wage gap in the corresponding (groups of education majors) groups of major occupations can only be a preview. Practical implications: The conclusions of the analysis may be an incentive to introduce measures to help equalize opportunities in the labor market, which will normalize the problem of lower wages for women in relation to men (assuming a comparable level of education). Social implications: Awareness of the existence of the problem of wage discrimination affecting women may have an impact on the quality of their lives as well as the work, since wages are one of the most important motivational factors. The analyses included in the article may increase awareness of the high level of education of women in Poland. Originality/value: The article holistically shows the problem of wage discrimination against women in the Polish labor market and the fact that it is not caused by differences in education between men and women. The article shows the magnitude of the problem and how lack of knowledge on this subject may lead the society to draw misleading conclusions, thereby exacerbating gender inequality in the labor market and reinforcing existing gender stereotypes.