The finance wage premium : Finnish evidence from a gender perspective

The growth in finance wages has contributed to the increase in top incomes over the last decades. The finance wage premium has been studied from various viewpoints in recent years, however, not from the gender perspective. Studies have shown that the gender wage gap tends to increase at top incomes. As finance wages are increasing and if the benefits of working in finance are mostly claimed by men, the overall gender wage gap will persist. Using Finnish registry data from 1990 to 2014, this paper shows that the finance wage premium differs considerably between men and women. Overall, the finance premium has increased over time. The premium of men is larger than that of women at all hierarchy levels. Women at manager and expert positions in finance get a premium, but not at clerical level. Men on the other hand receive a premium at all hierarchy levels. The negative female effect is larger at higher points of the wage distribution, indicative of a glass ceiling effect. For men, the premium has increased especially at the top of the wage distribution.