The gender pay gap is often attributed to broad differences in education, experience, or career choices. However, even when men and women hold the same positions within the same firm, a pay gap often persists. Our recent study identifies a critical, yet often overlooked driver of this inequality: the specific rules governing wage bargaining.
Organizations and researchers have rightly examined the roles of gender and race in career disparities within elite occupations. But there is a glaring omission: class. Why? There is a common assumption that once someone attends an elite college or receives an elite job, the effects of class are effectively “washed out” and cease to matter. We challenge this assumption in our recent paper.
Picture a marketing professional drafting ad copy with a chatbot, an IT support specialist troubleshooting user issues, or a teacher spotting AI-generated student homework. Two years after ChatGPT’s launch, generative AI has rapidly become part of white-collar work. Yet for adopters, the data show no differential changes in earnings or hours.
Women earn less than men even when they hold the same job in the same workplace. In Sweden – one of the most gender-equal countries in the world – women in the private sector earn 8% less per hour than male colleagues in the same workplace and occupation. This gap grows the longer they stay in the job: it widens by 2 percentage points over five years. What drives this pattern?
Hay fever, or seasonal allergies, affects more than 400 million people worldwide. During pollen season, sufferers face sneezing, itchy eyes, and daytime sleepiness. Most consider it a minor nuisance. Could these effects be causing real accidents—and serious economic losses?
Germany’s collective bargaining system has long been a cornerstone of fair wages and stable labor relations. But its reach has weakened—and not evenly. Our study shows that while collective agreements still shape wages for many workers, coverage has declined over time and is particularly low among low-wage workers.
