Categorical Matching as an Organizational Condition for Gender Inequality in the Korean Labor Market

Abstract

This study investigated the role of a particular organizational mechanism called categorical matching—that is, the matching of a functional category (employment status) to a social category (gender) in organizations’ allocative processes. Using large-scale employer-employee matched data, we attempted to identify the organizational characteristics that are susceptible to categorical matching and the impacts of categorical matching on the gender wage gap. We found a significant association between the degree of categorical matching and the bargaining power of female workers net of the other organizational characteristics. Moreover, we found that the residual gender wage gap is larger in establishments that engage in more extensive categorical matching. Regardless of employment status, female workers experience greater wage penalties when they work in workplaces that match men to standard jobs and women to nonstandard jobs. These findings shed light on the importance of organizational processes in producing the gender wage gap and help explain the remarkably high gender wage gap in Korea.