Employment protection and gender wage gap in Europe

Abstract

In this paper we investigate gender wage disparities in 25 EU countries before and after the crisis, focusing on the role employment protection legislation played in shaping the gap across the wage distribution. Results of quantile regressions reveal a remarkable cross-country diversity in the size of the gap and confirm the widespread existence of glass-ceiling effects. Stricter rules for temporary contracts mitigate the gender gap, especially at the top of the distribution; stronger protection for permanent workers is found to increase the gap at the bottom of the distribution and to decrease it at the middle and at the top.