Gender wage gap : evidence from the Hellenic maritime sector 1995-2002

Abstract

Problem Statement: Gender wage gap has already been researched in the Hellenic (Greek) economy or within its public and private aggregate sectors, but, this was the first study ever done, especially for the maritime sector. Traditionally in Hellas, maritime industry income is the biggest one after tourism, while both industries covered approximately 30% of GDP or financed more than 35% of the trade balance deficit, during the last decade. We also investigated the correlation and dependence of wages (total, males, females) on attributes of the human capital theory, such as age, educational level and work experience. Approach: The data for the characteristics in question of the Hellenic maritime companies have been drawn from the European Structure of Earnings Surveys of 1995 and 2002 (Eurostat and National Statistical Service of Hellas). The statistical analysis comprised two steps; first, using summary statistics we described the relevant frequency distributions; second, the implemented non-parametric test-statistics (Mann-Whitney’s, Spearman’s rank correlation and 2-test of independence), answered the aforementioned questions, like, “is there any difference in the two populations?, e.g. male-hourly wage rate (HWR) against female-HWR, which is equivalent to “is there any gender pay gap?” or “what is the direction and the degree of linear relationship between, for instance, total HWR and the level of education?” or “are they independent of each other, e.g. males HWR and work experience?”. Results: The male-female wage distributions were not identical in 1995, so the discrimination was present, though, we did not find evidence of this gap in 2002. Hourly wage rate proved to be independent of educational level, while, dependent on work experience and age and for both latter characteristics, much more for females than for males. Conclusions/recommendations: The last results may explain the elimination of the gender pay gap at the end of the investigation period. Further research is needed so as to determine causal relationships.