Date of Award
Spring 5-2019
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Accounting
First Advisor
Reginald Wilson
Advisor Department
Accounting
Abstract
Purpose: This study investigates whether political party association impacts the gender wage gap in the United States of America. This study is motivated by the minimal recent reduction in the gender wage gap, despite legislation presented to combat this problem. The study is also motivated by the impact of gender wage gap on females’ choice of major, which directly impacts the national economy.
Design/methodology/approach: Gender wage gap data is collected from 50 states and Washington D.C. for the year 2018 to examine whether political party association significantly impacts the gender wage gap. Mississippi is a proxy for the Republican party and New York is a proxy for the Democratic party. Regression analysis is used to examine this issue.
Findings: The empirical results reveal that political party association is positively and significantly associated with the gender wage gap.
Originality/value: This study is the first to identify a relationship between the gender wage gap and political party association. These findings confirm the hypothesis that state voting patterns are a strong indicator of a state’s gender wage gap. Based on these findings, it appears that the best option for Republican states to reduce the gender wage gap is to support equal pay legislation within the state.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Kelly, Audrey, "The Impact of State Political Party Association on the Gender Wage Gap" (2019). Honors Theses. 646.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/646