ABSTRACT. Currently women in Mississippi who work full-time earn approximately 27% less than men who work full-time. The purpose of this study is to determine how much of Mississippi’s wage gap can be attributed to measurable factors such as education and choice of occupation. The study also discusses some of the possible reasons a wage gap still persists after these measureable factors are taken into consideration. Using a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, this study finds a wage gap of approximately 18% in Mississippi after taking measurable factors into account. The factors taken into consideration include industry, occupation, education, age and race. A portion of the 18% wage gap that remains may be due to discrimination, however there are other unmeasurable factors that may cause a portion of the 18% wage gap as well.

Keywords: gender pay gap; gender discrimination; wage inequality; Mississippi

How to cite: Collins, Sondra (2017). “How Well Can the Gender Pay Gap in Mississippi Be Explained?,” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 7(2): 27–38.

Received 11 April 2017 • Received in revised form 8 July 2017
Accepted 9 July 2017 • Available online 27 July 2017

doi:10.22381/JRGS7220172