Gender Wage and Productivity Differentials in the Portuguese Tourism Industry

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of gender wage inequal- ity in the Portuguese tourism industry. Relying on firm- level wage equations and production functions, gender wage and productivity differentials are estimated and then compared in order to infer whether observed gen- der disparities are justifiable on the grounds that women are relatively less productive than men, or instead dis- parities are due to gender wage discrimination. This ap- proach is applied to tourism industry data gathered in the matched employer-employee data set quadros de Pessoal (Employee Records). The main findings indicate that fe- male employees in the tourism industry in Portugal are less productive than their male colleagues and that gen- der differences in wages are fully explained by gender differences in productivity.