Effect of Comparable Worth Policies on Earnings

The initial impact of comparable worth legislation on male and female earnings is estimated using five public sector comparable worth studies. We find that women would earn an average 17 per cent more if a comparable worth policy were implemented and men would earn an average 1 per cent more. In addition, about half of the earnings gap between women and men in the sample jurisdictions would be eliminated. We also discuss the limitations of previous analyses by examining Aldrich and Buchele's recent empirical work.