Why Female Employees Do Not Earn More under a Female Manager: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

Previous studies found contradictory results on whether women benefit in terms of earnings from having a female manager. This mixed-method study draws on survey data from the Netherlands to determine whether female employees have higher wages if they work under a female manager and combines these with data from interviews with Dutch female managers to interpret and contextualize its findings. The survey data show that having a female manager does not affect the wages of female (or male) employees in the Netherlands. The interviews revealed different ways in which managers can improve outcomes for female employees and suggest several reasons as to why some female managers experience a lack of motivation to enhance female employees’ earnings. This detailed focus on mechanisms that underlie female managers position to act as ‘cogs in the machine’ emphasizes the importance of incorporating context and looking at outcomes other than earnings in future research.