Texas A&M economics study: Women leaders paid 16% less than male counterparts

A new study from a Texas A&M economics professor found that men were paid 16% more when they were in leadership positions as compared to women is the exact same position.

Catherine Eckel is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University where she also directs the Behavioral Economics and Policy Program. She joined First News at Four to discuss her findings.

Eckel and her team used the Texas A&M behavioral economics lab to conduct an experiment that controlled for all other variables that are often used to explain the gender pay gap.

“We found that the women were just as successful at leading the team…but they were evaluated differently, and when the participants were given the opportunity to choose a ‘bonus’ for the leader, that bonus was 16% less for the female leaders than the male,” said Eckel.

See the full conversation with Eckel in the video player above. See her full study in the Related Documents.