Equal pay behind the “Glass Door”? The gender gap in upper management in a male‐dominated industry

Abstract

The present paper explores the two components of the glass ceiling effect: promotion barriers for women to the executive sphere and a gender‐based differential in executive pay. The research setting is the British oil industry, which constitutes a male‐dominated sector. Analyzing both components separately, the results suggest that females are promoted more frequently to the executive ranks while they experience a pay bias compared to men. Thus, the analysis reveals that the glass ceiling is cracking in this gender‐imbalanced industry. Yet, pay discrimination still exists. However, within the narrow corridor of executives, the present study suggests that gender pay discrimination diminishes the higher one who climbs up the executive ladder. The latter finding raises the cynical question: How far up the hierarchy ladder does a woman need to climb to overcome gender‐based pay discrimination?