Despite various international initiatives and legal measures aimed at ensuring gender equality, disparities in labor force participation rates and wages between men and women persist globally. This study utilizes the Recentered Influence Function (RIFs) decomposition method proposed by Firpo et al. (2007) to analyze the structural and wage structure effects contributing to Taiwan’s gender wage gap from 1982 to 2022. The research investigates whether the disparity is due to differences in individual characteristics or societal discrimination and assesses the relative impact of these effects on wage inequality. The findings reveal that the wage gap is primarily driven by the price effect, indicating the persistence of social discrimination. Interestingly, the composition effect at lower wage levels helps improve female wages. Additionally, marriage significantly influences the price effect, with married men earning higher wages, possibly due to bias or preference in the workplace. Meanwhile, family-related factors positively correlate with the composition effect, especially at lower wage levels, highlighting that women face, more significant wage penalties as they bear more family responsibilities, leading to lower earnings compared to their male counterparts in similar wage percentiles. These results align with the studies of Goldin (1988, 1994).
Sheng-Tung et al. (Thu,) studied this question.