The gender gap in wages over the life course: Evidence from a British cohort born in 1958

We trace the gender wage gap (GWG) though a mid‐life peak for a cohort born in Britain in 1958 (National Child Development Study) to quantify their life‐course experience of equal and unequal opportunities. Taking hourly pay of full‐timers and part‐timers together, an initial gap between men and women widened substantially during childrearing years. Much, but not all, of the GWG is attributable to divergent work experience, especially in mid‐life. Education‐related differences are minor. Family formation primarily affects the GWG through gender differences in work experience. Family composition is similar for male and female workers, but it attracts opposite wage premia. The GWG, however, is not only linked to family formation. There is a sizeable GWG on labor market entry and there are some otherwise unexplained gaps between the pay of men and women who had not (and did not) become parents, belying the notion that unequal wage treatment is confined to parents.