Organising against inequality: wage gaps and workplace unionisation among high-skilled male and female migrants

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the migrant wage gap and the gendered differences at both within-workplace and within-job level, as well as the effect unionization has on this wage gap. Design/methodology/approach Using register data, we use regression analysis to identify within-workplace and within-job wage differences. Findings Taking Denmark – a country renowned for equality, solidarity, and strong labour market institutions – as our context, we demonstrate that substantial wage gaps persist between high-skilled migrants and natives both within workplaces and jobs. We also show that the magnitude of migrant wage gaps varies substantially across workplaces but that these inequalities are significantly less pronounced in highly unionized workplaces. Furthermore, the migrant wage gap among male workers is substantially larger at the workplace level, however larger for women at the within-job level. Our findings suggest that unionization at the workplace level offers a durable strategy for redressing inequality. Originality/value With the analysis of uniquely detailed register data, we have a unique possibility to elaborate on the gendered differences in unionization and how organizing against inequality (i.e. unionization) influences the extent of workplace-level inequalities in wage gaps. The contrast between the between- and within-job gaps further suggests that the mechanisms producing wage gaps are very different for men and women: Male workers from non-Western countries would benefit mostly from human resource policies that address inequalities in labour market segregation, whereas female workers from non-Western countries would benefit most from workplace human resource policies that address equal pay for equal work.