Women Directors, Critical Mass and Gender Wage Gap. Evidence for Spain

Despite the massive incorporation of woman to labor market, this process is still unequal, and the incorporation of women to responsibility positions is still a below the desired level. In this paper we analyze the influence of gender diversity in executive positions over gender wage discrimination. We assume that companies with higher gender diversity among senior management positions will be more likely to develop gender equality policies and will show less gender discrimination. We apply Oaxaca-Blinder and quantile regression techniques using the Spanish wage structure survey. The results obtained suggest that a higher participation of women in management positions do not reduce gender wage, but it is related to lower wage discrimination in non-management positions.