Sociology of Economics http://lists.repec.org/mailman/listinfo/nep-sog Sociology of Economics 2026-03-09 Why Female Professors Earn Less: The Role of Retention Negotiations and Performance Bonuses https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18376&r=&r=sog How large is the gender pay gap among university professors, and how do institutional pay-setting mechanisms shape this disparity? This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the gender pay gap among professors at a renowned German university. Using detailed human resources data for the time span 2013 to 2021, we document a statistically significant conditional gender pay gap in professorial salaries of 5.2%, after controlling for employment characteristics, socio-demographics, performance measures, and faculty and year fixed effects. Our findings show that these differentials can be attributed mainly to lower returns from retention negotiations, which have a particularly strong impact during the earlier stages of academic careers. These results highlight the importance of pay system designs in promoting gender equity in academia. Cieply, Isea Barros, Laura Silbersdorff, Alexander Kneib, Thomas Kis-Katos, Krisztina gender pay gap, gender economics, wage differentials, wage negotiations, professorial salaries 2026-02 Women economists: progress and prospects https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:728&r=&r=sog Janet Henry, Clare Lombardelli and Almudena Sevilla discuss how the profession can do better Lia Bergin 2026-02-20