Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors

TLDR

The study examines how career trajectories of top US business school MBAs differ by gender. Male MBAs earn almost 60 log points more than female MBAs a decade after graduation, a gap driven by differences in pre‑MBA training, career interruptions, weekly hours, and motherhood‑related discontinuity. JEL codes: J16, J22, J31, J44.

Abstract

The careers of MBAs from a top US business school are studied to understand how career dynamics differ by gender. Although male and female MBAs have nearly identical earnings at the outset of their careers, their earnings soon diverge, with the male earnings advantage reaching almost 60 log points a decade after MBA completion. Three proximate factors account for the large and rising gender gap in earnings: differences in training prior to MBA graduation, differences in career interruptions, and differences in weekly hours. The greater career discontinuity and shorter work hours for female MBAs are largely associated with motherhood. (JEL J16, J22, J31, J44)