The Gender Wage Gap Among University Vice Chancellors in the UK

Using linked employer-employee data over two decades we examine the gap among university Vice Chancellors who are among the most highly paid employees in the UK. Traditionally dominated by men the occupation has experienced a recent influx of women. The gender wage gap of 12 log points in the first decade of the 21st Century closed markedly during the second decade, becoming statistically non-significant in later years. The closure in the gap is accounted for by change in the observed attributes of male and female Vice Chancellors and the universities they lead. A “new starter” wage penalty women faced in the early 2000s disappeared. Similarly, in the first decade women received a lower wage when replacing an outgoing male Vice Chancellor, whereas no differential was apparent between incoming male Vice Chancellors and the women they replaced. This differential was no longer apparent after 2010.