Abstract

Even though the gender wage gap has decreased in Germany over time, a sizable wage difference between women and men remains with an even higher wage gap among high-skilled individuals. A considerable part of the gender wage gap is attributed to the negotiation gap. Studies show that women tend to negotiate less than men do, and if they negotiate, they gain less from negotiating than men. The findings are similar, when the focus is solely on university graduates from the same university and field at the beginning of their careers. Since starting wages have a significant impact on the lifetime wage gap between men and women, eliminating the negotiation gap at the beginning of a career may decrease the gender wage gap over the lifetime.
In this project, I analyze the role of information on the negotiation behavior of women by implementing a randomized field experiment among master students. The study aims at eliminating gender differences in negotiation among master graduates on the labor market.