The Impact of Technological Progress on the Gender Wage Gap

Abstract

Technological advancements not only enhance the income levels of workers but also modify the gender wage disparity. Utilizing the "task-based model" and the "brain-muscle dual-factor model," this analysis investigates the implications of technological advancements on the gender gap, employing micro-econometric methods to examine variables associated with wage and income performance differentials attributable to gender. Through the efficient allocation of resources, technological progress has reduced the relative cost of manual labor while elevating the worth of cognitive labor, thereby transforming the traditional labor market that has been predominantly manual labor-oriented. In this context, women, leveraging their strengths in communication, coordination, and focus, demonstrate a greater adaptability to the demands of cognitive work, resulting in enhanced competitiveness within the labor market. By aligning the regional level of technological advancement (specifically at the prefecture-level city) with the mixed micro-individual cross-sectional data from the CFPS database for the years 2018 and 2020, the findings reveal several key insights: a notable wage disparity persists between male and female workers throughout the sample period; the impact of technological progress significantly boosts wage growth among laborers, particularly benefiting female workers, which suggests a reduction in the gender wage gap; female laborers in rural areas experience more pronounced positive incentives regarding wage income compared to their urban counterparts; and, in geographical comparisons, women in the central region receive more substantial positive incentives in wage income relative to those in the eastern and western regions. Consequently, it is imperative for each region to expedite technological advancement, refine the employment structure for women, and foster technological progress to mitigate the gender wage gap.