Addressing gender equity in nonfaculty salaries

While over one hundred studies have been conducted at both the institutiona l and national levels to determine if male and female faculty receive diffe rent levels of pay, there are very few published studies that have addresse d similar gender equity concerns for other groups of academic employees. Th is research illustrates ways in which gender equity studies can be performe d on noninstructional employees such as operating staff (OS) and profession al/administrative staff (PAS) in higher education. The article addresses th e selection of variables for inclusion in the multiple regression model, th e alternative approaches for measuring the unexplained wage gap, and the me thods that could be utilized for adjusting women's salaries when inequities are found to exist. To illustrate these concepts, data on the operating an d professional/administrative staff at one institution are analyzed. It is found that experience and market differences account for about eighty perce nt of the pay difference between male and female professional/administrativ e staff and half of the pay difference for operating staff, and that the co st of adjusting women's salaries varies significantly across methods.