Pay differences among the highly trained: Cohort differences in the sex gap in lawyers' earnings

Using unique data from a survey of University of Michigan LawSchool graduates, we test various models of how sex differences in pay, labor supply and iob settings should have evolved as women entered the elite male field of law. We compare the sex gap in earnings 15 years after graduation for two cohorts of lawyers andfind that it has remained constant over time. In both cohorts, men earn 52 percent more than women, 17percent more than women with similar characteristics, and 11 percent more than women with similar characteristics in the samejob settings. Sex differences in hours worked have increased over time and explain more of the sex-based earnings gap, while sex differences in job settings and years spent in private practice have declined and explain less of the gap.