The Human Capital Model or Location! Location! Location!? The Gender-Based Wage Gap in the Federal Civil Service

Theoretically, the human capital variables, education and experience, and occupations for which women and men qualify explain the gender-based wage gap in the federal civil service. Are remaining gender-based wage differences eliminated when agencies and geographic locations where federal civil servants work are controlled? This analysis of Office of Personnel Management records for nearly two million employees working for the federal civil service reflects improvements in federal women’s status when compared to earlier studies, shows consistency in the gender-based wage gap when work places are closely examined, and lends support to the Human Capital Model. Cultural changes, and post-1972 public policy implementation and enforcement changes seem to have complemented the Human Capital Model.