Measurement of gender inequalities in the French labour market using efficiency measures

Discrimination against females occurs at different stages of their career path. The wage gap is apparent at the top (glass ceiling) as well as at the bottom (sticky floor) of wage distribution. Using labour survey data from France, this paper investigates the existence of gender pay gaps that reflect the notions of “glass ceiling” and “sticky floor” using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Index (MI) measured in output and input. Furthermore, a complete measure of the gender pay gap is proposed with a pseudo Hicks-Moorsteen Index (HMI). The analysis is replicated to different economic activities and occupations. The results reveal the existence of glass ceilings and sticky floors in almost all economic sectors and occupations.