Men's Pay Edge Over Women in Large Part from Using Job Offers for Raises
By Reuters | 19 Jul, 2026

The persistent gender wage gap is half driven by the greater willingness of men to use outside job opportunities as leverage to negotiate higher pay.

Office buildings are seen as the sun sets in Frankfurt, Germany, November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Men are more likely than women to use outside job opportunities as leverage to negotiate higher pay in their existing jobs, helping drive persistent gender wage gaps, according to a study by the Rockwool Foundation Berlin seen by Reuters and published on Sunday.

• The study estimates that renegotiation accounts for around half of the gender pay gap.

• The EU Pay Transparency Directive came into force in June and is expected to improve information about pay differences within firms.

• The findings suggest pay transparency alone may not close gender gaps.

• Among workers in the same workplace and occupation, men earn on average 8% more than women.

• The study found that outside job opportunities raise men's wages in their existing jobs, while women in the same situation see no comparable gains, even though they are just as likely as men to change employer.

• Women generally appeared to change jobs rather than using them to negotiate a pay rise; men, by contrast, were more likely to obtain pay increases without leaving.

• The researchers based their study on employees who heard of outside job openings from parents or siblings at other firms.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez; Editing by Kevin Liffey)