An application of human capital theory to salary differentials in the accounting profession

One of the justifications offered by neo‐classical economics for gender‐based wage differentials is the far greater probability that females will not be in continuous employment. This paper uses a model that estimates the extent to which salary differentials between male and female accountants can be explained by intermittent employment. The results show that about one‐third of the observed differentials arises from female career breaks and that the wage discrimination observed in the accountancy profession is more likely to be a sociological than an economic phenomenon.