Gender, Workplace Authority and Salary Attainment among Mid-career Managerial Employees in Hong Kong

Although women are increasingly participating in the labour force in professional and managerial roles, they have not attained parity with men in terms of labour market outcomes. An important source of the disparity in labour market outcomes has been the gender gap in workplace authority. Consequently, this study examined workplace authority and its effect on salary attainment in a sample of mid-career Hong Kong Chinese managerial employees (N=292). T-test results revealed a significant mean gender gap in workplace authority and salary attainment. Hierarchical regression results, however, revealed that workforce authority was unrelated to salary attainment. This finding was interpreted in terms of the centralisation of decision-making authority and the resulting weak position of middle management in Chinese organisations. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings for research on the gender gap in labour market outcomes in Chinese organisations are discussed.