This thesis examines the wage gap among married and never married men. It is generally accepted that married men will have higher earnings than never married men. An income determination model was created to control for individual, structural, and gender level components. Theories were utilized for each model segment and provide a foundation from which this thesis builds upon. Through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analysis it was found that net of other factors married men will earn $3,186.00 more per year than never married men. The findings of this thesis provide support for other literature examining the wage gap between married and never married men, commonly referred to as the "marriage premium". / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, Dept. of Sociology. / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 33-37).

This study focuses on the wage gap between Mexican American men and Mexican American women, and factors contributing to this disparity. People of Mexican descent make up 67% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Previous research tends to lump Hispanics together, masking differences between groups. Even more, studies considering Hispanic subgroups rarely examine gender differences on income. Using secondary data analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, this study examines a neglected subgroup, Mexican Americans, and the income gap within this group. The sample size is 3,408 with Mexican American men comprising 55.2% of the sample and Mexican American women 44.8%. This study employs an income determination model composed of three model segments. Theoretical models include an individual component (comprised of variables such as age and education), a structural component (comprised of variables such as occupation and skill-level), and a gender component (comprised of variables such as sex and occupational sex segregation). Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses are used to examine the independent effects of variables on income. Based on mean annual earnings, analysis shows that net of other factors, an 81% wage gap exists between groups with Mexican American men earning $30,337 and Mexican American women earning $24,548. When examining different elements of the theoretical model, structural model components account for the most variance explained on income between groups. This suggests that gendered discrimination within institutions may affect inequality in pay between men and women. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 45-49).

This research attempted to evaluate the pay-gap between women with children and women without children. Previous literature consistently concludes women with children will have lower incomes than women without children. The income determination model is composed of individual, structural, and gender segments and is used to examine the pay-gap between these two groups. The 2004 American Time Use Survey dataset is used to analyze the hypothesis that women with children will have a lower income than women without children. Results in this research contradict previous research. OLS Regression revealed women with children have a higher income than women without children. However, further analysis showed women without children have higher economic return for their age and occupational prestige than do women with children. The structural segment in the income determination model explained the disparity more than the other two segments. Policy implications are discussed. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology.

Not available / text