The role of multinational and trading enterprises in employment and the gender pay gap: evidence from Finland

Abstract

This paper constructs and analyses a set of novel indicators on gender equality in the business sector, which focus on multinational enterprises and foreign traders in Finland. The descriptive analysis reveals large differences in the share of women and men employed in the best paying professions, especially in multinationals. Dynamic analysis shows that foreign investment typically results in pay increases for males, while this is not true for women. These disparities are strongest among managers and professionals working in the most profitable firms. A blueprint is provided for linking business statistics and social statistics to enable analyses of gender inequalities in the labour market