Are Working Mothers More Vulnerable to Wage Discrimination? A Path Analysis Model with Family Care Burden as a Moderator

Abstract

This paper examined the possibility of working mothers being susceptible to wage discrimination in comparison with the working mother-free counterparts with specific emphasis on the moderating variable of family care burden. The selection of a sample of 154 female faculty members was taken equally (77 and 77 participants) in public sector universities in Jamshoro, Sindh with working mothers and non-mothers. A well-designed survey tool was used to collect the data which was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) by means of Smart PLS. The findings indicated that mothers working perceived discrimination of higher wage as compared to the perception of non-mothers. In addition, family care burden was also identified to moderate the relation between the working mother status and the perception of wage discrimination, whereby the relation between the former variables was significant among those with higher reporting of care- giving responsibilities. A Multi-Group Analysis (MGA) ensured considerable group-related differences which was enough to show how working moms were even at more disadvantage. The evidence implies that institutional changes to contribute to work–life balance and manage systemic discriminations of wage constructions in academic institutions should be implemented.

Keywords: Working Mothers, Wage Discrimination, Family Care Burden, PLS-SEM, Multi-Group Analysis