Background:
Pay is an important human resource function that has attracted considerable interest within the professional literature and this study addresses pay discrimination.
Purpose(s):
To address pay for a particular protected group unaddressed in existing literature (Hispanic-surnamed principals).
Setting:
The setting for this study is public school districts located in the state of California.
Subjects:
All-male public school elementary principals served as potential participants.
Interventions:
Different models for pay discrimination are explored in this study.
Research Design:
A randomized group design involving a single independent variable (surname of principals) is used in this study.
Data Collection:
Within this study, data are obtained from an archival source and through self-reported measures.
Findings:
A regression analysis indicates that pay discrimination is a multifaceted concept that must consider not only protected status of individuals along with traditional control variables (organizational and human capital endowments) but the interaction of these effects on pay outcomes when assessing pay discrimination.
Conclusions:
By examining pay from a main effect as well as from an interaction effect, a new definition for pay discrimination is provided, and specific methodological advancements are suggested.