Jenny Peters

Project Title: The Effect of Quantitative Easing on the Full- and Part-Time Gender Pay Gap in Germany and the UK

Wage disparity between the genders is an issue so severe it persists despite an abundance of measures to combat it. In both Germany and the UK, the gender pay gap, a structural indicator of the differences in gross earnings between men and women, remains substantial. This research widens the scope of classical gender pay gap research by analysing the interaction between monetary policy, in the form of quantitative easing (QE), and gender pay gaps. The impact of QE, the introduction of money into the economy by central banks via asset markets, on the gender pay gap is analysed between 2013-2020 and its effects in Germany and the UK are studied. QE reinforces income inequalities as it increases wealth concentration. Despite this, research into the distributional and gendered impacts of monetary policy remains neglected. As a consequence, it is perceived that monetary policy does not have gendered impacts and central banks have not yet addressed the impact of QE on the gender pay gap.

The aim of this project is to identify the gendered aspects of monetary policy, so that possible undesirable side effects are included in future policy considerations.