Abstract

I examine the gender pay gap among German manufacturing exporters, complementing existing studies that focus on the export effect within firms. Instead of attributing the gender pay gap to exporting itself, I argue that it is influenced by workforce composition—marked by a high proportion of highly educated female employees—and firm-level policies that promote women’s advancement. Using linked employer-employee data and decomposition methods, I show that increasing the representation of women in better-paying positions within the firm led to a narrowing of the gender pay gap in exporters, though the gap remains significant. Further analysis tracks how the gender pay gap evolves over the first 15 years of employees' careers, showing that the reduction in the gap among exporters is primarily driven by the hiring of highly educated white-collar women and improved advancement opportunities for them. This research highlights the importance of policies that support women’s early career progression to effectively address the gender pay gap.