Four factors contribute to the gender wage gap in universities: disparities in starting salaries, differentials in performance and merit pay, differences in the rates of and times to promotion, and incongruities related to parental and other caregiving leaves. Although collective agreements identify salary floors for specific academic ranks, starting salaries largely continue to be negotiated, interpreted by university administrators who may or may not be cognizant of implicit gender bias. Women's experience and performance/merit are often undervalued in academic and other settings. Research has shown that in experiments where an identical resumé is presented, but either with a typical man's name or with a typical woman’s name, the candidates with a man's name are judged as more competent and are offered a higher starting salary.
When applying to a national research council for funding, women need more than twice the academic output of men to receive the same competency score. Moreover, men's earnings rise significantly with academic productivity, whereas women's do not. Men are also more likely to be promoted, and women who are promoted take longer, on average, to be promoted than men, despite research that confirms that women are just as likely as men to ask for promotions and raises.
The take-up of parental and caregiving leave has further punitive effects that impact when women start their careers, the breaks they accumulate over their careers, and the decisions they make about when and whether to seek promotion.