Gender blindness in the research on the economic value of education: Theoretical and methodological causes and consequences

A thorough ‘sociological reading’ in one of the most important, high-profile, and extensive literatures, the research on the economic value of education, reveals its failed to acknowledge women’s lower education premiums, as well as the rise in gender inequality in education premiums over-time. This neglect is surprising because the economic value of education is a hot topic that has attracted major scholarly attention in recent decades due to its relation to the expansion of income inequality in postindustrial economies. It also has significant implications for understanding the mechanisms underpinning gender inequality in modern labor markets that rely on workers’ education and skills. Our analysis 1) sheds light on this omission, 2) identifies its theoretical and methodological sources, 3) reveals its consequences by presenting comparative evidence on trends in gender inequality in education premium (based on US-CPS data from the years 1980–2023), and 4) offers a gender-sensitive approach for future studies. The data and literature analyses have significant empirical and theoretical implications. Empirically, they highlight the widening gender gap in educational premiums. Theoretically, the findings contribute to the sociology of knowledge by demonstrating how the theoretical framework, and consequently the research questions and methodology, shape our empirical knowledge.