Bargaining power and wages: A game-theoretic model of gender differences in union wage bargaining

Abstract In this paper a model of gender differences in the process of wage bargaining is developed, with the aim of assessing the potentials of bargaining theory in contributing to a better understanding of the male/female wage gap. It is shown that if the assumption of a united union is relaxed in order to allow for conflicts of interest between the sexes, two interesting factors that might cause women's wages to differ from those of men come into sight. First, the relative bargaining strengths of female and male unionists, and second, the threat points of female and male unionists.