Interaction of gender and age in pharmacists' labour outcomes

Objectives: Workers from different genders and age groups may encounter unequal opportunities and/or structural barriers that grant them access to, or limit, the acquisition of human capital and the ability to apply it, which are likely to affect labour outcomes such as job entry, mobility, hours of work, and wages and salaries. The objective was to assess whether labour outcomes of young women differ from those of the rest of the workforce, if at all, due to gender, age, or the interaction of both classifications. Methods: The study was based on survey data self-reported by licensed pharmacists. A 2 × 3 (gender × age-group) factorial design was used to assess differences in seven labour outcomes. Key findings: Wages and salaries were greater for men than for women, and the disparity was observed in all age groups. Gender differences in average workweek and part-time employment were heavily mediated by age. Age also mediated gender differences in annual household income. While the age-group classification was statistically significant for all labour outcomes, the gender classification lacked significance for household income, distance to work and one-way commute time. Wages and salaries, the wage rate, distance to work and one-way commute time failed to show a significant interaction effect. Conclusions: Pharmacists of different genders and age groups vary widely in terms of labour outcomes.