Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Elsayed A.E.A. Author-Name: Fouarge D. Author-Name: Grip A. de Author-workplace-name: GSBE Title: Job tasks, computer use, and the decreasing part-time pay penalty for women in the UK Abstract: Using data from the UK Skills Surveys, we show that the part-time pay penalty for female workers within low- and medium-skilled occupations decreased significantly over the period 1997-2006. The convergence in computer use between part-time and full-time workers within these occupations explains a large share of the decrease in the part-time pay penalty. However, the lower part-time pay penalty is also related to lower wage returns to reading and writing which are performed more intensively by full-time workers. Conversely, the increasing returns to influencing has increased the part-time pay penalty despite the convergence in the influencing task input between part-time and full-time workers. The relative changes in the input and prices of computer use and job tasks together explain more than 50 percent of the decrease in the part-time pay penalty. Keywords: Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials; Classification-JEL: J24; J31; . Series: Research Memorandum Creation-Date: 2014 Number: 011 File-URL: http://pub.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ec7bbaf9-17a4-474b-8b61-d74146aa5f02 File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 830210 Handle: RePEc:unm:umagsb:2014011