Routine-Biased Technological Change and Gender Wage Inequality in Sweden

Sammanfattning

Gender wage inequality is a topic of great interest, as evidenced by policy interventions and extensive research. Technological advances have been a major contributor to labor market transformation, as evidenced by rising wage inequality and job polarization. The framework of routine-biased technological change (RBTC) has been influential in connecting structural changes associated with technological advances with gender wage inequalities. The purpose of this study was to extend this research by analyzing occupational task structures in Sweden, a labor market characterized by gender equality and compressed wage distributions. Using a long-difference regression framework, the study analyzed the association between occupational routine task intensity (RTI) and changes in the gender wage gap in Sweden between 2014 and 2024. The main findings show that occupations with a higher RTI experienced greater reductions in the gender wage gap compared to occupations with a higher concentration of non-routine tasks. Extended analyses suggested that this pattern may partly reflect stronger negative wage effects among men compared to women, and that increased public-sector exposure may reduce the main association. These findings indicate that the relationship between automation and gender wage inequality is shaped not only by occupational task composition but also by labor market institutions.