Employment quality based on salary and occupation by gender: a company-level study

Abstract

Organizations currently face increasing requirements for labor inclusion and decent work, aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This shift has compelled strategic management to prioritize the well-being and professional development of all employees. This study aims to analyze employment quality through the relationship between salary and occupation by gender within 150 surveys service sector organizations in Barranquilla, Colombia. Data were processed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to validate variable convergence, and the model's robustness was verified through goodness-of-fit indicators (RMSEA, SRMR, CFI, and TLI). The results indicate that while employment quality measured by salary and occupation has shown moderate positive behavior and improved job stability in recent years, a significant gap persists in the Employment Opportunity component. The findings reveal that gender differentiation remains a structural barrier, creating a paradox where the conditions under which women are hired often fail to meet quality employment standards, regardless of their professional qualification.