The study investigates justice evaluations of earnings for male and female employees and links them to the actual inequality people are embedded in. Previous studies in non-reflexive sociological justice research found mixed results. Some studies report a just gender pay gap favoring

men; others do not find this gap. This study provides an explanation for these mixed results by combining sociological justice research and status construction theory. Three factorial survey studies were carried

out consisting of descriptions of employees with varying characteristics including gender. One study was conducted with social sciences students and two with population samples of German inhabitants. Results show that social sciences students revealed no gender gap in their ratings.

In the population surveys, both men and women, showed a rating behavior favoring male employees. The findings indicate that actual inequalities between men and women influence the existence, sign, and size of a just gender pay gap.