We analyse gender wage gaps in Italy in the mid-1990s and in the mid-2000s. In
this period important labour market developments took place and they could have had
a gender asymmetric impact on wages. We identify the time trends of different components
of the gender wage gap across all the wage distribution. We find that, whilst
the gender wage gap became smaller at the bottom of the wage distribution, women at
the centre-top swam against the tide: the trend in female qualifications slightly reduced
the gender wage gap, but the gender relative trends in the wage structure significantly
increased it.