The Gender Wage Gap in Pakistan: Extent, Trends, and Explanations

Abstract

The gender wage gap has remained one of the most discussed issues globally and persists in almost all countries, either developed or developing. Despite researchers' and policymakers' novel contributions, the wage gap among individuals in society exists. This study focuses on demographic, socioeconomic , and job-specific determinants of the gender wage differential. The study also highlights the trend of the wage differential over time for Pakistan. For the empirical analysis, microdata used is retrieved from Labour Force Survey (LFS), covering two decades, 1997-98, 2006-07, and 2017-18. For the analysis, we have applied Oaxaca-Blinder and Neuman-Oaxaca decomposition techniques. The findings of this study determine the wage differential due to differences in characteristics of males and females, such as schooling, experience, work location, whether rural or urban, marital status, employment sector, and occupations by skill levels. Furthermore, it determines the wage differential due to other unobservable differences, often called discrimination against females. Results also show that the wage gap between males and females has increased from 39 % in 1997-98 to 79 % in 2006-07 and 87 % in 2017-18.