Gender Wage Discrimination in Bangladesh

Written by Shaila Afroz Khan, Bushra Mostafa, Rezaur Rahman, Hasibur

Rahman , Shati Itminan
East West University

Compensation differential in the jobs of women and men is a crucial issue in the
modern age. Although the gap between women and men’s wages has narrowed
substantially since the advent of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 and several other
equal pay movements, there still exists a significant wage gap that cannot be
explained by differences between male and female workers in labor market
experience and in the characteristics of jobs, they hold.

According to a recent study conducted by International Labour Organization

(ILO), discrimination may be preventing women in Bangladesh from earning the
same wages as men. The findings are based on the largest occupational wage
survey ever conducted in Bangladesh. The study gives the first estimates of
gender wage gaps by industry, education, and workplace size that take into
account workers’ age, occupation and geographic location.

Based on the survey, it revealed that: women earn 21 per cent less per hour than
men. Another key finding is that the gender wage gap is not fully explained by
differences in education, age and job location. Another is that segregation of the
sexes into different industries and different types of occupations in the country is
driving down women’s average wages.

The largest male-female wage gaps were found in the construction, hotel and
restaurant industries (in which women earn an average of 30 percent less than
men), among workers with primary education or less, and in mid-sized
enterprises (10-99 workers). The smallest gaps are in the service industries
(education, health and social work). The survey results indicate that women’s
unequal access to certain types of jobs is one key factors of this discrimination.

To resolve these dismal practices, Policy makers need to consider measures to

reduce occupational segregation and promote education for all as a way of
improving gender equality and raising living standards.

To crown all, Education plays an important role. The study shows that as
women’s education increases, the male-female wage gap decreases, because
women tend to see more benefits from additional education in terms of earnings
than men. Women who have not completed primary education earn an average
of 22 per cent less than their male equivalents, but this differential narrows to
only four per cent for those with secondary education and eight per cent for those
who have completed tertiary education.