Gender differences in pay in African manufacturing firms

Abstract

Using matched employer-employee data collected in seven African countries, we present comparative evidence on the magnitude of the gender wage gap in African manufacturing sectors. Using OLS regressions, differences in male and female earnings are found both in Mauritius and Morocco, while the gender wage gap turns out to be insignificant in Benin, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Uganda. Results from quantile regressions indicate that the wage gap remains not constant across the wage distribution. Finally, we study the role of firm characteristics and job segregation across firms as potential factors explaining the gender wage gaps.