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Gender wage gaps and worker mobility: Evidence from the garment sector in Bangladesh

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  • Menzel, Andreas
  • Woodruff, Christopher

Abstract

Data from 70 large export-oriented garment manufacturers in Bangladesh show that women’s wages are 20 percent lower than men’s and are 8 percent lower even among narrowly-defined production workers. A significant gap remains even after controlling for very precisely measured skills. Longer careers of men in the sector explain around half of the wage gap, with the other half due in roughly equal parts to differences in internal and across-factory promotion rates. Our results are most consistent with broader gender norms, beyond gendered household responsibilities, driving the gap.

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  • Menzel, Andreas & Woodruff, Christopher, 2021. "Gender wage gaps and worker mobility: Evidence from the garment sector in Bangladesh," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:71:y:2021:i:c:s092753712100035x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102000
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    Cited by:

    1. Bossavie, Laurent & Cho, Yoonyoung & Heath, Rachel, 2023. "The effects of international scrutiny on manufacturing workers: Evidence from the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Czura, Kristina & Menzel, Andreas & Miotto, Martina, 2024. "Improved menstrual health and the workplace: An RCT with female Bangladeshi garment workers," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    3. Ishtehar Sharif Swazan & Debanjan Das, 2022. "Bangladesh's Emergence as a Ready-Made Garment Export Leader: An Examination of the Competitive Advantages of the Garment Industry," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 162-174, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gaps; Export manufacturing; Garment sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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