Occupational gender wage discrimination in Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender based wage differences by schooling and occupations and to estimate the occupational gender wage discrimination in Turkey where strenuous attempts are underway to modernize and negotiate its culturally (Islamic)‐based gender differences. Design/methodology/approach - This study employs an extension of Blinder and Oaxaca's approach to measure the effect of wage discrimination. In order to correct a possible sample selection problem, Heckman's two step procedure is used to estimate the earning equations for males and females by using Turkish Household Expenditure and Income Survey. Findings - Among the paper's central findings is that gender wage gap decreases with education, is less in the public sector, and varies across occupations. The overall discriminatory wage gap is estimated at 30 percent after controlling for education, experience, occupation, region, and selection effects. Research limitations/implications - Limitations of this study are mostly related to the nature of the data set used in the analysis. Future research should be replicated on time series data with more variables if they are available. Practical implications - Policy makers should promote education of women since education reduces inequalities among genders as revealed from the decreasing gap of wage differentials for higher levels of education. They should implement measures aimed at reducing inequalities in women's pay and improving women's status in the labor market in line with the European Union policies. Originality/value - By using micro data, this study estimates the gender wage discrimination at occupational levels in Turkey by correcting the possible sample selection bias in the analysis, usually omitted in other studies.