The Distribution of Gender Differentials and Public Sector Wage Premia in Egypt: Evidence from Establishment Level Data (1990)

Using earnings functions estimates on an Egyptian establishment-level survey conducted in 1990, standard decomposition techniques of wage differentials show that both males and females have an earning disadvantage in the public enterprise and government sectors after correcting for a range of personal and job characteristics. Gender based pay discrimination is small in the public sector. In contrast, it is quite high by international comparisons in the private sector and takes place mainly by paying a pure rent premium to men. Further decomposition of the gender gap into components attributable to intra-occupational pay discrimination and inter occupational segregation reveal that the unexplained component is even higher at about 82 % of female pay in the private sector, with a large proportion (34.7% of female pay) attributable to segregation or entry barriers facing females in certain occupations. Quantile regression methods were used to examine the distribution of wage premia across occupations and wage quantiles. The results show that public sector wage premia exist only at the lower level of the wage distribution and drop at the higher levels turning into a negative differential for both males and females. The greatest public sector pay penalty appear to be in the high wage echelons of specialised occupations in the government. Gender-based pay discrimination is highest in the private sector for the low wage quantiles of unskilled workers and higher wage groups in technical and managerial positions. The paper?s results highlight the need to reform pay policy in the government and the expected disproportionate impact of privatisation and civil service reform on women in the Egyptian labour market.