A Decomposition Analysis of the Gender Wage Gap in the Philippines

Date

6-2024

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Emmanuel Genesis Andal

Committee Member

Gideon P. Carnaje, Ma. Angeles O. Catelo

Abstract

The gender wage gap continues to exist as an issue related to the Philippines’ attempt in achieving an overall gender parity. Despite improvements to women’s average wages over time, which eventually overcame those of men since 2009, a seven-percent wage gap persists. Similar literatures often suggest that a gender wage gap occurs due to a discriminating wage structure against female wages, as a large percentage of the gap is being associated to an unexplained portion. This study, on the other hand, aimed to review on the other possible reasons to the presence of a gender wage gap in the Philippines aside from wage discrimination, given that the study also found that the unexplained portion has contributed the most to the gap. The study utilized the three-fold Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition in analyzing the differences between the wages for men and women, which encompasses three components: endowments, coefficients, and interaction effects. The decomposition revealed that endowments effect doubles the wage gap in favor of females (237% of the gap), which is primarily due to women’s better personal attributes compared to men – specifically in terms of education and occupation; 39% is attributed to the interaction effect; and 298% to the unexplained factor arising from the coefficients effect, showing that it contributed the most to the existence of a seven-percent wage gap. Aside from the wage discriminating labor market, the study highlighted gendered characterization of certain occupations and sectors, stagnant labor force participation rates among women, and gender stereotypes of household roles as the other possible underlying factors associated with the gender wage gap.

Language

English

LC Subject

Decomposition, Gender Role

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2024 E2 S26

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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