Gender Gaps in Employment and Wages in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Abstract

Although many studies have examined gender gaps in labour market outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, most have been conducted within specific countries, making it difficult to form a global picture of women’s position in this part of the world. This chapter provides a critical review of the extant literature on gender gaps in employment and wages in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines, in the midst of considerable economic and cultural diversity, the regularities in women’s position in the labour market position relative to those of men. The review attests that the pattern and correlates of the gaps are somewhat similar across countries, broadly pointing towards policies that contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 8 in order to arrest the gaps. Nonetheless, a more informed diagnosis of the gender gap problem in sub-Saharan Africa requires datasets that go beyond what is currently available, and analytical methods that dig deeper into the gaps’ causal mechanisms.