Gender pay gap in the workplace: the case of public and private sectors in Nigeria

Abstract

The need to reduce the gender pay gap is an ongoing concern in developing countries. One aspect of gender inequality that is often neglected is the gender pay differential in the public and private sectors. In Nigeria, the structure and employee entry into public and private sectors differ significantly and could constitute a source of pay gap. This study decomposed the wage gap individually in the public and private sectors in Nigeria in 2009 using the Blinder–Oaxaca and quantile decomposition methods. The findings point to a smaller gender pay gap in the public sector compared to the private sector, due to better educational qualifications and higher income stream arising from longer stay in the workforce. Discrimination accounts for a significant portion of gender wage gap, although it is larger in the private sector. Women selection bias is a prominent factor in the private sector, while it is not much of a concern in the public sector. The results also show the existence of glass ceiling in the public sector and sticky floor in the private sector. Policies to address discrimination against women either in wage setting or hiring process should be introduced in both sectors. Increased participation of women in the private sector through creation of women-friendly jobs should be promoted in order to close the wage gap. Mandatory compliance with minimum wage regulations in the private sector should be enforced to attract more women to the sector and therefore narrow the wage gap at the bottom.