Gender Wage Differentials among Disabled People : Evidence from South Korea

Abstract

Empirical analysis for the comparison of gender differences among disabled people has been relatively neglected in the literature on discrimination. This paper using data from the 2008 PSED investigates gender wage differentials among the disabled in Korea. The selectivity corrected decomposition framework is employed to examine what factors - endowments, discrimination, and selectivity - account for the wage gap. The main results presented in this paper are as follows: First, the gender wage gap among the disabled is sizable. Second, the wage gap is significantly attributable to discrimination. Moreover, disabled female workers also suffer a substantial wage penalty in terms of the portion of their wages attributable to discrimination. Third, the endowments factor plays an important role in explaining gender wage differentials as well. Finally, the presence of selection effects raises the observed wage gap. Such evidence suggests that Korean disabled female workers are more likely to be disadvantaged than their male counterparts in terms of wages. Thus, national policies, regulations or laws against gender discrimination (e.g., the U.K. DDA 1995, the U.S. ADA of 1990) and additional supports beyond prohibiting discrimination (e.g., vocational training, on-the-job training) are needed to enhance the labor market status of disabled female workers in Korea.