Human Capital, Discrimination, and the Gender Wage Gap in Bangladesh

This paper investigates changes in the gender wage gap in Bangladesh over the period 1999-2009. The gap in average wages between men and women decreased by 31% over this period. This paper shows that a key driver of this change was an improvement in female educational qualifications. It also demonstrates that the gender wage gap across the wage distribution narrowed much more at the lower end of the wage distribution than at the upper end. It attributes this mainly to a decline in discrimination against women. Implications for policies aimed at more equal access to education and enforcement of equal pay legislation in Bangladesh are also identified.