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Gender Wage Gap in Rural Bangladesh: Assessing the Sticky Floor or Glass Ceiling Phenomenon and Its Determinants

Author

Listed:
  • Yoshimichi Murakami

    (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN)

  • Nur Nahar Yasmin

    (Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka, BANGLADESH)

Abstract

This paper empirically examines the determinants of the gender wage gap across the wage distribution in rural Bangladesh, applying the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to the unconditional quantile regression approach. Using panel data from three rounds (2011–12, 2015, and 2019) of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey, this study controls for both household-level unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias in rural wage employment. Results reveal that the gender wage gap is most pronounced at the lower end of the distribution, providing strong evidence of the sticky floor phenomenon. We find that larger return to education and coefficient of full-time employment for females significantly contributed to a reduced wage gap at the upper end of the distribution, while larger return to education and coefficient of non-agricultural employment for females contributed to narrowing the wage gap at the lower end. Notably, as education is associated with a higher probability of wage employment for females, the contribution of education becomes stronger after controlling for selectivity bias. The findings suggest that promoting female education and expanding access to non-agricultural employment are key to reducing the gender wage gap in rural Bangladesh, although unobservable factors continue to perpetuate the sticky floor phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoshimichi Murakami & Nur Nahar Yasmin, 2025. "Gender Wage Gap in Rural Bangladesh: Assessing the Sticky Floor or Glass Ceiling Phenomenon and Its Determinants," Discussion Paper Series DP2025-26, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    • Handle: RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2025-26
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    4. Salma Ahmed & Pushkar Maitra, 2010. "Gender Wage Discrimination in Rural and Urban Labour Markets of Bangladesh," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 83-112.
    5. Wanglin Ma & Andy McKay & Dil B. Rahut & Aya Suzuki & Tetsushi Sonobe, 2025. "Inequality and Development in Rural Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1297-1303, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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