GENDER INEQUALITIES IN THE LABOR MARKET IN TURKEY: SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Raziye SELIM (İstanbul Technical University)
İpek İLKKARACAN (Yeditepe University)

This paper examines gender inequalities in the labor market in Turkey with respect to wage differentials as well as industry- and occupational segregation. We use cross-sectional individual-level data to explore the wage differentials between men and women in terms of returns to education, age, job tenure and firm size, as well as institutional factors such as private/public sector and coverage of the workplace under a collective labor bargain. We also examine the extent of gender-based industry- and occupational segregation and their contribution to wage differentials between male and female workers. We use the 1994 Labor Force Participation and Wage Structure Survey by the State Institute of Statistics (SIS), which covers a random sample of approximately 2,800 work places with 10 or more employees in three industries, namely manufacturing, mining & quarrying, and electricity, gas & water. A total of 74,000 workers are surveyed through their employers. The analysis points to the existence of gender discrimination in the labor market even when male-female wage differentials are adjusted for human capital, industry, occupational and regional factors.