Earnings gap between men and women in the informal labor market in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent of gender earnings gap among informal labor market workers in Cameroon. We have used the 2010 employment and informal sector survey, the Heckman two‐step bivariate selection model, and the Neuman–Oaxaca–Ransom decomposition framework to address these concerns. We find that, compared to men, women are more likely to make the joint decision of participating in the labor market and choosing informal work. Findings also reveal that among informal workers, male workers have an earnings premium over their female counterparts. Returns to informal labor market experience are solidly consistent in narrowing the gender earnings gap. Among the self‐employed workers, male workers also enjoy an earnings premium. However, when the inverse Mills ratio is decomposed, the overall and the self‐employed gender discrimination virtually disappears. Meanwhile, female wage earners enjoy a wage premium and have an unambiguous education‐based advantage over their male counterparts. The implications of these findings support the wisdom that promoting the human capital development of the girl child would play a vital role in alleviating gender‐based differentials by eroding sociocultural conventions and advancing women's agency.

O perfil dos moonlighters no mercado de trabalho brasileiro, uma análise para os meios rural e urbano

“…Ressalte-se que a decomposição Oaxaca-Blinder ainda é bastante utilizada e relevante para estudos na área de economia do trabalho, quando tratando tanto de questões salariais, quanto de gênero, como pode ser observado em, por exemplo, os trabalhos de Wirba et al (2021), Aderemi e Alley (2019), Biltagy (2018) e Ospino et al (2010).…”

Framing the change: analysing employment change, (in)adequacy, and (de)feminization in Cameroon's tertiary firms

“…Firstly, similar to many other African countries, the tertiary sector in Cameroon has emerged as the most labour-intensive sector and a significant source of employment. 3 However, women face greater challenges in accessing certain jobs and sectors than their male counterparts (Wirba et al 2021). They encounter cultural barriers and social stereotypes rooted in their traditional roles within households and agricultural activities.…”

Gender Analysis of Labor Force Outcomes: Evidence from Cameroon

“…In essence, extant contemporary studies on gender inclusion in Cameroon have largely focused on inter alia: income inequality under colonial rule (Alvaredo et al, 2021); rural income inequality within the remit of non-timber forest incomes and economic welfare (Etoh-Anzah & Njong, 2021); income inequality in an urban area in Cameroon such as Douala (Nanche, 2021) and healthcare redistributive effects (Ntembe et al, 2021). The Cameroon gender-centric literature has largely focused on inter alia, nexuses between gender, ethnicity and vulnerability to climate change (Azong & Kelso, 2021); earnings gap between men and women in the informal labor market (Wirba et al, 2021) and drivers of gender gap in financial inclusion (Ndoya & Tsala, 2021).…”