A female worker earns 21pc less than her male colleague in Bangladesh

Belal HossainbrA female worker in a Bangladesh factory earns 21 per cent less than her male colleague, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said in a study on gender discrimination in the country's workplaces.brThe study --- the first of its kind in Bangladesh---, found that even after controlling the factors like differences in age, education, industry, type of occupation and geographical location, gender wage gap is an estimated 15.9 percent. brThe survey gives us a clear picture of what is driving the large differences between the earnings of men and women in Bangladesh, said the study's author Steven Kapsos, a labour economist at the ILO's regional office. brWhen segregation by industry and occupation is factored, with women being grouped in lower-paying industries and having no access to the same types of jobs, the overall wage gap increases by 7.2 percentage points to an estimated 23.1 per cent, it said.brSegregation of the sexes into different industries and different types of occupations in the country is driving down women's average wage, Kapsos said.brThe findings are based on the largest occupational wage survey ever conducted in Bangladesh. brThe study gives the first estimates of gender wage gaps by industry, education, and workplace size that also take into account workers' age, occupation and geographic location.brThe Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) collected the data with technical and financial support from the ILO, the United Nations agency dealing with work and workplace issues throughout the world.brIt also offers the first quantitative estimates of the effects of occupational segregation on the wages of men and women. brOne key finding is that the gender wage gap is not fully explained by differences in education, age and job location, Kapsos said. brData was collected on earnings of more than 60,000 men and women in 160 locations and 202 occupations in 37 non-agricultural industry groupings including manufacturing, construction, hotels, finance, education, health and social work.brThe survey also collected data on employees' age, gender, educational background, industry, occupation, hours of work and geographic location. brThe largest male-female wage gaps were found in the construction, hotel and restaurant industries in which women earn an average of 30 per cent less than men among workers with primary education or less and in mid-sized enterprises employing between 10 and 99 workers. brThe smallest gaps are in education, health and social work.brThe study shows that when women's education increases, the male-female wage gap decreases, as women tend to see more benefits from additional education in terms of earnings than men.br