Bangladeshi women earn, on average, 22% to 25% less than men, with the gender pay gap (GPG) remaining largely unexplained by differences in education, occupation and other observable factors, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The report, titled “The Gender Pay Gap in Bangladesh: Trends, Causes and Policy Options,” released on 17 September, found that women earn Tk750 to Tk780 for every Tk1,000 earned by men when measured by monthly wages.
Based on data from the 2023 Labour Force Survey, the report said the gender pay gap in Bangladesh is slightly higher than the global average.
However, the gap is somewhat lower than that recorded in several other South Asian countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka.
The gender pay gap (GPG) refers to the difference between the average wages earned by men and women, expressed as a share of men’s wages. For example, a 20% GPG means women earn Tk80 for every Tk100 earned by men.
However, this does not necessarily mean that women and men doing exactly the same job are paid differently. Differences in occupation, sector, working hours and other characteristics can also affect wages.
The ILO therefore uses complementary measures, including a factor-weighted GPG, which compares more similar groups of workers to provide a more detailed assessment of the pay gap.
Why the pay gap persists
The report found that most of the gender pay gap in Bangladesh cannot be explained by observable differences between male and female wage employees.
Differences in education, occupation and sector account for only part of the gap, while the remaining portion is classified as unexplained. The ILO said this suggests that discrimination, whether direct or indirect, may play a significant role.
Women also remain substantially less likely than men to participate in wage employment. In 2023, the female employment rate stood at 40.2%, compared with 77.9% for men, a gap of 37.7 percentage points.
Only 19% of employed women were wage employees, compared with 48% of employed men, meaning women accounted for just 17% of all wage employees.
Women in wage employment are also concentrated in lower-paying sectors and occupations. Manufacturing accounted for 41% of female wage employment, compared with 23% for men. Meanwhile, 19% of female wage employees worked in household activities and 12% in education.
Women held only 6.2% of managerial positions in Bangladesh, one of the lowest shares in South Asia, according to the report.
The GPG also varies across age, education and employment status
The gap widens as workers get older, while it tends to narrow among workers with higher levels of education and those in high-skilled occupations. The report also found that the gap is larger among informal workers than those in formal employment.
Household responsibilities are another factor highlighted by the study. Women in wage employment reported spending an average of 27.7 hours a week on household chores, compared with 7.6 hours for men. Including household chores, women spent an average of 73.7 hours a week on paid work and household activities, compared with 59 hours for men.
The report said sectors with a higher share of female workers also tend to have lower average wages, suggesting that occupations traditionally associated with women may be undervalued.
Stakeholder consultations further identified weak wage-setting systems, limited collective bargaining, occupational segregation, social and cultural norms, weak enforcement and the dominance of low-cost labour as key drivers of the pay gap.
Legal protections exist, but gaps remain
Bangladesh’s legal framework provides for equal pay for work of equal nature, standard or value, while the Constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women.
However, the ILO said implementation gaps persist, including incomplete minimum wage coverage, limited labour inspection capacity and restrictions on women’s employment under certain conditions and in some occupations.
The report recommends clarifying and enforcing the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, introducing objective job evaluation systems and making wage-setting more responsive to gender inequalities.
It also calls for expanding flexible working arrangements and strengthening protections against violence and harassment in the workplace.
The ILO further recommends stronger labour inspection and dispute-resolution mechanisms, along with improved data collection on gender-based wage inequalities.
Addressing the gender pay gap will require coordinated action involving the government, employers, workers and other stakeholders, the ILO said.
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