Beyond Education and Occupation: Unpacking the Large Gender Wage Gap in Kenya
Working Paper 34375
DOI 10.3386/w34375
Issue Date
Gender wage gaps persist globally, particularly in poor countries. Using Kenya Life Panel Survey data, we first document a raw gender wage gap of 79 log points (55%). We show it remains large, at 39 log points (32%), even controlling for a novel set of individual characteristics – cognitive performance, personality traits, economic preferences, and job tasks – in addition to standard covariates. These novel factors account for only 20% of the residual gap unexplained by education and occupation. Though most Kenyans report egalitarian gender views, these patterns suggest that barriers still hinder women’s labor outcomes.
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Copy CitationUyanga Byambaa, Edward Miguel, Michael W. Walker, and Samuel Zicheng Wang, "Beyond Education and Occupation: Unpacking the Large Gender Wage Gap in Kenya," NBER Working Paper 34375 (2025), https://doi.org/10.3386/w34375.