Gender Pay Gap in the Western Balkan Countries

The gender gap in earnings is one of the most persistent labour market characteristics in the broader context, including in the European Union, where it remains at 17.5% on average. The gender pay gap, which refers to the difference between the wages earned by women and by men, is one of the key indicators of women’s access to economic opportunities. Probing the nature and factors behind wage disparities can shed light on measures that can be taken to address inequalities and improve women’s access to economic opportunity, thus tapping their potential and creating conditions for economic growth. Evidence on the gender pay gap in Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro is scarce (although substantially more researched in Serbia), while comparison between the countries is practically non-existing.

On the other hand, in the Western Balkans, labour market position of women in comparison to men is unfavourable due to large participation gaps, high participation of unpaid family members among employed women and gaps in the land ownership.

This research project aimed to measure the scope and characteristics of pay disparities in the three Western Balkan countries (Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro), but also to look at them in the larger context of women’s labour market participation and employment. Research aimed to determine how different characteristics of women workers, sectoral and occupational segregation, workers’ location within the public or private sector, etc. influence the wage gap. It is also an attempt to show how and why the sources of the gender pay gap may differ across the wage distribution. The analysis is based on the Labour force survey (LFS) data, which are comparable across countries and to the EU data.

For more see the attached Policy Brief.

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Policy Brief EN