The gender pay gap in North Macedonia: Assessing the difference between low-paid and high-paid employees

Abstract

The labour market in North Macedonia is characterised by strong differences in terms of the vertical distribution of jobs and the higher probability of women being in low-paid and unpaid family jobs. Data from the EU-level Survey on Income and Living Conditions show that women are much more likely to be low-paid, while estimations of the earnings function indicates a significant gender pay gap and the potential for discrimination in the labour market against women. From a policy perspective, this article identifies the importance of the statutory minimum wage, particularly for low-paid workers, and that the high pay gap at the top end of the earnings distribution calls for supplementary interventions. In this context, we propose specific tailored programmes that target the female population in order to address the undervaluation of work typically done by women, as well as an extension of the duty on employers actively to promote gender equality. Moreover, an improvement in the position of low-paid workers, particularly women, may be achieved by upgrading the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Exploring Factors Influencing the Czech Employees' Earnings

“…The qualitative research approach can also address the such phenomenon, revealing what kind of family or household situations are more likely associated with higher earnings. Another research opportunity is hidden in the role of discrimination and diversity, which was suggested as important in recent studies, but was not found significant within our analysis (Nikoloski et al 2018(Nikoloski et al , Černušáková 2021. Despite this non-finding, the study joins the up-to-date research debate, asking whether individual perceptions and attitudes to the various ethnicities and nationalities can be translated into higher/lower earnings, conditioned to the other factors and variables unchanged.…”

“…Empirical researchers have expanded the original equation of schooling and experience by including other relevant factors impacting earnings and testing their empirical validity (Angrist andKrueger 1991, Mincer 1997). The Mincer equation function was thus used to study the role of basic individual characteristics, including age (Bhuler et al 2017), ethnicity and nationality (García-Aracil and Winter 2006), gender pay gap (Hedija 2017), sexual orientation (Martell 2019), discrimination and disability (Nikoloski et al 2018). However, also the role of family status, children and household characteristics (Chiswick 2003), and living region (Beenstock and Felsenstein 2008).…”

Never married and earnings: evidence from Russia

“…After he published his work, many estimations of his earnings function have been developed and multiplied all around the world. For instance, in the USA (Andini, 2013), in India (Geetha Rani, 2014), in Colombia (García-Suaza et al , 2014), in Turkey (Cankal and Gokce, 2015), in The Netherlands (Hartog and Gerritsen, 2016), in Germany (Humpert, 2016), in Macedonia (Nikoloski et al , 2018) and in many other countries. A compilation of these studies can be found in Heckman et al (2003) and Lemieux (2006).…”