Gender wage gaps in the formal and informal sectors in Ghana

This paper examines gender earnings gaps in Ghana using data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7). Focusing on both the formal and informal sectors, we apply Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions and Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regressions to investigate mean and distributional disparities in log earnings between men and women. The evidence points towards a long-term gender pay gap, with females receiving significantly less than males, particularly in the informal economy. RIF regressions along the wage distribution show that the gender wage gap is more substantial in the upper quantiles in the informal sector. In contrast, the formal sector has narrower or even reversed gaps at specific quantiles.