A distributional analysis of the gender wage gap among technical degree and diploma holders in urban India

Using Indian employment data obtained from the National Sample Survey, 2011−12, we investigate whether, in urban India, there is a wage gap between men and women workers with similar technical education (degrees or diplomas) at various points on the wage distributions. Our descriptive analysis shows that women in urban India are lagging behind men in obtaining technical education. Attainment of technical education raises the probability of labour force participation of both men and women compared to those who don’t have such education. The magnitude of this effect is strongly pronounced among women than men. However, the unemployment rate among technically educated women is higher than their male counterparts. With regard to our central objective, the findings from the Re-centered Influence Function decomposition show that women get lower wages than men. Our sub-sample-wise and state-wise analyses concur with this finding. Furthermore, we find that women workers with technical diplomas face a sticky floor effect, while women with technical degrees face both sticky floor and glass ceiling effects. Lower attachment to the labour market, marriage and presence of children in the family are the key factors explaining women’s lower labour market rewards than men. This observation is true across the wage distributions of diploma and degree holders in urban India. We emphasize on continued attention with respect to anti-discrimination labour market policies, public provision of day-care services, and compulsory crèche facilities at workplaces to minimize the gender wage gap. Additionally, the formulation of gender sensitization committees and setting up of behavioural standards at workplaces are called for tobreak the glass ceiling among the technical degree holders.