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Barriers to Entry : Decomposing the Gender Gap in Job Search in Urban Pakistan

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  • Gentile,Elisabetta
  • Kohli,Nikita
  • Subramanian,Nivedhitha
  • Tirmazee,Zunia
  • Vyborny, Kate

Abstract

Gender gaps in labor market outcomes persist in South Asia. An open question is whether supply- or demand-side constraints play a larger role. This paper investigates this using matched data from three sources in Lahore, Pakistan: representative samples of jobseekers and employers, administrative data from a job matching platform, and an incentivized binary choice experiment. Employers’ gender restrictions are a larger constraint on women’s job opportunities than supply-side decisions. This demand-side gap in the quantity of job opportunities closes as education levels increase and jobs become more “white-collar.”

Suggested Citation

  • Gentile,Elisabetta & Kohli,Nikita & Subramanian,Nivedhitha & Tirmazee,Zunia & Vyborny, Kate, 2025. "Barriers to Entry : Decomposing the Gender Gap in Job Search in Urban Pakistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11142, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11142
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    as
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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