Analysis of gender wage gap in Lithuania

Abstract

This study aims to discern and quantify the personal and labour market characteristics, which are most relevant to the persistence of a gender wage gap in Lithuania. The Oaxaca-Blinder model, employed in this study, revealed the largest explained gender wage gap to be attributable to the characteristics of occupation and industry. These contribute to the gap mainly by the horizontal and vertical segregation effects, as women are more concentrated in typically ‘feminine’ jobs, which pay less. The educational attainment of women is slightly higher than that of men, and this reduces the gender wage gap in the Lithuanian labour market. The analysis also revealed that work in the public sector entails an increase in the gap despite greater wage transparency and a more regulated remuneration mechanism. This is due to the ‘glass ceiling’ effect or the pervasive resistance to the efforts of female workers to reach the top rank positions, which we find to be stronger in the public sector.