Gender-Based Wage Differentials and Employment in Post-Apartheid South Africa, 1995–2004

This chapter investigates the trends in gender differentials in wages and employment over the first post-apartheid decade in South Africa, a time when social policy was focused on race. Using merged household and worker data sets, a two-stage regression estimation strategy is used to construct gender-based wage differentials, controlling for industry, occupation, region, and demographic and human capital variables (years of education, experience, and experience squared). The resulting male/female log wage differentials are the dependent variables in the second-stage regressions. The effect of labor force characteristics (within-sector proportion unionized, proportion black, proportion female, average hours worked per week, and average years of experience), industrial sector, and globalization (measured by foreign direct investment/capital stock in sector and year) on these wage differentials is investigated. The study finds some evidence of a decline in the gender wage gap over the period 1995–2004. And as is true in many other economies, women appear to do less well, for example, there is a wider gender gap in wages, in environments where workers have higher average levels of skill or experience. Regressions are also run on female/male employment ratios, using a similar set of control variables. Evidence is found, at least for white workers, that the proportion of women in the employed labor force increases over the decade. The effects of unionization and globalization on employment of women are also investigated.