Gender Wage Gap in the Former Soviet Union: Evidence from EBRD Data

Abstract

This research article examines gender inequality in employment in the former Soviet Union based on data collected by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with the third wave of the “Life in Transition” Survey conducted in 2016. Despite numerous efforts, the wage gap between women and men is still an important problem in many countries of the world, and especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is worth noting that this wage gap affects the economic and social spheres of life, human rights, and dramatically affects women's economic independence.

Several articles have been analyzed that identify various factors influencing the problem of wage inequality between men and women in the former Soviet Union.

Next section identifies results and discussions of the pay gap using several figures. Each figure shows the wage gap between men and women in the former Soviet Union, the rate of return to school between men and women, statistics for the highest- and lowest-paid sectors of the economy, representation of female workers, and so on.

As a result, countries where gender differences have a positive or negative impact on the labor market to this day are highlighted. Based on the conducted research, some country-specific policy applications are concluded at the end.