Decomposition of Post-Pandemic Gender Wage Gaps in Indonesia: an Analysis Across the Wage Distribution
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Abstract
This study examines post-pandemic gender wage gaps in Indonesia using SAKERNAS data from 2018 to 2023. OLS and RIF-OLS regression results indicate that gender wage gaps widened post-pandemic, with female employees earning 30 percent less than their male counterparts on average, narrowing to 23 percent after controlling for wage-related characteristics. The gap is most pronounced among low-paid workers, where women earned 40 to 50 percent less than men. Decomposition analysis across the wage distribution reveals that the majority of the gap is driven by unexplained factors, reinforcing the persistence of the "sticky floor" and "glass ceiling" effects, indicative of on going gender discrimination in the labor market. While factors such as lower work experience, tenure, and working hours contributed to the gap, women's higher educational attainment, increased formal sector participation, access to training, and representation in white-collar jobs helped mitigate it.
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References
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Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789–865. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995
Blinder, A. S. (1973). Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates. The Journal of Human Resources, 8(4), 436–455. https://doi.org/10.2307/144855
Blundell, R., Costa Dias, M., Joyce, R., & Xu, X. (2020). COVID?19 and Inequalities*. Fiscal Studies, 41(2), 291–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5890.12232
Botello-Peñaloza, H. A. (2022). How the Coronavirus Pandemic has Affected Gender Wage Inequality in Colombia. Equidad y Desarrollo, 1(38), 7–8. https://doi.org/10.19052/eq.vol1.iss38.4
BPS. (2020). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2019.
BPS. (2021). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2020.
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BPS. (2023). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2022.
BPS. (2024). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2023.
Budig, M. J., Lim, M., & Hodges, M. J. (2021). Racial and gender pay disparities: The role of education. Social Science Research, 98, 102580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102580
Collins, C., Landivar, L. C., Ruppanner, L., & Scarborough, W. J. (2021). COVID?19 and the gender gap in work hours. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(S1), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12506
Cotter, D. A., Hermsen, J. M., Ovadia, S., & Vanneman, R. (2001). The Glass Ceiling Effect. Social Forces, 80(2), 655–681. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0091
da Costa Silva, M. M., & Shinkoda, M. H. (2021). The gender gap and the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of net Brazilian formal job destruction. EconomiA, 22(3), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ.2021.12.002
Doleschel, J., & Manu, A.-S. (2021). ECB Economic Bulletin, Issue 7 / 2021. ECB Economic Bulletin, 7.
Doorley, K., O’donoghue, C., & Sologon, D. M. (2021). The Gender Gap in Income and the COVID-19 Pandemic (14360; Discussion Paper Series). www.iza.org
Field, E., Krivkovich, A., Kügele, S., Robinson, N., & Yee, L. (2023). Women in the Workplace.
Firpo, S., Fortin, N. M., & Lemieux, T. (2009). Unconditional Quantile Regressions. Econometrica, 77(3), 953–973. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA6822
Fortin, N., Lemieux, T., & Firpo, S. (2011). Decomposition Methods in Economics (pp. 1–102). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7218(11)00407-2
Goldin, C. (2014). A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), 1091–1119. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.4.1091
Halim, D., Hambali, S., & Purnamasari, R. S. (2023). Not All That It Seems: Narrowing of Gender Gaps in Employment during the Onset of COVID-19 in Indonesia. Asian Development Review, 40(2), 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0116110523400012
Hupkau, C., & Petrongolo, B. (2020). Work, Care and Gender during the COVID?19 Crisis*. Fiscal Studies, 41(3), 623–651. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5890.12245
ILO. (2018). Global Wage Report 2018/19: What lies behind gender pay gaps.
ILO. (2022). Global Wage Report 2022–23: The impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power. https://doi.org/10.54394/ZLFG5119
ILO. (2023). World employment and social outlook. https://doi.org/10.54394/SNCP1637
ILO. (2024). World employment and social outlook. https://doi.org/10.54394/HQAE1085
Jann, B. (2008). The Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition for Linear Regression Models. The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, 8(4), 453–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X0800800401
Kafabih, A., & Ridwan, M. (2022). Wage Gap Analysis Between Gender in The Informal Sector During Covid-19. Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi Terapan, 7(2), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.20473/jiet.v7i2.40536
Köhler, T., Hill, R., & Bhorat, H. (2022). The effect of wage subsidies on job retention: Evidence from South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/248-5
Liputan6.com. (2022, December 28). Penyaluran BSU Tak Capai Target, Padahal Sudah Diperpanjang Seminggu. Bisnis.
Neetha, N. (2021). Crisis After Crisis: The Pandemic and Women’s Work. The Indian Economic Journal, 69(3), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/00194662211013234
Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets. International Economic Review, 14(3), 693–709. https://doi.org/10.2307/2525981
Olivetti, C., & Petrongolo, B. (2016). The Evolution of Gender Gaps in Industrialized Countries. Annual Review of Economics, 8(1), 405–434. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115329
Panjaitan, M. R. (2023). Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia. BESTARI: Buletin Statistika Dan Aplikasi Terkini, 3(1).
Pirmana, Vi. (2006). Earning Differentials Between Male-Female In Indonesia: Evidence from SAKERNAS Data (200608). http://ceds.feb.unpad.ac.id/wopeds/200608.pdf
Potrafke, N., & Ursprung, H. W. (2012). Globalization and gender equality in the course of development. European Journal of Political Economy, 28(4), 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2012.04.001
Psacharopoulos, G., & Patrinos, H. A. (2018). Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature. Education Economics, 26(5), 445–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2018.1484426
Reichelt, M., Makovi, K., & Sargsyan, A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality in the labor market and gender-role attitudes. European Societies, 23(sup1), S228–S245. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1823010
Rios-Avila, F. (2020). Recentered influence functions (RIFs) in Stata: RIF regression and RIF decomposition. The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, 20(1), 51–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X20909690
Rios-Avila, F., & de New, J. (2022). Marginal Unit Interpretation of Unconditional Quantile Regression and Recentered Influence Functions Using Centred Regression. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4175831
Shibata, I. (2021). The distributional impact of recessions: The global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic recession. Journal of Economics and Business, 115, 105971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2020.105971
Sohn, K. (2015). Gender Discrimination in Earnings in Indonesia: A Fuller Picture. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 51(1), 95–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2015.1016569
Suharyono, & Digdowiseiso, K. (2021). Education and gender wage gap: Evidence from indonesia. Accounting, 7(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ac.2020.10.017
Sukma, W. L., & Kadir. (2019). Decomposition of the Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia: Analysis from Sakernas Data. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 94930.
Taniguchi, K., & Tuwo, A. (2014). New Evidence on the Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia (404; Economics). www.adb.org
Weeden, K. A. (2005). Is there a flexiglass ceiling? Flexible work arrangements and wages in the United States. Social Science Research, 34(2), 454–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2004.04.006
WHO, & ILO. (2022). The gender pay gap in the health and care sector: A global analysis in the time of COVID-19.
Arulampalam, W., Booth, A. L., & Bryan, M. L. (2007). Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wage Distribution. ILR Review, 60(2), 163–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390706000201
Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789–865. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995
Blinder, A. S. (1973). Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates. The Journal of Human Resources, 8(4), 436–455. https://doi.org/10.2307/144855
Blundell, R., Costa Dias, M., Joyce, R., & Xu, X. (2020). COVID?19 and Inequalities*. Fiscal Studies, 41(2), 291–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5890.12232
Botello-Peñaloza, H. A. (2022). How the Coronavirus Pandemic has Affected Gender Wage Inequality in Colombia. Equidad y Desarrollo, 1(38), 7–8. https://doi.org/10.19052/eq.vol1.iss38.4
BPS. (2020). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2019.
BPS. (2021). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2020.
BPS. (2022). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2021.
BPS. (2023). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2022.
BPS. (2024). Indikator Pekerjaan Layak di Indonesia 2023.
Budig, M. J., Lim, M., & Hodges, M. J. (2021). Racial and gender pay disparities: The role of education. Social Science Research, 98, 102580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102580
Collins, C., Landivar, L. C., Ruppanner, L., & Scarborough, W. J. (2021). COVID?19 and the gender gap in work hours. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(S1), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12506
Cotter, D. A., Hermsen, J. M., Ovadia, S., & Vanneman, R. (2001). The Glass Ceiling Effect. Social Forces, 80(2), 655–681. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0091
da Costa Silva, M. M., & Shinkoda, M. H. (2021). The gender gap and the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of net Brazilian formal job destruction. EconomiA, 22(3), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ.2021.12.002
Doleschel, J., & Manu, A.-S. (2021). ECB Economic Bulletin, Issue 7 / 2021. ECB Economic Bulletin, 7.
Doorley, K., O’donoghue, C., & Sologon, D. M. (2021). The Gender Gap in Income and the COVID-19 Pandemic (14360; Discussion Paper Series). www.iza.org
Field, E., Krivkovich, A., Kügele, S., Robinson, N., & Yee, L. (2023). Women in the Workplace.
Firpo, S., Fortin, N. M., & Lemieux, T. (2009). Unconditional Quantile Regressions. Econometrica, 77(3), 953–973. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA6822
Fortin, N., Lemieux, T., & Firpo, S. (2011). Decomposition Methods in Economics (pp. 1–102). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7218(11)00407-2
Goldin, C. (2014). A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), 1091–1119. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.4.1091
Halim, D., Hambali, S., & Purnamasari, R. S. (2023). Not All That It Seems: Narrowing of Gender Gaps in Employment during the Onset of COVID-19 in Indonesia. Asian Development Review, 40(2), 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0116110523400012
Hupkau, C., & Petrongolo, B. (2020). Work, Care and Gender during the COVID?19 Crisis*. Fiscal Studies, 41(3), 623–651. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-5890.12245
ILO. (2018). Global Wage Report 2018/19: What lies behind gender pay gaps.
ILO. (2022). Global Wage Report 2022–23: The impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power. https://doi.org/10.54394/ZLFG5119
ILO. (2023). World employment and social outlook. https://doi.org/10.54394/SNCP1637
ILO. (2024). World employment and social outlook. https://doi.org/10.54394/HQAE1085
Jann, B. (2008). The Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition for Linear Regression Models. The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, 8(4), 453–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X0800800401
Kafabih, A., & Ridwan, M. (2022). Wage Gap Analysis Between Gender in The Informal Sector During Covid-19. Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi Terapan, 7(2), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.20473/jiet.v7i2.40536
Köhler, T., Hill, R., & Bhorat, H. (2022). The effect of wage subsidies on job retention: Evidence from South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2022/248-5
Liputan6.com. (2022, December 28). Penyaluran BSU Tak Capai Target, Padahal Sudah Diperpanjang Seminggu. Bisnis.
Neetha, N. (2021). Crisis After Crisis: The Pandemic and Women’s Work. The Indian Economic Journal, 69(3), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/00194662211013234
Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets. International Economic Review, 14(3), 693–709. https://doi.org/10.2307/2525981
Olivetti, C., & Petrongolo, B. (2016). The Evolution of Gender Gaps in Industrialized Countries. Annual Review of Economics, 8(1), 405–434. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115329
Panjaitan, M. R. (2023). Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia. BESTARI: Buletin Statistika Dan Aplikasi Terkini, 3(1).
Pirmana, Vi. (2006). Earning Differentials Between Male-Female In Indonesia: Evidence from SAKERNAS Data (200608). http://ceds.feb.unpad.ac.id/wopeds/200608.pdf
Potrafke, N., & Ursprung, H. W. (2012). Globalization and gender equality in the course of development. European Journal of Political Economy, 28(4), 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2012.04.001
Psacharopoulos, G., & Patrinos, H. A. (2018). Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature. Education Economics, 26(5), 445–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2018.1484426
Reichelt, M., Makovi, K., & Sargsyan, A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality in the labor market and gender-role attitudes. European Societies, 23(sup1), S228–S245. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1823010
Rios-Avila, F. (2020). Recentered influence functions (RIFs) in Stata: RIF regression and RIF decomposition. The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, 20(1), 51–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X20909690
Rios-Avila, F., & de New, J. (2022). Marginal Unit Interpretation of Unconditional Quantile Regression and Recentered Influence Functions Using Centred Regression. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4175831
Shibata, I. (2021). The distributional impact of recessions: The global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic recession. Journal of Economics and Business, 115, 105971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2020.105971
Sohn, K. (2015). Gender Discrimination in Earnings in Indonesia: A Fuller Picture. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 51(1), 95–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2015.1016569
Suharyono, & Digdowiseiso, K. (2021). Education and gender wage gap: Evidence from indonesia. Accounting, 7(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ac.2020.10.017
Sukma, W. L., & Kadir. (2019). Decomposition of the Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia: Analysis from Sakernas Data. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 94930.
Taniguchi, K., & Tuwo, A. (2014). New Evidence on the Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia (404; Economics). www.adb.org
Weeden, K. A. (2005). Is there a flexiglass ceiling? Flexible work arrangements and wages in the United States. Social Science Research, 34(2), 454–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2004.04.006
WHO, & ILO. (2022). The gender pay gap in the health and care sector: A global analysis in the time of COVID-19.
Authors
Ruslan, K. and Sukma, W. L. (2025) “Decomposition of Post-Pandemic Gender Wage Gaps in Indonesia: an Analysis Across the Wage Distribution”, Jurnal Ketenagakerjaan, 20(2), pp. 201–222. doi: 10.47198/jnaker.v20i2.517.
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