The International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Turkey and Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) launched, at a seminar on 30 September 2020, the “Report on Measuring the Gender Wage Gap: Case of Turkey”, a joint study which included the data and first-ever calculation of gender wage gap using more comprehensive data sources and different methods.

Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of ILO Office for Turkey, said: “The calculation of gender wage gap is of utmost importance for identifying the current situation of inequalities in the world of work, formulating and implementing policies accordingly, and monitoring the progress by sector, occupational groups, educational levels and similar differences.”

The study in collaboration with TURKSTAT, under the “More and Better Jobs for Women Programme Phase II” with funding support from Sweden, examined a larger sectoral scope for the first time and included also the data on informal employment.

Emphasising the importance of the data used in calculations, Mr. Özcan added: “The report is very important in that the gender wage gap was first-ever calculated on the basis of data from the Income and Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) and Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) which better represented the labour market and were more comprehensive.”

Earlier calculations by TURKSTAT of gender wage gap in Turkey relied on the Structure of Earnings Survey.

“COVID-19 Pandemic Deepens Wage Gap”

Referring to the impact of COVID-19 crisis on gender wage gap, Özcan noted that “Social and economic fall-out of the crisis further deepens wage gap.”

“It is because such sectors as services, retail sales, tourism where women are predominantly employed are the ones hardest hit. Therefore, with heavier burden at home and domestic care responsibilities due to the pandemic, women are likely to be forced to insecure forms of short-term work or even quit employment to devote more time to domestic work, let alone fighting for managerial positions.”

Mr. Ahmet Kürşad Dosdoğru, acting Vice-President of TURKSTAT, expressed that the study also aimed to develop a new methodology to officially calculate the gender wage gap in Turkey, and represented a significant step towards identifying the existing inequalities in the world of work.

Launched at the webinar was the “Report on Measuring the Gender Wage Gap: Case of Turkey”, a joint study of ILO and TURKSTAT which included all data and information on methodology; and a panel was held with Ms. Ebru Özberk Anlı, Senior Programme Officer at ILO Office for Turkey, as the moderator, and Assoc.Prof.Dr. Emel Memiş of Faculty of Political Sciences, Ankara University, and Mr. Hüseyin Tancan Kale, Head of Labour Input Indicators Group at TURKSTAT, as panellists who were instrumental in producing the report and disclosed its findings to the public.

Gender wage gap is 15.6% in Turkey

Relying on the data from the Income and Living Conditions Survey (ILCS), the study found the gender wage gap as 15.6% in Turkey.

Gender wage gap widens as age increases

According to the study, wage gap widens as age increases. While it is relatively narrow at the beginning of working life (3.8%), it widens remarkably against women of 40s (25.9%), and persists in later ages.

Gender wage gap widens as educational level decreases

According to the study, wage gap widens as educational level decreases. It is highest for those with elementary education or less (38.6%), and lowest for those with tertiary or higher education (15.8%).

Informality is associated with higher wage gap

According to the study, wage gap among informal workers (24.2%) is wider than among formal workers (11.5%).

By ILO’s factor-weighted methodology, gender wage gap is 21%

By the factor-weighted methodology developed by ILO Headquarter and used for the first time in Turkey in cooperation with TURKSTAT, gender wage gap is 21.1% on average. The methodology allows calculation of gender wage gap to be isolated from biases that may arise due to domination of women and men in certain sectors and educational attainment.

Non-mothers and fathers earn more than mothers

Another significant feature of the study is the calculation of “motherhood wage gap” between working mothers and non-mothers.

As gender wage gap refers not only to the difference between working women with children and without children but also refers to the difference between working men and women, the study addresses also the wage gap between working mothers and fathers. Accordingly, the wage gap between working mothers and non-mothers is found to be 11% against mothers; and between working mothers and fathers 19% against mothers too.

First-ever study with a larger sectoral scope and informality data

The Report, as a joint study of ILO Office for Turkey and TURKSTAT, calculated the gender wage gap for the first time based on the Income and Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) which had a larger sectoral scope and included also the data on informal employment.