Gender wage gaps and worker mobility: Evidence from the garment sector in Bangladesh

Data from 70 large export-oriented garment manufacturers in Bangladesh show that women's wages are 20 percent lower than men's and are 8 percent lower even among narrowly-defined production workers. A significant gap remains even after controlling for very precisely measured skills. Longer careers of men in the sector explain around half of the wage gap, with the other half due in roughly equal parts to differences in internal and across-factory promotion rates. Our results are most consistent with broader gender norms, beyond gendered household responsibilities, driving the gap.