2023 Reports

Shocking Offers: Gender, Wage Inequality, and Recessions in Online Labor Markets

Archibong, Belinda; Blair Henry, Peter

Using data from the largest online job portal in Nigeria, we document: (a) gender differences in salary offers for jobs, and (b) the response of (a) to recessions. Jobs in industries where the number of job applicants skews female, offer lower starting salaries than jobs in industries where applicants skews male. During Nigeria’s 2016 recession, applications to jobs in industries that skew female fell, and salary offers rose. In contrast, applications to jobs in industries that skew male rose, and salary offers fell. In accordance with this relative shift in applications, in 2016, the salary-offer gap almost disappears.

Keywords: Recession, Wage, Gender, Employment, Bias, ICT