GENDER SALARY DIFFERENCES IN BRAZIL: COMPARING THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS

ABSTRACT This article aims to investigate the determinants of wage differentials between men and women by comparing the public and private sectors. To this end, information from the 2015 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and decomposition techniques based on Oaxaca, Blinder, and Firpo, Fortin and Lemieux will be used. The main objective of the study is to understand this wage differential throughout the distribution, distinguishing workers in the public and private sectors. The results of the models show that the largest portion of the wage differential between men and women, in Brazil, is not supported by the different characteristics, and may, to a certain extent, signal the presence of gender discrimination in the labor market. The work period, education, type of occupation, and area of activity, contribute, to some extent, to explaining the wage differential. The results point to greater income inequalities in the public sector, with an emphasis on the upper part of the distribution, despite evidence of greater discrimination in the private sector.