Global interactions and the ‘twin’ gender gaps in employment and wages: evidence from Vietnam

In this paper we investigate the role of firms with global ties – foreign firms and exporters – in shaping the ‘twin’ gender gaps in employment opportunities and wages in Vietnam for both skilled and unskilled workers. Our analysis shows that foreign firms contribute by boosting employment opportunities in the formal sector for unskilled female workers. Although foreign firms, and in particular exporters, pay lower average wages to unskilled workers – both male and female – we find evidence that they significantly contribute in narrowing the gender wage gap. The presence of foreign firms has, meanwhile, only limited effects on gender gaps in employment for skilled workers. Finally, we show that the negative gaps in wages are entirely due to differences in productivities between female and male workers. Not only do we reject the hypothesis of discrimination, but we find evidence of sizable wage subsidies (for unskilled female workers).