Same Academic Abilities but Different Wages: The Legacy of Gender Discrimination in India in the Twenty-First Century

This paper analyses the differences between the wages of females and males who had similar academic ability at the school level. The analysis uses data from a nationally representative household survey and both non-parametric as well as parametric approach for estimation. Our findings reveal that, for the same level of academic ability, males earn substantially and significantly higher wages than their female counterparts. The results clearly indicate that despite controlling for socio-economic, cohort and labour market related factors, the wages of females are significantly lower than that of the males. This result is true for the full sample as well as the samples formed on the basis of ability levels. The difference is least (but substantial and significant) in the case of individuals who completed secondary school with ‘first division’ (highest grade) and is highest among the individuals who did not complete secondary school.