FACTORS AFFECTING INCOME EQUALITY BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE WORKERS IN VIETNAM IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Vietnamese researchers and policymakers have been interested in gender inequality, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The differences in male and female salaries were analyzed in three main sectors: public, private, and foreign-invested, using the Labor Force Survey 2020 and the Oxaca-Blinder decomposition method. The research results showed that all workers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The average income of male workers was 1,059 thousand VND/month higher than that of female workers, of which 226,000 VND was due to differences in the characteristics of the two groups. The main explanations for income differences were educational levels, the proportion of workers in the three economic sectors, and the age of workers. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negligible effect on income inequality between males and females. The findings emphasized the importance of enhancing the quality of human resources and the legality of labor contracts in order to reduce income inequality between men and women.