Gender Wage Gap and Education: Case in Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean women are paid less than men, although they have more years of education. This research analyzes the case of the Dominican Republic and presents evidences of the gender wage gap using regression analysis with data from the Central Bank of Dominican Republic. Results show that there exist the gender wage gap in the Dominican Republic and key determinants of wage are age, education, type of occupation, marital status and number of children. The probability of having higher wages is less for women in this country. Higher (college) education narrows the degree of the gender wage gap, the hourly wage for college educated women is 8% less than the wage for college educated men, compared with 24-32% less for other levels of education. Public policies should focus on facilitating access to higher (college) education for women.