Gender Pay Inequality in the Digital Economy and Its Global and Regional Dimensions

Abstract

The article examines gender pay inequality in Kazakhstan under conditions of digital transformation. The purpose of the study is to assess the scale and principal mechanisms of wage differences between men and women, with particular attention to human capital, occupational segregation, digital-sector participation, managerial status, working-time arrangements, and regional factors. The empirical analysis combines aggregated wage indicators for 2015–2024 with an analytical microdata sample of 5,000 employees for 2024. The methodology includes descriptive and comparative analysis, extended Mincer wage regressions, the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition, and regional analysis. The results show that the gender pay gap based on aggregated national indicators declined from 22.7% in 2015 to 21.6% in 2024, although its dynamics remained unstable. In the analytical microdata sample, the gap amounted to 25.8%. Despite almost identical average levels of education and work experience, women were substantially underrepresented in STEM occupations, digital-sector employment, and managerial positions and were approximately 3.4 times more likely to work part-time. The econometric estimates indicate that women’s conditional wages were approximately 17.6% lower than men’s after controlling for individual, occupational, sectoral, regional, and temporal characteristics. STEM, digital-sector, and managerial employment were associated with wage premiums, whereas part-time employment reduced earnings. The Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition showed that observable characteristics explained 31.2% of the total gap, while 68.8% remained unexplained. The findings indicate that gender pay inequality is driven mainly by unequal access to high-return employment opportunities rather than by differences in formal education or work experience.