Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32).

Introduction -- Literature review -- Data and methodology -- Empirical results and discussion -- Conclusion.

"An aspect of gender wage gap that is often neglected is the wage differentials between the public sector and private sector. Cognizant of the fact that the Kenya labour market is segregated into public and private sectors, entry into the labour market therefore differ significantly by gender and so is the wage. Using microdata from the 2015/16 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS), this study analyses the gender wage gap in the private and public sectors, considering the whole wage distribution with the assumption that the decision to work in a sector is a prior process which is determined endogenously in the model. Therefore, the usual Ordinary Least Square technique of estimation is inconsistent, and it is necessary to use alternative techniques. The study employs the Recentred Influence Function (RIF) Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to calculate hoe much of the gap is due to differences in returns between men and women and sector, considering the sample selection bias. We find that the size of the gap attributed to different returns varies substantially across the wage distribution. Public sector employees in Kenya are paid higher wages, on average, than their counterparts in the private sector, and the gap is wide for women. Moreover, the proportion of the gender wage gap explained (by different characteristics) tends to be wider for workers who are at the top of the wage distribution in both sectors. Looking at the whole wage distribution reveals that discrimination in the gender wage gap is typically higher at its bottom than at its top, suggesting that sticky floors are more prevalent than glass ceilings. A very important contribution of this study is evaluation of covariates that widen gender wage gap along the wage distribution. The study finds that education and unionization are key characteristics in lowering the gender wage gap. Further, wage gap due to discrimination is widely spread across industries to the disadvantage of women save for community service industries. Conversely, occupations such as clerical services, administrative, professionals, technicians and elementary occupation reveal lower wage gap for women. The study recommends introduction of women friendly working environment particularly in private sectors. Moreover, to mitigate gender wage inequality increasing acquisition of higher education skills especially for women is instrumental. This should be accompanied by legislation and compulsory implementation of workplace gender equality plans or policies in all organizations and ensuring strict enforcement of a mandatory minimum wage to alleviate lower wages for women across the wage distribution." --Abstract.