Abstract:
26
GENDER WAGE GAP IN SRI LANKA’S
LOGISTICS AND MARITIME INDUSTRY
U.N.S.R. Perera., P.C.J. Nayanalochana and
S.J. Francis
Received: 28 September 2025 Revised: 27 November 2025 Accepted: 29 December 2025
How to Cite this Article: Perera U.N.S.R., Nayanalochana, P.C.J. and Francis S.J. (2025)
Gender Wage Gap in Sri Lanka’s Logistics and Maritime Industry, Journal of Economics,
Statistics and Information Management, 4(2), 26-52
Abstract
This study examines gender wage disparities in Sri Lanka’s logistics and maritime
industry, a sector central to national economic development yet largely absent from
prior empirical analysis. While previous research has documented persistent gender
pay gaps in the broader Sri Lankan labour force, evidence specific to logistics and
maritime remains limited, despite the sector’s strategic role in global trade. Using
survey data collected in 2024 from 390 employees in Colombo through purposive
sampling, the study applies Ordinary Least Squares regression to identify key
determinants of hourly wages and employs Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to
separate explained and unexplained components of the gender wage gap. The
regression results indicate that female employees earn, on average, 16 percent less
per hour than male counterparts after controlling for education, experience, and job-
related factors. Decomposition analysis reveals that 53 percent of the wage gap can
be attributed to differences in productive characteristics such as education, tenure,
and contract type, while 47 percent remains unexplained, consistent with
discriminatory practices or unobserved structural barriers. The finding that the
explained portion is relatively larger highlights the importance of expanding
women’s access to high-return attributes, while the persistence of an unexplained
penalty underscores the need for equitable wage-setting and anti-discrimination
measures. By situating the analysis within human capital and labour market
discrimination frameworks, this study contributes new sector-specific evidence to
debates on gender inequality in developing economies and offers policy-relevant
insights for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and
Sustainable Development Goal 8 on decent work and inclusive economic growth.
