Gender gap in agricultural labour productivity: A comparison across African countries

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, where women constitute half of the agricultural workforce, their productivity is often constrained by limited access to productive resources and discriminatory practices. This study uses data from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania to examine gender gaps in agricultural labour productivity. Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition approach, we analyse the primary factors contributing to the observed productivity disparities across these countries. Our findings reveal that labour productivity is highest among male-managed plots, with an average gap of 33 percent with variations across countries ranging from 10 percent in Ethiopia to 47 percent in Uganda. The findings suggest that the endowment effect is the leading driver of the gender gap in all countries except northern Nigeria and Uganda, where the structural effect predominates. The higher productivity among male-managed plots is primarily driven by differential access to inputs, including labour and non-labour inputs, managerial and household characteristics. Compared to jointly managed plots, the results suggest a nuanced relationship for female-managed plots with a non-significant relationship in northern and southern Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, whereas female-managed plots are more productive in Uganda and less productive in Malawi.