A whopping 20% is the gap between men’s and women’s median salaries in Morocco, as men earn 3,400 MAD per month as an average salary, but women are paid only 2,800 MAD, according to Morocco’s Statistics and Forecasts Office’s (HCP) in its latest report published on International Women’s Rights Day.
In 2019, the average monthly wage per employee was 3,800 MAD nationwide, with a notable difference between urban and rural areas, where it stood at 4,500 MAD and 2,200 MAD respectively. On average, men earn a monthly salary of 3,900 MAD, compared with 3,700 MAD for women.
When zeroing in on the urban wage-earning population age 18-60, it was found that the average male salary is 4,900 MAD, representing a 23% differential over the average female salary of 3,900 MAD.
By age group, the average wage gap follows an inverted U-shaped trend, with women age 18-29 earning an average wage 10% higher than that of their male counterparts.
However, beyond this age bracket, the pay gap widens, revealing a disadvantage in the statistics for women. It reaches its widest level, with a gap of 41.4%, among employees age 30-44.
Despite a narrowing of this gap for employees age 45-60, it still persists in favor of men and remains significant, approaching the overall average wage gap, regardless of the age bracket.
Viewed by educational level, the wage gap in favor of men reaches its highest level (42.4%) among employees with no formal education.
This gap narrows to 30% among employees with basic schooling, and levels off at 37% among those with higher education, says the HCP, noting that the extent of the wage gap among the latter stems mainly from the gender pay gap in the private sector, which stands at 82%, compared with 13% in the public sector.
On the other hand, in the public sector, with an average salary of 8,500 MAD for men and 8,300 MAD for women, the wage differential is limited to 2.4%. In the private sector, these averages are 5,400 MAD and 3,800 MAD, respectively, a gap of 43%.
However, it should be noted that the variances remain less pronounced–and that they are actually reversed–in favor of young female employees age 18-29, with a difference of 15.9% in the public sector and 6.8% in the private sector.