GENDER PAY GAP IN HEALTH SECTOR: A FIELD STUDY

The health sector, which has a fragmented employment structure, stands out as one of the sectors in which women's employment intensifies. However, women in the health sector are exposed to gender discrimination in many aspects, directly or indirectly. Among them, gender wage gap in this sector is remarkable. Among professionals, with 35.9%, gender wage gap is the highest in the health sector. The reasons for this difference are based on both the supply and demand characteristics and occupational segregation. According to the field study findings in Ankara, while the white-collar women working in the health sector were found not to be directly exposed to the gender wage discrimination, they were subjected to various inequalities due to their family responsibilities. In this context, it has been found that white-collar women agree to be paid lower wages than men because of their priorities for their family. On the other hand, due to the gender-based occupational segregation and the widespread belief that some occupations are male-dominated jobs, a significant gender wage gap was found among the blue-collar employees