African workers speak up – Pay feels fairer, but gender gaps persist
Significant progress has been made towards pay equality in Africa, especially in 2024.
However, many people – especially women – say they are still paid unfairly, and certain regions face much higher levels of discrimination.
This is according to ADP’s Global Workforce View survey of almost 38,000 workers across the world.
The report showed that 22% of workers in the Middle East and Africa say they are not fairly paid, which is one of the lowest levels globally.
However, a deeper analysis reveals discrepancies, particularly when you consider specific factors beyond geographical regions – like age, company rank, gender, and industry.
This is incredibly important for employers, because workers who feel unfairly paid are:
- Less likely to be engaged
- Less resilient
- Less trusting of leadership
- More likely to quit
To look at it another way, only 9% of disengaged workers say their pay is fair, compared to 22% of fully engaged employees.
This sense of fairness rises even more among those who trust leadership, and jumps significantly for employees who received a raise in the past year – they’re 2.3x more likely to feel fairly compensated.
These patterns occur across age and gender, too.
Age and gender
The ADP survey showed optimistic numbers among younger African workers, as only 23% of women and 18% of men aged 18-26 felt underpaid.
The number rose with age, as 34% of women aged 55-64 felt underpaid. Globally, 28% of women said their pay was unfair, compared to 23% of men.
There was an interesting exception, with only 21% of South African women saying their pay was unfair, compared to 24% of men. This polarity held true in Nigeria and Egypt, too.
However, the overall trend is clear – women feel they experience unfair pay more than men do.
Women also felt more unfairly paid than their male colleagues in many industries across Africa, especially education, health care, and hospitality.
Industry and business
An interesting trend appeared in education and healthcare (female-dominated workforces) – pay dissatisfaction was incredibly high.
- Education: 40% of women felt unfairly paid, compared to 32% of men.
- Healthcare: 39% of women said the same, versus 30% of men.
The gaps were smaller in more male-dominated sectors like mining and energy.
It wasn’t just industry-dependent, though. The level of an employee within an organisation played a significant role in how they viewed their pay.
At the top (C-level), only 13% of leaders felt unfairly paid, while 34% of individual contributors felt the same.
The report also showed that the gender pay perception gap remained even at the higher levels – although the gap was noticeably narrower.
Frontline workers and mid-level managers in South Africa were also far more likely to feel underpaid than those in executive roles.
The bottom line
The report found that overall, African employers are making progress, but pay perception still matters.
Therefore, closing gender and role-based gaps isn’t just about equity – it’s a strategic advantage in keeping talent engaged and committed.
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