Article

Expat wages up to $900\%$ higher than for local employees, research shows

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A survey of $1,300$ local and expat workers found a wage gap that ranges from $400-900\%$ and causes significant resentment among local workers

Imagine finding out that your colleagues earn five times more than you. Not only that, but they get all sorts of benefits you're not eligible for.

They take a month of leave; you get $12$ days. Your employer pays for their accommodation, health insurance and even their children's school fees; you don't get any of that.

But you have comparable skills and qualifications. You do the same work. In fact, you understand the context of your work better than your higher$-$paid colleagues.

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So why are they earning so much more than you? What if you found out it was simply because of your nationality?

In the humanitarian aid and development sector, this is the reality. Local staff are paid far less and receive fewer benefits than their expatriate colleagues, even when they do similar work and have similar qualifications.

We've studied the effects of the wage gap between local and international staff working in lower$-$income countries in an ESRC$-$funded project

called Addup $($Are Development Discrepancies Undermining Performance?$).$ We call this differential treatment the dual salary system.

Expatriates are often quick to dismiss dual salary systems as a non$-$issue. But local workers told us a different story. They said disparities created significant feelings of workplace injustice. They felt less valued than their expatriate colleagues.

Wage disparities are often a taboo topic, especially when power relations are involved. Socially responsive and accountable research such as the Addup project can "speak truth to power". This is especially important because differential treatment between international and local aid workers may undermine international aid programs.

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