November 14, 2025
THIMPHU – A gender pay gap is one of the key factors driving Bhutanese women to migrate to Australia, according to the World Bank’s report, “Migration Dynamics in Bhutan: Recent Trends, Drivers, and Implications.”
Senior Economist at the World Bank and co-author of the report, Jumana Alaref, said that previous research found a substantial gender pay gap in Bhutan.
She added that despite being more educated than men, Bhutanese women often select lower-paying jobs, potentially due to care duties at home that limit their working hours. “This self-selection into occupations with lower earning potential contributes significantly to the pay gap,” Jumana Alaref said.
She also highlighted an unexplained wage gap that cannot be accounted for by education or experience. “Men overall earn higher returns on their education compared to women, representing an unexplained element of the wage differential.”
According to the Bhutan Labour Market Information System, women constituted only 42 percent of the workforce as of August 2025 and face a substantial earnings gap. Their median monthly salary is 9.3 percent lower than that of their male counterparts.
An August 2025 report on gender inequality in Bhutan’s private sector by Ugyen Wangchuk states that “this raw pay gap widens to 15.6 percent when comparing mean salaries, indicating that men are disproportionately represented in the highest-paying roles.”
However, the situation changes for these women in Australia. Jumana Alaref said that while the data is not conclusive, Bhutanese women in Australia are more likely to have higher salaries and higher-paying jobs, similar to Bhutanese men.
The wage difference between the two countries is substantial. The report found that most potential female migrants earn below Nu 40,000 per month in Bhutan, while the majority earn at least Nu 60,000 in Australia.
This financial incentive is particularly compelling for women, as the gender wage gap observed in Bhutan is significantly narrower in Australia.
The report also details the profile of migrants, stating that women form a slight majority at 52.9 percent. Of the total migrant population, 85 percent are married and 35 percent have children.
Australia is the top destination for tertiary-educated Bhutanese, with a ratio of 0.44 tertiary-educated to non-tertiary educated migrants, the highest among all destination countries and nearly double that of the US. Migration trends show no significant gender disparities, with Bhutanese women migrating at the same rate as men to the same countries.
The report added that aspiring migrants are strongly motivated by the prospect of higher wages abroad, though they tend to underestimate their actual earning potential. Interestingly, even with high expectations, aspiring migrants’ salary projections fall short of what current migrants actually earn, suggesting the financial benefits of moving are greater than anticipated.