Gendered trajectories: women, work, and social change in Japan and Taiwan

Sustainable economic growth at national and global level depends on the significant participation of women in the labor force. Because women compose half of the world population in terms of human capital and labor. Despite the developments in recent years, there is still gender inequality in labor markets around the world and labor force participation rate of women is lower than men. There are many factors affecting the participation of women in the labor force in all developed and developing countries. The effect levels of these factors on the participation rate differ depending on the development levels of the countries. In this context, the role of women's education and labor force participation on development is an important issue especially for all developing country. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the relationship between women's labor force participation rates and economic growth in transition economies. For this purpose, the generalized method of moments, which is a dynamic panel data analysis technique, is applied in the study using data between 1995-2019. Analysis findings reveal that there is a U-shaped relationship between women's labor force participation rate and economic growth in transition economies competible with the literature. As a result, reducing gender inequality and increasing women's labor force participation rates positively affect economic growth, income inequality and social welfare, so it is great importance that policy practitioners create a comprehensive women's employment policy and ensure that women play an active role in the labor force.

This study examines whether living with other adults enables married and single mothers in New York City to enter the labor market. Multivariate analyses of data on over 8,000 households revealed that living with coresident adults increased the participation of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Asian single mothers, and enabled all mothers of young children and all foreign-born mothers to enter the labor market. In a separate analysis of extended households, the proportions of elderly and employed coresident adults increased women 's labor force participation, while the proportion of coresident adults who reported child care/family responsibilities as their reason for not being in the labor force decreased women's paid labor activity. Our findings suggest that coresident adults serve different functions within the household, which in turn influence women's labor force decisions in various ways. In recent years attention has focused on the various ways in which families manage social and economic difficulties. One strategy that has received considerable research attention is household extension, or the incorporation of adults other than the husband and wife into the household. Incorporating other adults may benefit the household in a number of ways. Co-resident adults may contribute to the household's pool of financial resources, thereby potentially increasing the economic well-being of household members. Or they may provide domestic labor, which might enable the wife or female householder to devote more time to paid employment. Angel and Tienda (1982) argued that household extension may be an important adaptive strategy for minority families, in that additional income contributions may compensate for low earnings or sporadic unemployment. In this article we analyze the relationship between household extension and mothers' labor force participation among six racial and ethnic groups in New York City. In so doing, we largely replicate an earlier analysis by Tienda and Glass (1985) using current data from one of the nation's most diverse cities. However, we expand upon the earlier analysis in three ways: by including an indicator of the supply of child care in the household, by examining a broader array of racial/ethnic groups, and by analyzing the role that birthplace plays in influencing women's labor market behavior. DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN'S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION Family structure has long been recognized as an important determinant of women's labor force participation. Typically, family characteristics--such as marital status, the presence of young children, and the presence of coresident adults--affect the amount of time women can spend in domestic and market activities. Including other adults in the household may ease the strain of balancing domestic and market responsibilities, especially for single mothers and mothers of young children who may have the least flexibility in devoting time to the labor market. Prior research has shown that women who live in extended households are more likely than women who do not live with coresident adults to be in the labor force, yet this relationship varies by race/ethnicity (Barry Figueroa & Melendez, 1993; Stier, 1991; Stier & Tienda, 1992; Tienda & Glass, 1985). Moreover, women's labor force behavior appears to be influenced by the specific characteristics of coresident adults. For example, as the number of coresident adults increases, married mothers' participation decreases, suggesting greater domestic burdens; by contrast, as the proportion of female coresident adults increases so does single mothers' participation, suggesting that coresident women function as surrogate domestic workers (Tienda & Glass, 1985). Living with coresident employed adults increases labor force participation among young mothers, while living with coresident nonworking adults--presumably a source of child care--depresses paid labor activity (Parish, Hao, & Hogan, 1991). …

We address several key hypotheses about the effects of socioeconomic development on women's labour force participation during the transition from agriculture to industrialism. To this end, we explore differences in women's labour force participation in Brazil by education, marital status, age, and urban or rural residence. We also show how socioeconomic development affects the overall level of women's participation and the differentials by education, etc. Our data are drawn from a large 1973 PNAD (Pequisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilos) survey conducted by the Brazilian census bureau. Socioeconomic development in different parts of Brazil ranges from pre-industrial agriculture to heavy industry. Using logistic regression, we show that the general level of women's labour force participation does not change with the level of development. Highly educated women are much more likely than the less educated to be in the labour force (net of other influences); this difference is substantially greater than in post-industrial societies. Somewhat surprisingly, the influence of education is the same across the range of development levels in Brazil. Single women are more likely to be in the labour force than married women, and the difference grows during development. Age has a curvilinear relationship to labour force participation, and the old are much less likely to participate in more developed places. Rural women are slightly more likely to be in the labour force at all levels of development.

The asymmetric role of crime in women's and men's labour force participation: Evidence from India

T HE steady increase in the labor force participation of married women in the United States over the last few decades has stimulated considerable interest in the economic analysis of a woman's decision Pioneering work by Mincer (1962) and Cain (1966) has served as a theoretical and empirical foundation for numerous studies of female labor force participation. This research typically treats a woman's current labor force status (measured as a dummy variable for the individual and as a rate for the population) as a measure of labor supply which depends upon economic and demographic characteristics such as female earnings, male earnings, non-earnings income, schooling, work experience, age, number of children, and so on. (Notable examples are Bowen and Finegan (1969), Cogan (1975, 1978), Gronau (1973), Heckman (1974, 1980), and Schultz (1980).) While the associated theoretical models and statistical techniques have been refined considerably (especially by Lewis (1972), Ben-Porath (1973), and Heckman (1974, 1979)), the coefficients estimated using U.S. data have remained reasonably robust. Also, there is substantial agreement among micro-level and aggregate results. (See Cain (1966) and Bowen and Finegan (1969) for comparisons.) As this body of literature has grown, the economic models developed within it have been implemented analyze the labor force behavior of women in other countries. However, there is no consistent international pattern in the behavioral trends of the female labor force. Perhaps the most notable difference in the economic opportunities available women in many other countries is that they may work in the sector of the labor market. Women may be considered economically active and may be counted as being in the labor force as they produce goods at home for market sale, work on the family farm, or work in a small family-run business. The most convenient means of categorizing workers as being in the sector is by their employment status. Following Jaffe and Azumi (1960) we assume that women reported as self-employed or as family workers are engaged in the informal sector of the labor force. Almost all women in the U.S. labor force work as employees; only 6.6% worked as self-employed or family workers in 1978. Given Japan's advanced economic development, a surprisingly large fraction (38.4% in 1978) of its female labor force comprises self-employed and family workers.' Clearly, in the United States and countries with a similar distribution of the labor force by employment status, the labor force participation decision may be treated as the choice to work or not work. However, if individuals regard the decision enter the labor force as an employee as being distinct from the choice enter the labor force as a family worker, then economic models of labor force participation which treat these choices as identical will incorporate a specification bias. The labor force participation decision may differ between these two sectors for several reasons. First, the wage offers may differ by sector. Second, while entering the informal sector may be virtually frictionless, there may be fixed costs (among them commuting time and child care) associated with working in the formal sector. Third, family workers may face more flexible working schedules than paid employees; the latter group may be subject contractual working hours. In order treat the labor force decisions in coiuntiNes with significant informal sectors. this Received for publication March 16, 1981. Revision accepted for publication September 15, 1982. * Rutgers University. This paper is a revision of work begun with my doctoral dissertation. I would like thank H. Gregg Lewis and T. Dudley Wallace for their suggestions and Hideo Okamoto for providing the data set. I would also like thank David Crawford, Toshiaki Tachibanaki, two anonymous referees, and the participants of the Columbia Labor Workshop, the Japan Economic Seminar, and the Yale Labor and Population Workshop for their comments. Remaining errors are my own. This research was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health. Additional funding was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation grant the Yale Economic Demography Program. I Statistical Abstract of the U.S. and Japan Statistical Yearbook.

<ns3:p>In this paper, we study declines in women’s labor force participation by race and ethnicity as well as the presence of children. We find that increases in labor force exits were larger for Black women, Latinas, and women living with children. In particular, we find larger increases in pandemic-era labor force exits among women living with children under age 6 and among lower-earning women living with school-age children after controlling for detailed job and demographic characteristics. Latinas and Black women also had larger increases in labor force exits during the pandemic relative to White women. Differences in the presence of children and household structure explain one-quarter of the excess labor force exits among women of color.</ns3:p>

This study compares four classification models—Logistic Regression, Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost)—to predict women's labor force participation in West Java, using a dataset of 62 features. After feature selection, the dataset was reduced to 31 features, followed by modeling with the top 10 most important features from each model. Model performance, evaluated using Balanced Accuracy, F1-Score, and Cohen’s Kappa, showed similar results, with RF and XGBoost slightly outperforming the others. However, the differences were not significant, indicating comparable predictive ability across models. The top 10 features from each model were averaged, and the five most influential features were selected. Key factors influencing women's employment status include household responsibilities, age, education, district minimum wage, and the age of the youngest child. The analysis found that 79.6% of unemployed women manage household duties, while employed women are less involved (18.9%). Age was significant, with employed women mostly in the 35-55 age range, correlating with older children and greater workforce participation. Additionally, employed women are more likely to come from regions with lower minimum wages, suggesting that economic necessity drives their labor market participation. Keywords: female labor force, machine learning, classification, West Java

This research addresses the main problems affecting women's labor force participation in Türkiye and the proposed solutions to these problems. Women's participation in economic activities is vital not only for economic development but also for the goal of achieving gender equality. The research analyzes multidimensional factors shaping women's employment, such as education level, gender roles, informal work, glass ceiling syndrome, marital status and childcare. Data for 2021-2024 reveal that women's employment has increased, but this increase is largely concentrated in the service sector. In high value-added industrial and technology sectors, women's representation remains limited and they are mostly employed in low-status and unskilled jobs. Although higher levels of education support women's participation in the labor force, childcare responsibilities, insufficient flexible working arrangements and lack of social support mechanisms are among the main obstacles limiting women's employment. In order to increase women's participation in the labor force and develop more sustainable solutions in this area, it is recommended to increase access to education, prevent informal work, expand flexible working opportunities and implement programs that encourage female leadership. Such policies will be an important step in ensuring social equality while supporting economic growth.

This paper reexamines the evolution of women's labor force participation (LFP) and employment in Iran in light of five decades of census data from 1956 to 2006. We show that changes in schooling and economic structure have fundamentally transformed the nature of female LFP and employment in the country. Although women's overall LFP rate was slow to recover following a sharp drop in the aftermath of the 1979 Revolution, it has gathered momentum in recent years. More importantly, an increasingly larger proportion of educated women aged 20-50 years are employed in the private sector in professional positions in urban areas. This is quite different from the expansion of female employment before the Revolution, which predominantly consisted of jobs for very young, uneducated women in rural areas mostly as unpaid family workers in producing carpets and handicraft. We argue that economic and political factors after the Revolution have played central roles in shaping the new trends and show that they are likely to have played a far more important part than ideological ones, particularly Islamization, did in reducing female LFP and employment during the first decade of the Revolution. The reduction in female employment during that decade was essentially due to declines of private sector jobs, particularly low skill ones in rural handicrafts, closely connected with the disruption of production and trade in the aftermath of Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. In recent years, however, it is unemployment among educated women that has risen sharply because their entry into the labor force has significantly outpaced their ability of find jobs. Still, this problem may be temporary because the service sector where female employment is most common and where the value added per worker is greater than in the rest of the economy is growing faster than other sectors.

In this paper we use longitudinal data to test the strength of individual preferences and structural variables as explanations for married women's labor force participation. Data drawn from a subset of the Career Development Study are used to compare gendered preferences measured toward the end of adolescence vs. work and family structural variables as predictors of the actual number of hours married women work for pay. Family structures that push women out of the labor force and pull them into family work prove to be the strongest predictor of married women's employment hours, with work structures (e.g., aspects of “good” jobs) and the subjective definition of paid work as a career also being substantively important for explaining hours in the labor force. Our findings also indicate that attitudes formed before and during early adolescence do have a weak but statistically significant effect on married women's labor force participation, at least for baby boom women.

This paper is a survey of analyses of women's labor force growth in 12 industrialized countries, presented at a conference in Sussex, England in 1983. The main focus is on growth of the labor force of married women from 1960-1980; trends in fertility, wages, and family instability are discussed. In all countries, wages of women were lower than wages of men, although between 1960 and 1980 labor force rates of married women rose in most of the industrialized countries. 2 factors that are associated with this growth are declines in fertility and increases in divorce rates. The 12 countries studied are: 1) Australia, 2) Britain, 3) France, 4) Germany, 5) Israel, 6) Italy, 7) Japan, 8) Netherlands, 9) Spain, 10) Sweden, 11) US, and 12) USSR. The substitution variables (wages of women or their education) have strong positive effects on labor force participation in most cases, and in most cases the positive wage elasticities exceed the negative income elasticities by a sizable margin. A summary table estimating parameters of the P-function for each country, and their predictive performance in time series, are included. From 1960-1980 the average per country growth in participation of married women was 2.84% per year. Wages of working women, in this same period grew, on average, faster than wages of men in most countries, in part due to selectivity by education in labor force growth. While growth rates of real wages across countries have a weak relation with the differential growth rates of married women's labor force, the relation is strong when country parameters are taken into account. The dominance of the "discouraged" over the "added" workers in female labor force growth appears to be upheld internationally. On the average, total fertility rate dropped from 2.42 in 1970 to 1.85 in 1980. Both fertility declines and the growth of family instability appear to represent lagged effects of longer term developments in the labor force of women. Women's wages are lower than men's wages in all countries; wage differentials narrowed in all other countries over the past 2 decades. This narrowing was due both to women's educational attainment catching up with men's, and to a positive educational selectivity of women's labor force growth during this period. Ultimately, without labor market discrimination and with equal educational attainment, the wage gap can be eliminated only when sex differences in lifetime work experience vanish.

The loss of womanpower in conspicuous leisure activities, unproductive household tasks, or various forms of "disguised unemployment," which can be seen in every society, is nowhere more evident than in the cities of underdeveloped countries. In urban areas of Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan, for example, less than 15 percent of all women aged 15-64 are in the labor force. In many cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, to be sure, over 30 percent of all working-age women are in the labor force, but from one-third to half of those who work are employed in domestic service. If more effective use is to be made of the potential womanpower in urban areas, it will be necessary both to increase women's work-participation rates and to channel their labor into genuinely productive tasks. The general trends of development of a modern women's labor force, some effects of this development, and some sources of resistance to it are considered in this paper.

This study inquired into the way socioeconomic, institutional, and digitalization aspects relate to women's participation in the labor force. Making use of the data from 28 developing nations gathered between 1997 and 2022, the Granger causality test and the fixed effect panel estimate method were utilized to examine the relationship between the variables. The analysis results certified that, at low quantiles, women's labor force participation and economic growth uphold a positive but statistically insignificant relationship. In the opposite direction, it was discovered that the impact of inflation on female labor force participation is negative at medium and high quantiles while it is statistically insignificant at low quantiles. Despite being proven to exert a positive influence on the participation of females in the labor force, the model's gross fixed capital accumulation has been determined to be statistically insignificant at very high quantiles. At every quantile degree, it was also detected that the number of women in parliament, the internet use, and urbanization all had a positive impact on female labor force participation. Granger causality studies, on the other side, manifested that there is a unidirectional causality from the internet usage, urbanization and the number of women in parliament to the female labor force. Nonetheless, the findings indicated that there is a bidirectional causality between inflation and the female labor force and a unidirectional causality from the female labor force to gross fixed capital accumulation. It was finally concluded that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between female labor force participation and economic growth.

Housing cost and married women's labor force participation in 1980

This brief overview of trends in women's labor force activity show that, on the whole, women's overall labor force, employment, and earnings experience are coming to resemble those of men. It also shows, however, that women are a very diverse group whose labor market activity varies considerably depending on such factors as age, ethnicity, marital status, and motherhood. Transportation decisions need to take this diversity into account.