Greater Female Employment Participation as a Catalyst to Reducing Income Inequality in Developing Countries – The Case of Latin American and Sub-Saharan African Countries

Abstract

This paper unravels the linkage between income inequality and women’s participation in the labor force within a group of developing countries drawn from Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. It adds to the existing body of literature by providing additional empirical evidence and pertinent situations to a group of countries in which current empiricism on the subject is to a large extent scanty. The choice of these countries has been done basically on grounds that they are subjected to very high income inequality trends and relentless policies encompassing gender biases. The traits are common to both sets of countries. Our regression results, based on 45 countries, clearly unfold that greater female participation in these countries tend to reduce income inequality. The major policy implication that emanates from this research is that governments in these countries should emphasize on empowering women to achieve greater gender equity in employment, lower income inequality and higher welfare for all.