The Female Labor Force in Metropolitan Areas: An International Comparison

Abstract

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.