Women's Labour Market Participation Research Articles

Women’s Labour Market Attachment and the Gender Wealth Gap

Abstract This article examines the evolution of the gender wealth gap in Germany during the first decade of the XXI century. This period is characterized by an increase in labour supply of women and change in occupational structure due to numerous reforms undertaken by the government. We use the Firpo, Fortin, Lemieux detailed decomposition technique throughout the wealth distribution to identify the main factors explaining the gap over time. Findings indicate that an increase in the labour market participation of women and the resulting changes in the occupational structure are accompanied by positive changes in women’s wealth accumulation, which reduce the gender wealth gap. The role of permanent income decreases due to a reduction both in the gender difference in average permanent income and in gender differences in its returns. There remain substantial differences in the way women and men accumulate wealth. Policy interventions to further reduce the gap are discussed.

Gendered processes of recruitment to elite higher educational institutions in mid‐twentieth century Britain

AbstractThis article uses rare and detailed data on matriculants to the University of Oxford during the middle decades of the twentieth century as a prism through which to consider gendered processes of recruitment to elite institutions. The article makes four key claims. First, the broader shifts in middle‐class women's labour market participation in the mid‐century are reflected in patterns of maternal occupation among matriculants, shifting from being predominantly housewives to professionals across the period. Related to this, the fathers of matriculants had similar professions whether their child was male or female, but mothers’ professions varied much more between male and female students. There was much more variation between mothers and fathers of students who attended what we term ‘elite’ schools. Finally, across the mid‐twentieth century, the number of male students from elite schools declined significantly, whereas the number of women students who had attended an ‘elite’ school was much steadier. Given the centrality of Oxford for processes of elite recruitment, these trends in their matriculants will have far wider implications for who gets access to elite positions in the decades after these shifts were occurring, revealing in some ways the continuity of class privilege and the increasingly salient role of mother's occupation in processes of elite reproduction.

The impact of COVID-19 on women’s labour market outcomes: evidence from four MENA countries

PurposeCOVID-19 has had various effects on women’s labour supply worldwide. This study investigates how women’s labour market outcomes in the MENA region have been affected by the stringency of governments’ COVID-19 responses and school closures. We examine whether women, particularly those with children at young age, reduced their labour supply to take care of their families during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate whether having a family results in an extra penalty to women’s labour market outcomes, we compare single women to married women and mothers. Using the ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household Surveys, we analyse the key conditions underlying women’s labour market outcomes: (1) wage earnings and labour market status including remaining formally employed, informally, unpaid or self-employed, unemployed or out of the labour force and (2) becoming permanently terminated, being suspended, seeing a reduction in the hours worked or wages, or seeing a delay in one’s wage payments because of COVID-19. Ordered probit and multinomial logit are employed in the case of categorical outcomes, and linear models for wage earnings.FindingsWomen, regardless of whether they have children or not, appear to join the labour market out of necessity to help their families in the times of crisis. Child-caring women who are economically inactive are also more likely to enter the labour market. There is little difference between the negative experiences of women with children and child-free women in regard to their monthly pay reduction or delay, or contract termination, but women with children were more likely to experience reduction in hours worked throughout the pandemic.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings may not have causal interpretation facilitating accurate inference. This is because of potential omitted variables such as endogenous motivation of women in different circumstances, latent changes in the division of domestic work between care-giving and other household members, or selective sample attrition.Originality/valueOur analysis explores the multiple channels in which the pandemic has affected the labour outcomes of MENA-region women. Our findings highlight the challenges that hamper the labour market participation of women, and suggest that public policy should strive to balance the share of unpaid care work between men and women and increase men’s involvement, through measures that support child-bearing age women’s engagement in the private sector during crises, invest in childcare services and support decent job creation for all.

Revitalizing Women's Labor Force Participation in North Africa: An Exploration of Novel Empowerment Pathways

ABSTRACT This paper explores new pathways to women's empowerment, including household structure, family support, satisfaction and self-esteem, and trust in institutions and politicians, and their impact on labor market participation, with a specific focus on gender differences. Using a microeconomic database of 7,860 individuals from North Africa and employing a Probit model, we find that gender significantly influences labor market participation. Surprisingly, our results reveal that education operates in an unexpected direction in the North African region, confirming the “MENA paradox”. Moreover, household structure's impact on labor decisions varies by gender, as gender norms prevalent in male-dominated societies hinder women's labor market participation, leading to a “marriage penalty.” In a similar vein, our estimations reveal a significant positive correlation between men's belief that “men should have greater job rights than women during scarce work periods” and their labor force participation, shedding light on the influential role of gender norms in North Africa. Our study emphasizes the critical role of networking, social capital, and how North Africans' perception of political life impedes their labor force participation. As for policy implications, our contribution illuminates new pathways for women's empowerment, advocating for comprehensive legislative reforms to promote gender equality and foster inclusive development.

Religiosity, gender attitudes and women's labor market participation

Purpose: This study examines the impact of religion on female labor market participation and tests the hypothesis that under a specific belief pattern, female time allocation to labor market participation should vary systematically with the change in religiosity level.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses a primary data set of 320 female respondents. The binominal logit model is used to estimate a categorical dependent variable. 
 Findings: The results suggest that religious women are less willing to participate in the labor market.
 Conclusion: There are three different outcomes from the analysis scheme. First, the composite index of female religiosity signifies its negative impact on their labor market participation. Second, the findings of the study reveal that females with relatively higher religious education are less willing to participate in the labor market. Third, females are less willing to participate in the labor market when the head of the household is more religious.
 Research limitations: A larger sample is believed to help in better generalization.
 Practical implications: Religion shapes human behavior which subsequently influences their economic decisions. Our findings reveal a positive association between females’ formal education level and their labor market participation. This entails a government policy to facilitate women in enhancing their education level. Moreover, mainstreaming the religious educational institutes and their curriculum will resolve the misconceptions.

Deepening and widening the gap: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender and racial inequalities in Brazil.

Shaped by inconsistent policy decisions, the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has made structural gender and racial inequalities more acute. Black and low-income women are overburdened with unpaid domestic work, increased domestic violence, and more vulnerable due to informal and exploitative working regimes. These structural aspects are intensifying, since the pandemic has broadened inequalities at the intersection of gender, race, labor market, and social class. We examine pre- and during pandemic inequalities on three dimensions: (a) unpaid domestic and care work, (b) women's labor market participation, and (c) domestic violence. We link the care diamond model and racial stratification forwarding a feminist perspective by examining how the interlocking of race and gender in Brazil renders different socioeconomic dynamics to the detriment of Black and low-income women. Based on this evidence, we stress that a more equal future requires a better social protection and policies targeting the articulation of gender, race, and class.

The effect of international remittances on labour supply in Jordan: an empirical investigation

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to examine the effect of international remittances on the labour market participation of women and men left behind in Jordan. The study particularly focuses on the labour supply side for both women and men.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on micro-data from the Jordan Labour Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) in 2010, a nationally representative survey, and addresses the endogeneity of receiving remittances through an Instrumental Variable (IV) approach.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that remittances are found to have a negative and significant impact on labour supply of both women and men. On average, women who live in remittance receiving household are about 5% points less likely to perform any market work, 3% points less likely to be in wage employment and about 8% points less likely to be engaged in own work. While, men who live in remittance receiving household are about 25% points less likely to perform any market work, 5% points less likely to be in wage employment and about 10% points less likely to be engaged in own work. When the author instruments for remittance receipt of the household, the effect of remittances on likelihood to work is found larger for both women and men.Originality/valueWorkers' remittances are considered as one of the vital financial sources for many households in labour exporting countries, most of the investigation on the effects of such financial flows concentrate on the macroeconomic effects. It is therefore important to conduct empirical investigation to fairly and accurately evaluate the impact of these flows on the Jordanian labour market at a microeconomic level.

A descriptive analysis of three-generation households and mothers' employment in Japan, 2002–2019

PurposeThis article aims to explore how Japanese women with younger children changed their commitment to the labour market between 2000 and 2019 by comparing mothers in three-generation and nuclear family households.Design/methodology/approachJapan currently has the highest ageing rate in the world at nearly 30%. Since the 1990s, employment flexibilization and women's labour market participation have proceeded in parallel, and the conservative family values of the patriarchy and gender division of labour that have provided intergenerational aid for care within households have been shrinking, by conducting a descriptive analysis of the Labour Force Survey (LFS).FindingsThis study identified that a conspicuous increase in part-time employment among mothers in both household types and a decrease by half in the working mother's population in three-generation households. These results suggest that the function of inter-generational assistance by multi-generation cohabitation, which was once thought to be effective in helping working mothers with younger children, is declining.Originality/valueA study examining the transformation of mothers' employment behaviour differences between three-generation households and nuclear family households is rare. This paper makes a new contribution to the research regarding the grandparents' caregiving, household types and mothers' employment.

Does the expansion of higher education reduce gender gaps in the labor market? Evidence from a natural experiment

In 2005 Chilean congress approved a bill that established a new funding tool for higher education funding through a "private system" of student loans (named CAE). The system aimed to support higher education inclusion among students with academic merits overcoming the lack of resources for ensuring access. Politicians have referred to this reform in higher education funding as a critical factor for expanding higher education enrollment. By its immediate results, it is a great strategy to cope with inequality and social mobility issues. However, there is little empirical evidence about labor market variables' overall effects, such as gender discrimination. This work attempts to estimate the new instrument's impact on the three standard measures of gender labor discrimination: labor participation, the gender wage gap, and the glass ceiling. The empirical strategy uses a difference-in-difference approach to provide estimates. The results indicate that the CAE policy changed women's labor market participation and contributed to close the gender pay gap in the labor market. However, the glass ceiling increased in the entire labor market, but not in the white-collar job market in specific.

Financial Inclusion and Labour Market Participation of Women in Selected Countries in Africa

Abstract Research purpose: This study investigates the impact of financial inclusion on female labour force participation in Africa. It also complements the existing studies by evaluating how advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) and Trade openness (TO) modulate the relationship between financial inclusion and female economic participation in selected African countries. Design/methodology/approach: The study focuses on twelve African countries while the empirical evidence is based on Fixed Effects, Random Effects and Generalised Least Square estimators (GLS). Data over the period of 2005-2016 are sourced from the World Bank Development database and IMF international Financial Statistics. Findings: The results show that financial inclusion has a non-monotonic relationship with female labour force participation. The study establishes that if the level of financial inclusion can be increased to the range of 33-57 per cent, it would improve the level of women participation in economic activities. The results further show that ICT moderates the nexus between financial inclusion and female economic participation at a threshold level of 38.17 per cent. These findings persist when the TO is used as the moderating factor at a threshold value of 80.90 per cent. The results are robust enough to suggest an alternative proxy for female labour force participation and alternative estimation techniques. Originality/value/practical implications: Ending gender inequality has become one of the priorities in the global development policies in which most African nations domesticate the same for their national planning. There are voices at every corner in Africa demanding the possibility of achieving gender equality in employment, among others. This article is one of the few articles that evaluate whether financial inclusion can be used to accelerate female economic participation in Africa.

The Strategy in Improving the Income of the Coastal Women toAccelerate Poverty Reductionin South Sulawesi Province

The long-term goal of this study is to reduce poverty both at the regional and national scale. This study identifies the involvement of Coastal Women in aquaculture and mariculture sectors, as well as the problems faced by Coastal Women in developing the various types of aquaculture and mariculture commodities, and also the support of government programs and policies to women related to the development of fishery commodities. The data used for this research are primary and secondary data, which analyzed through a descriptive statistical analysis model. The research is in the Bone Regency of South Sulawesi Province. The results of this study are useful for local government decision-makers, especially in research sites, to follow the evidence-based Strategy for increasing women's income. Benefits for coastal communities to increase women's labor market participation in the fisheries sub-sector and for improving the income of the fishermen's household.

How does she do it all? Effects of education on reconciliation of employment and informal caregiving among Austrian women

AbstractThe introduction of reforms to the Austrian pension system in the early 2000s resulted in a significant increase in the employment rate of older working age women. This increase was highly differentiated along education groups, with increases in employment rates concentrated among those with secondary and tertiary education. Logistic regression analysis is applied to SHARE data from waves 1 and 6, to determine whether the increase in labour market participation of women aged 50+ in Austria has affected informal caregiving across education lines. Unlike their secondary and tertiary educated counterparts, lower educated women were more likely to provide high intensity care in 2015 than in 2004, resulting in an education gradient that was not present before. In comparison, the overall probability to provide care has not changed significantly, irrespective of older women's education. Other possible adjustments were also explored, such as decreased participation in social activities or higher care burden. There is also limited evidence of compensation by increased informal care provision among men. Both employment and informal care provision have become more segmented in Austria in the wake of the pension reforms of 2004.

Gendered employment trajectories and individual wealth at older ages in Eastern and Western Germany.

This study examines the association between employment trajectories and retired men's and women's individual wealth at older ages in the two distinct welfare state contexts of Eastern and Western Germany. Because of the increasing re-marketization of retirement provisions, wealth is becoming increasingly important for retirees' economic well-being. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017), we conduct sequence and cluster analyses to identify groups of typical employment trajectories of men and women in Eastern and Western Germany. For men, we find that continuous full-time employment is positively associated with net wealth at older ages, whereas early retirement and long-term unemployment are negatively associated with wealth. These associations are similar for housing and non-housing wealth in both contexts. For women in Western Germany, a low labour market participation is associated with higher levels of housing wealth and lower levels of non-housing wealth compared with female full-time employees. The results point to gendered wealth accumulation due to differences in men's and women's labour market participation in gender-unequal welfare state contexts. The associations between employment and wealth are slightly weaker in Eastern Germany, indicating that the socialist regime of the GDR restricted the ability to accumulate wealth.

Income distribution in family networks by gender and proximity

AbstractWhereas the significance of family networks for support and well‐being has been shown in previous research, few studies have analysed the income distribution within family networks. The aim of this study is to examine income distribution within family networks and how they have changed over time for women and men in different parts of the income distribution and if the incomes are more similar in the geographically proximate family network. The analysis is based on register data and by use of ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regressions. The results indicate that men in the lowest income group tend to have become more similar to their family network over time. Gender differences have decreased, possibly as an effect of women's higher labour market participation rate leading to decreased income disparity. This paper contributes by highlighting how the uneven distribution of economic resources in family networks adds to individual's own resources.

Labour Market Participation of Women in Rural Bangladesh: The Role of Microfinance

Using a large panel dataset on the labour supply behaviours of women and men within households in rural Bangladesh, we find robust evidence that the effects of microfinance on the labour supply are not symmetrical for women and men across different occupations. We also find that giving households access to microfinance helps to smooth out the seasonality in the labour supply via on-farm self-employment-based activities. Within households, the male members’ participation in off-farm activities increased significantly, while the women’s improved but still remained at a low level. Overall, the results suggest that microfinance improves labour market activities for men more than for women, even though the credit is targeted mainly at women.

The Gap that Survived the Transition: The Gender Wage Gap Over Three Decades in Estonia

This paper looks at the gender wage gap throughout the transition from communism to capitalism and throughout fast economic convergence. The case of Estonia is used, and the labour force survey micro data is employed from 1989 to 2020. The communist regimes were characterized by highly regulated wage determination and the high educational attainment and labour market participation of women. Despite a formally egalitarian regime, the raw gender wage gap was as large as 41% in 1989. The large gender wage gap under communist rule diminished quickly during the transition to a capitalism, mainly due to the erosion of distortions in the labour market, such as low returns to education. The paper has two main messages, first, the position of women in the labour market has improved over the last three decades. The mechanism behind their gains is similar to those in other formerly centrally planned economies, the education of women is even better now, they are employed in better occupations and their returns to education are higher. Second, the gender wage gap was large already three decades ago and the unexplained part has been resistant to decline. This points to strong inertia in the gender wage gap and to the importance of longer-term factors in it. The decline in the gap is related to the overall decline in wage inequality, minimum wages have also contributed to this process. While gender attitudes have become much more egalitarian, it is difficult to prove their role.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Role Attitudes: Evidence from Immigrant Mothers-in-Law

Previous literature has shown that attitudes and preferences are intergenerationally transmitted from parents to their children. We contribute to this literature by analyzing whether gender role attitudes are also transmitted across cultural boundaries, i.e., from immigrants to natives. Focusing on mixed couples, we examine whether the gender role attitudes of foreign-born mothers-in-law can explain the fertility and labor supply decisions of native US women. Our results reveal that women's labor market participation is significantly positively related to the gender role attitudes in her mother-in-law's country of origin. Employing a new identification strategy, we show that this finding is due to the intergenerational transmission of gender norms rather than other unobservable characteristics of the mother-in-law's country of origin. These results suggest that the cultural values held in their source country do not only influence the behavior of immigrants and their descendants, but can also affect the labor force participation of native women. We do, however, not find evidence that intergenerationally transmitted gender role attitudes affect the fertility behavior of native women.

Structural Unemployment in Luxembourg

This paper combines both micro and macro approaches to identify the drivers of (un)employment and inactivity in Luxembourg. The young, low-skilled, and non-EU migrants are found to be the most vulnerable groups in the labor market. In addition to skills mismatches, work disincentives embedded in the tax-benefit system constitute a factor explaining structural unemployment. High unemployment of young and low-skilled workers reflects substantial unemployment traps, while disincentives for second earners (respectively the generosity of the pension system) contribute to lower labor market participation of women (respectively seniors). Further reduction of structural unemployment requires better integration of vulnerable groups into the labor market and improved targeting of benefits to make work more rewarding.

Structural Unemployment in Luxembourg: Bad Luck or Rational Choice?

This paper combines both micro and macro approaches to identify the drivers of (un)employment and inactivity in Luxembourg. The young, low-skilled, and non-EU migrants are found to be the most vulnerable groups in the labor market. In addition to skills mismatches, work disincentives embedded in the tax-benefit system constitute a factor explaining structural unemployment. High unemployment of young and low-skilled workers reflects substantial unemployment traps, while disincentives for second earners (respectively the generosity of the pension system) contribute to lower labor market participation of women (respectively seniors). Further reduction of structural unemployment requires better integration of vulnerable groups into the labor market and improved targeting of benefits to make work more rewarding.

Longitudinal analysis of work-family conflict and self-rated health among working parents in Germany

Abstract In the wake of a rising labor market participation of women and changing and family arrangements, parents are increasingly faced with the challenge of reconciling work and family life, which can lead to work-family conflicts (WFC). The present study examined the longitudinal effect of WFC on self-rated health among working parents in Germany. The data was drawn from wave 6 (2013) and wave 8 (2015) of the pairfam family and relationship panel. It included working persons living together with at least one child (662 mothers and 529 fathers). Pairfam is a random sample of about 12,000 persons drawn from German habitants in private households. Data was collected via computer-assisted personal interviews with yearly follow-ups. The drop-out rate of the panel from wave 1 to wave 8 is 62%. Self-rated health was measured as a single item with five response options. Using logistic regressions, we estimated the longitudinal effects of the effect of WFC in wave 8 on self-rated health. Moderating effects of education and household income were considered. The analyses were adjusted for self-rated health in wave 6. The odds ratio for poor self-rated health for mothers who developed WFC in wave 8 compared to mothers who did not report a conflict in both waves was 2.6 (95% CI: 1.47-2.41). For fathers with newly emerged WFC in wave 8, the odds ratio was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.08-3.80). Interaction of WFC with education and household income showed a weak non-significant effect on the self-rated health of mothers and fathers. The health of parents who reported a conflict in wave 6 but not in wave 8 was on a similar level as the health of parents with no conflict in both waves. The results point out that WFC can lead to a decline of self-rated health. Further investigations should be carried out to determine groups who are particularly affected by health-related outcomes of WFC. It also remains to be discussed how self-rated health can be improved e.g. through reconciliation policies. Key messages Work-family conflict leads to a poorer self-rated health of working parents in Germany. The health of working parents with lower education and income is affected more severely by work-family conflict compared to parents with higher education and income.