Women's Economic Activity Research Articles

Involvement of Women in Economy: An Explication from the Islamic Perspective

Islam provides prescriptions on the specific rights and obligations of men and women in the society. While women in the West still fight for their rights to an equal position until today, Islam provides Muslim women with the rights to be involved in economic activities based on their personal merit and wisdom. This paper aims to highlight the involvement of Muslim women in economic activities from an Islamic perspective. Islam does not limit the task of women to being mothers; Muslim women can involve themselves in other fields such as economics and politics, as long as they adhere to the guidelines put forward by the religion. It cannot be denied that their involvement in the economic sector became one of the development factors of Islamic civilisation since the very beginning of Islam until now. The purpose of their voluntary involvement in the economy was to contribute their skills and expertise as well as to apply their knowledge for the benefit and maslahah of the Muslim society and ummah. The study concludes that out that the involvement of Muslim women in economic activities plays an important role in a country’s development process, particularly when the women’s labour were in a compatible manner within the limits of shariah.

Assessments of the Determinants that Affect Women’s Participation in Economic Activities: The Case of Bule Hora and Yabelo Districts, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

An economic activity is a process of producing and or provision of goods and service in economic sectors. Currently, half of Ethiopian peoples are females; which imply their role is great in economic activities. This study aimed to investigate the participation of women in economic activities and the factors that affect them in at the study area. To achieve the objectives of the study primary data was collected from 374 sample size based on 136585 estimated number of women of the districts in 2011/2012 E.C.; descriptive and econometric approach were used in analyzing the collected data. Even though women had been great a role in the economic growth, their participation were faced hindrance such as low level of training and traditional attitude toward business at the study area. The model used estimates that as the number of children increases by one, their participation is 0.6 times as likely to dis-occur among households. It was recommended that the government and others stakeholders should give awareness on the attitude of women toward business, family planning and train women on business in order to improve the participation of women in economic activities at the study area. Key w ords: Binary Logit Model, Economic Activities, Women, Family Size DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-11-01 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

Integrisanje rodne ravnopravnosti u TRAFSAF Erasmus + projekat

Globally, when accessing and driving in public transport vehicles, women have a problem with fear, experiences of sexual harassment and violence. Women's daily trips are very different from those made by men. These factors make a woman more vulnerable, as standard public transport companies do not consider these characteristics enough. The safe public transport option also helps increase the number of women in economic activities. The way of traveling determines the type of work or shift that the woman will accept. Mobility provides women with financial strength and independence, and currently access to safe public transport, both in Sarajevo Canton and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it can be said that it is not at a satisfactory level in the region, so urgent actions need to be taken. The concept for the implementation of gender equality within the Erasmus + TRAFSAF project, modeled on EU projects, is that all project partners, both those coming from the segment of higher education and NGOs, keep gender statistics and that measures to promote enrollment must be provided. female populations at all levels of study. It is also a requirement for project participants to increase the participation of women as trainers, as well as to enhance the presence of women in trainings related to traffic safety during the project. These activities should continue after the completion of the project, bearing in mind that it is necessary to integrate gender equality in the segment of traffic safety.

СЕМЬЯ КАК ОБЪЕКТ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ НОВОГО ГЕНДЕРНОГО ПОРЯДКА

The article presents the main characteristics inherent in the Russian family as a small social group in line with a new gender order. In the 21st century one may see the new traits, characteristics and functions of the gender and gender relations, which is reflected in the emergence of a new gender order, which sociologists and feminologists have started talking about. The concept of a gender order is briefly defined and a historical retrospective of its emergence is given. The author marks three main subjects in which the changes taking place in the Russian family in recent decades are analyzed. First of all, it is the variability of family scenarios, which consists in different gender compositions of families (if we take the example of a country with officially permitted homosexual marriages); in matters of the childbirth, divorce, housekeeping practices, etc. Secondly, it is a change in gender roles, which is manifested in the growth of economic activity of women, their growing financial independence within the family, with the simultaneous transfer of the household responsibilities to a man. That plot leads to a third feature: changes in the family lifestyle what is most clearly evidenced by the strengthened educational function of the father. The family simultaneously reflects changes in a gender order and generates them, which speaks in favor of the relevance of the topic being studied.

Development of gender entrepreneurship

The article allows us to consider the socio-economic factors of the development of entrepreneurship among the female population of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the modern world. The aim of the study is the objective and subjective factors of female entrepreneurship that affect the employment of women. The digital economy is a positive factor in creating a favorable climate for business opportunities for women in entrepreneurship. Internet innovations are gaining more and more popularity; women entrepreneurs acquire the skill of working with digital technologies in their free time from their families. The study of the topic was carried out on the basis of an analysis of scientific literature, modern data, in the field of the formation and development of women's entrepreneurship. The main research methods are analysis, grouping, brainstorming, synthesis. In the conclusion, the ways of creating favorable conditions for the growth of economic activity of women are revealed, which is impossible without the participation of the state and the private sector.

Investigation of the sustainable inclusive economic growth of states in the context of ensuring gender balances

The essence of the category «sustainable development», defined as the one that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is investigated in this paper. An important characteristic of sustainable development is the harmonious combination of economic growth with maximum integration in the social sphere, which does not contradict, but on the contrary, enhances the quality and importance in the allocation of resources for environmental protection measures. It is evident that both public and business sector must be involved in the complex processes of change, but guidelines must first be set by national governments. The preconditions for the need to restructure the world economic space in the direction of increasing the importance of the inclusiveness principles are also analyzed. Poverty and stratification of incomes in the country constrain the growth and implementation of the state economic potential, because employment and consumption are not complete. Since one of the indicators of the changes effectiveness in approaches to economic development is the poverty dynamics, we analyzed the retrospective and projected values of the employed population of the world living less than 1.9 US dollars per day, which shows that without drastic changes, this share will deviate towards the negative direction compared with the level reached during the previous 5 years. It is described that inclusiveness involves the inclusion in the processes of economic growth of all territories, sectors of the economy and economic agents. It is shown that the concept of inclusiveness and the use of all opportunities to mitigate the negative effects of restrictive quarantine measures comes to the fore, including those in the context of ensuring gender balance. Comparison of gender pay gaps in Ukraine and some other countries, the level of economic activity of women, who demonstrate the influence of cultural, historical and other features on this sign of equality is carried out. It is concluded that an important role in overcoming poverty and leveling the negative scenarios that are unfolding today in the world economy is the involvement into economic activity not only the population in all territories, but also the reduction of economic manifestations of gender gaps.

Does Gender Status Translate into Economic Participation of Women? Certain Evidence from Kerala

Many indicators of gender inclusiveness show that Kerala has been much ahead of other states in ensuring the welfare of females. It needs to be reiterated that in both education and health, women in Kerala stand quietly at the receiving ends as the beneficiaries rather than the agents of economic and social change. The women’s inclusive way of progress does not necessarily confine itself to the widening of education and health opportunities for women. Still, it largely and more positively depends on the effective participation of women in economic activities. It is disheartening that if we probe into the status of women from these yardsticks of ‘active’ economic participation, the picture of gender equality appears more discouraging in Kerala, which has been acclaimed as a ‘model’ for not only other states in the country but also for other countries in the world. A secular decline in the Work Participation Rate for women in the labor market clearly shows that education does not aid women to add themselves to the labor market. Economists and sociologists offer many plausible explanations for this absconding nature of educated and skilled women from the labor market. The real gender inclusion and women empowerment will be fulfilled only when women start actively engaging in productive fields using their knowledge and entitlements.

WOMEN AND WORK IN MANIPUR

Women in Manipur are noted for their high economic work participation rates. A trip through all the lanes, by- lanes, markets of Manipur will depict active participation of women in economic activity of the economy. There is the all-women Ima Market in the heart of Imphal City which is run almost exclusively by women vendors since ancient times. It seemed as if no other place in India will ever see such active participation of women in economic activity. The culture and ethos of the land speak of womens economic participation from ancient times.From traditional times, women had a greater role to play in the economic life of Manipur, compared to the patriarchy dominated rest of India. They face lesser discrimination than in other parts of the country. Moreover, social norms are such that there is lesser pressure on women to marry, greater freedom in their movement, in choice of occupation and in the choice of their life partner. Hence, they were able to play an active role in the economy. Census data show higher work participation of women in Manipur as compared to overall India, but NSS data do not always show such higher work participation rates, except insome years. Women are always working, in paid and in unpaid work but their work may not be effectively captured in official statistics. Theyconcentrate in the informal sector,in home-based work and in subsistence activities, the magnitude of which are sometimes difficult to capture adequately. The paper uses secondary data to study the employment status of women workers in the economy of Manipur. It shows how women of Manipur participate in productive sectors of the economy and in fact are the backbone of the economy of Manipur.

Determinants of Empowerment: An Insight from the Study of the Female Domestic Workers

Female domestic workers (FDW) are one of the most vulnerable segments of a society facing adverse social domination and economic discrimination. The present article aims at investigating to what extent the participation of poor women in economic activities empowers them. The study amalgamates data collected from 334 female domestic workers living in different areas of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal through a semi-structured questionnaire during a period of 6 months from January 2016 to June 2016. This district was chosen on the basis of existing inter-linkage between the growth and expansion of the city of Kolkata in her southern part, existence of a large number of Bangladeshi migrants in South 24 Parganas ( Kumar, 2010 ), evidences of large scale commuting of unorganized workers ( Roy, 2003 ) and the expanding informal market where the supply of manual labour comes from the fringes of the district. The article tries to explore the different dimensions of empowerment from the study of female domestic workers. This includes workers’ involvement in taking household decision, free movement, possession of assets and restricting domestic violence. By adding the obtained scores and weights of the indicators, a cumulative empowerment index is constructed. Restrictions in mobility and lack of ownership of permanent assets amongst workers indicate their subordination in the household hierarchy and highlight that women are excluded from asserting influence over household properties. Severe domestic violence against women is common and visible even when husbands are unemployed. About 69 per cent of female domestic workers report incidences of physical assault at home. The index, thus, establishes that the majority of the domestic workers level of empowerment is between low to moderate.

Increasing Community discourse and Action on GBV prevention in Akai Effa and Idundu, Cross River State

Gender-Based Violence is an issue of high global concern and has serious implications for every aspect of women’s lives. The aim of the study was twofold, to increase awareness and knowledge of community members on the contexts in which GBV occurs through the narrative based methodology. It also sought to generate community actions and stem the tide of gender-based violence in Akai Effa and Idundu, Cross River State. The work used a creative narrative based research methodology to explore the contexts in which GBV and inequalities occur. The study had several phases including advocacy visits, production of films, film tours, and the formation of neighbourhood committees. The film “Women of our Land” was a collage of various scenes from different authors produced by DreamBoat Theatre for Development Foundation including; Tess Onwume’s ‘The Broken Calabash’ and ‘The Reign of Wazobia’, Edisua Yta’s ‘Because I am a woman’ and ‘Wives, mothers and daughters’ TV, and radio serials, Liwhu Betiang's ‘The First Stone’, Data Phido’s ‘Rainbow City’ and Chris Nwamuo’s ‘The Substitute’. The film (an enter-educate strategy) was used as a starting point for dialogues in the communities. About three hundred community members were involved in Akai Effa and Idundu and the project ran for six months. Findings identified the following factors as manifestations of gender-based violence in the communities: Domestic violence especially wife battery, sexual abuse, harassment and rape of young girls, restriction placed on women's economic activities, loss of land, assets, and properties, forceful ejections, and young girls denied opportunities to go to school. It is recommended that an extension of project time is essential to allow for adequate behaviour change and stamp out GBV in our communities.

Modernization of Family in Russia and China: the Role of the Government

The individualization of social relations is the main trend in modern society. People do not depend on family and help of its members anymore. They rely on themselves, their individual capabilities and successes. Family modernization is determined by a socio-historical and political-ideological context of a country. It is expressed in a degree to which the family loses its economic functions. The global trend of family nuclearization and fertility decline is manifested differently in Russia and China due to the degree of urbanization, the economic activity of women and the population’s commitment to traditional family values. In order to preserve the birth rate, China began to pursue a neo-familism policy which based on the values of Confucianism. Russia does not have the opportunity to go the same way, because urbanization and modernization of society, started in this country much earlier than in China. The task of stabilizing the population of Russia can be solved only by further modernizing of family relations. It should lead to the creation of an egalitarian (partner) model of the family. At the same time, this does not deprive the Russian state of the opportunity to use the family as a buffer, mitigating for the population the cruelty of the realities of the market economy.

Examining the Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Female Economic Participation in Pakistan

This study is an attempt to investigate the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) development on the participation of women in economic activities in Pakistan. Data for the period 1991-2017 was used for this research work and regressed on female economic involvement and ICTs development and another set of control variables like GDP, FDI and trade liberalization. Data sources are the WDI, IFS, and ESP. Johansen cointegration test, VECM and Granger causality tests were used to estimate data. Estimation techniques were applied after checking the properties of time series data. Results indicate the positive and significant relationship of dependent variable female economic participation and independent variables ICTs development and macro-economic variables in the long run. The study findings indicate that female economic participation has increased with the increase in ICTs in Pakistan. However, the rate of women's economic participation was not found as increasing as in other developed countries, and it is not as rapid as technology developed in the last decade.

Self Help Groups: An Effective Approach towards Women Empowerment

In recent years, SHGs have become significant contributors to the generation of self –employment and source of livelihood. The Self-Help Group (SHG) is moving in the right direction in empowering women economically and socially and eradicating poverty in rural and urban areas. Self-employment is necessary to eradicate the regional economic imbalance. Women’s participation is necessary for the betterment of the economy. SHGs are one of the ways to increase the participation of women in economic activities. So, it empowers and creates women entrepreneurs. The study aims to provide empirical evidence of the contribution of SHGs to self-employment. For this purpose, the primary data were collected from the 30 members of SHGs by simple random sampling, and the data is collected through a structured questionnaire, Likert scale technique was used to measure the qualitative data. The estimated results show the self-employment opportunities created by SHGs.
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Impact of Women's Economic Activities in The Republic of Congo from 1990 to 2019

Since the XXth century, and especially after the Second World War, particular attention was given to the status of women who for many years was overs had owed. These different events led policy makers at the international level as well as in different countries of the world to make courageous decisions globally in favor of women globally. These decisions have enabled women to take flight both by integrating socially themselves and by taking beneficial actions that could contribute to the economic and social development of their respective countries. On the economic level in particular, Congolese women exercise many activities related to their own initiative or to collective action, these different activities contribute to the economic development of the Republic of Congo. In the economic field, the man alone cannot ensure the development of the country, the Congolese woman also contributes to this development.

Female activity and education levels in selected European Union countries

The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of female employment rates between 2013 and 2017 in selected Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary), and to analyze the interregional relationships between female activity and education levels. Empirical data at a national level was analyzed with the metrics of descriptive statistics, demographic metrics and indices of the condition of the labor market. An analysis of spatial autocorrelation was carried out to determine the strength of spatial relationships between different regions in terms of female activity and education levels. Also, the dependence between synthetic indicators of female activity and education levels was empirically analyzed based on spatial regression. Research suggests that female employment rates grew on average by 6.5 percentage points in the countries surveyed. The economic activity of women is impacted by demographic factors, including the level of education. The spatial regression analysis gives grounds for concluding that (as at 2017) a 1% increase in the synthetic indicator value of the female education level results in a nearly 0.59% increase in the synthetic indicator of the level of activity in the regions considered (under the assumption that other factors remain constant).

Linking earned income, psychological capital and social grant dependency: empirical evidence from rural KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and implications for policy

Understanding the motivation that smallholders have for working and earning their livelihood is critical in enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural policies. This is especially important in a country like South Africa where social grant is an important source of unearned income. The study sought to find out what affects smallholders’ motivation to work by assessing the relationship between earned income, psychological capital and social grant dependency. We use data from 458 smallholders in four irrigation communities in rural KwaZulu-Natal and employ a complementary loglog fractional response model to analyse the data. The study revealed that endowment with positive psychological capital, gender, membership to an irrigation scheme and land ownership positively affect smallholders’ propensity to earn their livelihoods from farm and non-farm income. Social grant support and dependency ratio negatively affect the same. The findings support the thesis that, if not properly managed, social transfers can have a negative impact on smallholders’ motivation to work and earn their livelihoods, resulting in a dependency syndrome. Depending on the context, spatial differences can either positively or negatively affect farmers’ motivation to work. In conclusion, limited focus on the human and social capital development and hence psychological capital affect smallholders’ propensity to work. Small-scale irrigation schemes remain a viable option for increasing employment and incomes in the sector, whilst social and cultural norms continue to reduce women’s ability to engage in economic activities. The paper recommends the need to recognise the critical importance of psychological capital (mindset), streamline and improve targeting of social grant support, promote smallholder irrigation and invest in the infrastructure that enhances participation of women in economic activities.

Economic activity of women and young women in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the umbrella of traditional views of women’s role in society

Female labour force participation (FLFP) stands among main gender equality issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Although making up about half of the total working-age population, less than one third of women is active. High female economic inactivity is argued to relate to the pertaining traditional views on gender roles in the society. This article investigates whether such views impact the activity of women. Furthermore, the article investigates whether perceptions of the existence of gender stereotypes on the labour market influences women’s economic activity. Finally, the article investigates whether differences of such an impact exist between young and adult women and how they are being manifested. The research model is based on a log-log regression analysis performed on a sample of 1,213 interviewed women through the 2017 wave of the National Survey of Citizens’ Perceptions (NSCP-BiH). Our findings indicate that traditional views on women’s role in society act as an important moderator of woman’s economic activity, and hence, shape the overall labour environment and economic development in BiH. Although perceiving that the BiH labour market is biased towards men, women in BiH are not discouraged by such a stance when their labour market participation is considered.

Role Of Women Entrepreneurs In Our Indian Economy: Issues And Challenges - An Overview

The emergence of women entrepreneurs and their contribution to our economy is very significant in India. There is a constant rise in the number of women entrepreneurs since 1990’s.The current generation of women –owned enterprises are actively seeking capital for developing their business and is also using modern technology to create a mark in the domestic and international markets. It is important to note the participation of women in economic activities as self employed individuals. The new generation women entrepreneurs are not only generating employment for themselves in the organised and unorganised sector but they are also providing employment opportunities to others .A very important point to be noted is to give due recognition to women for the contribution they have made in the various social ,economic ,political as well as cultural activities. In the past few years women entrepreneurs have contributed significantly in the development and progress of our country due to urbanization along with education and awareness. However women face many constraints in their lives as they do not get full support from their family and are not treated as equals which in turn restricts her freedom to prove her potential . They have to go a long way to achieve equal rights as our Indian society is male dominated and these traditions are deep rooted .To break this tradition ,women have to be assertive and will have to take bold decisions and also should be willing to take risk to succeed in this world of cut throat competition. It is to be noted that the economic status of women is now accepted as an indicator which shows that the society has developed.

Assessment of women’s situation on the labour market in EU countries

The aim of the article is to analyse and evaluate the changes in women’s situation on the labour market of European Union countries in the years 2005–2018. The analysis focused on the economic activity of women and men and the following selected aspects of the labour market: the employment and unemployment rates and the relation between women and men’s wages. A hypothesis that women’s situation on the labour market improved, and the pay discrimination against women shrank in EU countries, has been formulated. The study utilised statistical data from the Eurostat Data Base. The evaluation of women’s situation was performed by means of a synthetic measure whose values were determined using the non-standard formula. That measure served as the basis for the linear ordering of EU countries according to the situation of women on the labour market. The study demonstrated that overall, women’s situation on the labour market improved in most EU countries in the analysed period. In all EU countries, the employment rate of women remains lower than the employment rate of men, and additionally, the former strongly varies throughout EU countries. The indicator which differentiates between the women’s and men’s labour markets to a large extent is the percentage of persons employed part-time. Part time employment is more popular in Western European countries and concerns women to a much greater extent than men. The study indicates that the levelling of women’s and men’s wages is taking place; nevertheless, women’s wages in nearly half of EU countries still do not exceed 80% of men’s average wages.

Economic Status of women working in Pharmaceutical companies of Sikkim, India

The women have various responsibility in the family because they have to take care of children, family members and also have to involve in the outdoor activities to generate income. Participation on of women in economic activities is high in Sikkim. Women also play a major role in trending activities. So the study has explored the economic status of working women. The study was conducted in Sikkim among the 385 women working in Pharmaceutical companies. The structured survey questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data were statistically analysed and presented in the tabular form. The findings show that the majority (50.9%) working women were getting less than Rs. 10000/- per month from the service which was not adequate as their basic household needs. It is found from the that maximum percentage (84.2%) of respondents didn’t have any personal property in their name because of the society of patriarchal system and cultural practices of gender-based division of labour. The study suggests that concerned government and companies should enhance the capacity of working women and should increase their incentives considering the basic needs of workers.