Women's Labor Research Articles

Ecologies of Embodiment: Video Essays III

Polly Hudson, “These Hands: an EcoSomatic approach to a woman’s labour - of the body, and on the land” (6:31). This video essay is part of an ongoing practice as a gardener and dancer, a long-term project at an inner city urban allotment, entitled And So we Sow. The work responds to notions of women's labour from an EcoSomatic and eco-feminist perspective, drawing on principles from releasing dance practices particularly Skinner Releasing Technique, from permaculture, and from wider embodied engagement. // Ana Luiza Azevedo Dupas, “Practice of Resting, Reading and Translating the Text: ‘Hapticality, or Love’” (9:52). This video shows fragments of the workshop: “Practice of resting, reading and translating the text: ‘Hapticality or love’,” held online in the context of IV EIRPAC event in September 2021. From the practice of Eutony, participants of the workshop are invited to a somatic reading, and “transcreation” of the text, which is an excerpt from Fred Moten and Stefano Harney’s The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study. // Lea Spahn and Hana Magdonova, “‘Within the Memories of a Mountain’: Posthuman Embodying as Techno-material Becoming” (11:00). This video essay is based on footage from performance artist Hana Magdoňová during her 39-day stay in Hády – a renaturating quarry in the post-socialist Czech Republic. Through an immersive layering of (video)images, sounds, and spoken words, the essay depics embodied encounters with this space and reads them through feminist materialist and posthumanist thinkers highlighting the entanglement of bodies, technologies, things, and other beings on a planetary scale.

(Re)Inventing Feminism within the Discourse of Class Struggle: Women and Intellectual History in the Trade Union Movement of Late Colonial Bengal (1920–1947)

Abstract This paper envisages (re)constructing the intellectual praxis of women trade unionists in late colonial Bengal. By arguing how political practice habitually translates to political thought, the paper devises a methodology to address the gendered discourse of intellectual history in the Global South. It focuses on intellectual output, primarily journal articles of women trade unionists like Santoshi Kumari Gupta, Maitreyee Bose, and Kanak Mukherjee, to trace a genealogy of how class struggle was perceived by women labour activists across the ideological spectrum of nationalism, socialism, and communism between 1920 to 1947 in Bengal. The piece is an effort to transcend the manifold marginalisations that plague the establishment of feminine political praxis within the regulating structures of colonialism and capitalism. In the process, it bids to unfold an alternative narrative of the anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and anti-patriarchal narrative of the decolonisation of South Asian intellectual thought.

Gender Inequality in Economic Participation: A Socio-Economic Analysis in Indonesia

This research addresses gender inequality in economic participation in Indonesia, an issue that poses a barrier to sustainable development and social equality. Although there has been an increase in women's participation in the economic sector, women's labor participation rate is still significantly lower than men's, with an average labor participation rate of 83-84% for men and only 50-53% for women (BPS, 2018-2023). Various social and structural barriers, including patriarchal culture and the burden of domestic responsibilities, limit women's role in the public sector. This study uses descriptive analysis to evaluate trends and patterns of gender inequality in the Indonesian economy from 2018 to 2023, utilizing data from BPS. The findings show that gender inequality in economic participation disadvantages women and slows national economic growth. With more inclusive policies, Indonesia can correct this imbalance and increase its potential productivity and economic competitiveness.

International migration and the advent of a new demographic era

AbstractThe paper explores whether international migration is linked to currently decreasing levels of fertility in high birth rates countries, thereby to the advent of a stage of population degrowth at the world's level. Methodology is in two steps. First, a global dataset is assembled comprising 13 variables for each country. For the country itself: emigrant stock, total fertility rate, girls' enrolment rate, women's labour force participation, global gender gap, and income per capita; for a fictitious average region of destination of migrants originating from this specific country, the last six variables. In the second step, links between origin and destination countries in terms of fertility levels and determinants are analysed using bivariate correlations. A remarkable fact emerges, namely national levels of fertility and their determinants vary quasi perfectly parallel at both ends of international migration corridors. Fertility at origin is not correlated to any phenomenon as much as to fertility, girls' school enrolment and gender equity at destination. Three complementary hypotheses explaining this apparently puzzling fact are discussed: transmission of norms by migrants; cultural similarities at both ends of migrant corridors; and congruency between the global diffusion of norms and the global migration of people. The conclusion highlights the original contribution of the paper, both to the demographic discipline (migration should also be dealt with as a remote determinant of fertility) and political debates on migration (erecting barriers to migration works against the preservation of earth).

The causal effect of economic freedom on female employment & education

AbstractWhile there are decades of evidence that economically free economies grow faster and are more productive than less free ones, there is less knowledge about the effect of economic freedom on groups that have traditionally been disadvantaged. I study the causal effects of large and sustained jumps in economic freedom on women's labor force participation and primary school enrollment. I find that these jumps have a positive and statistically significant effect in both cases–economic freedom is good for women's labor force opportunities and female education.

Unpaid Labor of Women in Barangay San Juan, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija Towards Sustainable Gender Equality Policy Reforms

Globally, women have been a critical part of every household and agricultural operation. Despite their major contributions in the care economy in maintaining a healthy and sustainable food system, they remain largely invisible because, for a long time, economists depart from valuing unpaid work because of its non-economic value and social constructs. Barangay San Juan is one of the 26 barangays representing 7.47% of the total population of the municipality categorized by PhilAtlas (n.d.) as landlocked, referring to an area that is entirely surrounded by land. Before the agricultural mechanization, farmwomen in the barangay devoted 35 hours a week of unpaid care and 49 hours a week of unpaid farm work assisting the family in farm activities. The mechanization displaced farmwomen and deprived them of income opportunity while continuously providing domestic care to the family. This research aims to investigate the impact of unpaid labor for women in Barangay San Juan, Aliaga, and Nueva Ecija are adhering to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG-5) by recognizing the value of unpaid work. A triangulation approach was employed through a qualitative and descriptive design to assess the effects of unpaid work on gender equality, which revealed a significant amount of time devoted by women in the care economy, hence dismissing their economic opportunity in the labor market. The observed absence led to the proposal of operational gender education, governance in resource mobilization, and inclusion of gender perspectives in ordinances that are critical in achieving equality to increase value recognition of women's labor.

Women Labor Force Participation and Its Impact on Economic Growth: A Study of Latin America and the Caribbean Region

The problem being studied was that women were underrepresented in the labor force throughout Latin America and the Caribbean regions. In addition, although Latin America and the Caribbean regions experienced sound economic growth over the past decade, poverty levels dropped from 30% in 2021 to 28.5% in 2022. Development within low/low-middle income countries such as those within the Latin America and the Caribbean’s region, is more effected because of the reduction of gender inequality. This quantitative study explored how empowering women contributed to addressing and enhancing economic challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, it aimed to identify the relationship between women's empowerment and economic growth, while examining the influence of relevant variables on the economic development of these countries. This study was motivated by identifying a gap in the literature that made this research viable. Study found that there is statically a significant impact of women’ empowerment on economic growth, where an increase of 10 points in the women empowerment index, increases the growth of real GDP per capita by 2 percentage point per year. The data collected covers 29 countries and regions and covered metrics on women empowerment from 1982 – 2019, which spanned approximately 38 years. The study results concluded that women empowerment statistically impact GDP growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Women-Led Social Entrepreneurship

This study uses a phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of 30 women leaders in Peruvian social entrepreneurship. Through in-depth interviews analyzed using Moustakas's (1994) methodology, the research proposes a framework for understanding the initiation and development of women-led social enterprises, considering individual, social, cultural, and institutional factors. It also examines the impact of these ventures on the leaders and society, as well as the resources utilized. The findings offer insights for policymakers aiming to support entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study is unique in its focus on Peru, a country with the highest women labor force participation in Latin America and strong entrepreneurial activity.

Determinants of Fertility Intentions among South Koreans: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

(1) Background/objectives: This study aims to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of factors influencing fertility intentions among South Koreans. This research is crucial given South Korea's lowest-in-the-world fertility rate of 0.72 in 2023, necessitating rapid and effective policies to address this demographic challenge; (2) Methods: Articles published from database inception through April 2024 were collected from five Korean databases using keywords based on the PEO (Population, Exposure, Outcome) framework. Following PRISMA guidelines, 35 articles were selected. The effect sizes and network of predictors related to fertility intention were analyzed using the R statistical package; (3) Results: A meta-analysis of the effect sizes of factors influencing fertility intentions revealed that the husband's involvement in parenting (ESr = 0.131), women's education level (ESr = 0.127), socioeconomic status (ESr = 0.116), and the expected gender of the child (ESr = 0.068) showed statistically significant positive effects. Conversely, women's age (ESr = -0.175), parental stress (ESr = -0.146), and household labor ratio (ESr = -0.117) showed statistically significant negative effects. The network analysis further elucidated the complex interrelationships among these factors; (4) Conclusions: This study suggests the need for multifaceted policy approaches to address Korea's low fertility, emphasizing promoting men's participation in parenting, supporting women's education and career development, reducing parenting stress, supporting work-family balance, and ensuring economic stability. These findings provide important insights for policymakers and researchers addressing the complex issue of low fertility in South Korea and may inform more effective interventions to boost fertility rates.

Beyond the ‘gender gap’ in agriculture: Africa's Green Revolution and gendered rural transformation in Rwanda

The African Green Revolution (AGR) aims to modernize, intensify, and commercialize agriculture through increasing technology adoption by smallholder farmers. AGR interventions also promote gender equality, aiming to close the ‘gender gap’ in agriculture by enhancing women's access to purchased inputs, technology, land, and finance. With an empirical focus on Rwanda, this article examines the gendered implications of the AGR. We critically reflect on the notion of gender gaps and the associated tendency of development research to treat gender as a variable, assessing outcomes for male-headed versus female-headed households in terms of their access to material assets. We argue that these assessments overlook (1) the differential impacts of AGR policies within households and (2) how agricultural modernization influences gendered access to material resources as well as immaterial responsibilities, norms, and identities. Our findings from a mixed-methods study with four Rwandan communities show how the AGR empowers men as ‘modern’ farmers while marginalizing women's agricultural spaces, labor, and crops. We argue that development research and practice should move beyond the narrow focus on gender gaps to additionally consider how technologies and policies are themselves gendered in ways that can constrict food security, entrench inequitable power dynamics, and further marginalize women.

Confucian Familialism and the Crisis of Care

Abstract This paper critically examines Confucian proposals for social welfare espoused by contemporary Confucian moral and political theorists, who promote a familialist, residual welfare state in which welfare provision should be the family's primary responsibility and public assistance be a last resort only available to the poor without family support. By investigating the situation in South Korea, a country whose welfare system bears a striking resemblance to the Confucian ideal, I argue that the Confucian scheme is inherently flawed. It considers poverty to be a personal failure, idealizes the family as a single unity of common interest free from power hierarchies, and lacks knowledge about social reproduction. Their proposal in actuality humiliates and excludes disadvantaged and marginalized people from social protection, abdicates the state's responsibility for the well-being of citizens, and colludes with capitalism in free riding on women's unpaid labor.

Women's experiences of vaginal examinations in labour: a literature review

Background/Aims Evidence for vaginal examinations to assess labour progress is inconclusive and indicates some negative psychological impacts for women. Understanding women's perceptions of vaginal examinations is essential to guide future clinical practice. This literature review aimed to explore women's experiences of vaginal examinations in labour. Methods A comprehensive review of four databases was carried out, searching for publications made between 2012 and 2023. Findings were synthesised using thematic analysis. Results Eight relevant papers were included. Four themes emerged: frequency of vaginal examinations, true, informed consent, emotional reactions and rapport building and humanisation. Conclusions Negative experiences were associated with overuse and lack of properly informed consent. Positive experiences linked to continuity in carer. Further research into alternative ways of assessing labour progression to minimise non-clinically indicated vaginal examinations may improve women's labour experience. Implications for practice There is a need for further education for healthcare professionals on ongoing informed consent, appropriate communication, the necessary frequency of vaginal examinations and avoiding desensitisation. Additional training should be well-established in hospitals to minimise exams when not clinically indicated.

The Gender Approach as an Opportunity to Achieve Women's Labour Participation in Community Tourism in the Salinas Parish of Guaranda, Ecuador

The trend in recent years in the tourism industry is ecological and sustainable tourism, but the reports of Skyscanner, which has the fastest growing meta-search system in the world, note that tourists every year try to find a more environmentally friendly option from the currently existing ones. So they are interested in the type of tourism that allows them to travel more, but at the same time have the least impact on the surrounding nature, cultural heritage and the local community – sustainable community-based tourism. The objective of this research was to describe Community Tourism as an emergent practice, in order to promote the gender-based approach which acknowledges the existing inequalities and seeks to foster the balanced participation of women and men across all stages of the tourism process. The study drew upon the contributions of Lanfant M. F., Pratt S. and as well as UNWTO materials. Foreign scientists note that community tourism and the gender-based approach not only benefit local socio-economic development, but also cultivate equity and the social empowerment of both genders within communities. In this regard, this study used a mixed-methods, non-experimental methodological approach proposed by Gomez and others, and a descriptive design of ethnographic research with documentation. The findings established that regulatory frameworks governing gender equality in Ecuador remain absent, particularly in rural parishes such as Salinas de Guaranda. In conclusion, it can be asserted that prevailing social roles continue to be perpetuated within labour domains, including the tourism sector, which fails to advance equality for women. Based on the research materials strategies were designed to insert women into the work environment in the Salinas de Guaranda Community and in community tourism activities.

Research on the Changes in Living Conditions and Women's Labor Participation in Rural China

Since the reform and opening up, the overall labor participation rate in China has shown a downward trend, and the rural labor participation rate has also generally decreased. There is a significant difference in labor participation rates between urban and rural areas, with the urban labor force increasing in the past decade while the rural labor force has rapidly decreased, especially the labor participation rate of rural women which has been declining year by year. This article organizes and analyzes relevant literature, explores the inherent connection between rural living conditions and the changes in female labor participation in rural areas from aspects such as the current situation of female labor participation in rural areas, rural living conditions and changes, and intergenerational differences in labor participation. It analyzes the reasons for the changes in the contemporary rural female labor participation rate and proposes feasible suggestions.

“It became a cycle I was not able to break” towards menstrual justice: addressing human rights violation at Indian workplaces

Purpose This paper aims to advance the concept of “menstrual justice” by building on the comprehensive framework developed by Margaret E. Johnson (2019), which integrates legal rights, social justice and intersectional analysis. By applying Johnson’s insights and human rights frameworks to menstrual health management, the study advocates for state interventions to safeguard women labourers from exploitative practices that endanger their reproductive health and to uphold their menstrual rights. Design/methodology/approach A case study methodology is used to scrutinize menstrual injustices experienced by women labourers in precarious employment conditions. Specifically, it examines two cases, the mass hysterectomies in Beed, Maharashtra and the administration of unidentified pharmaceuticals to women in Tamil Nadu factories to mitigate menstrual pain and maximize productivity. Findings The findings reveal severe violations pertaining to menstrual justice, with practices deeply rooted in socioeconomic deprivation and systemic neglect. These issues subject female workers to various forms of gender-based violence that goes beyond physical abuse, raising critical concerns about menstrual justice and human rights violations. Research limitations/implications The study’s findings have limited generalizability due to the specific contexts of the case study. Furthermore, the absence of insights from managers/supervisors, and factory owners limits a comprehensive understanding of the policies and factors leading to neglect of menstrual management practices. Practical implications The findings of the study will prompt the medical industry to initiate research into medications that can effectively alleviate period pain while minimizing harmful side effects. Current treatments often come with significant drawbacks, highlighting the need for safer and more effective alternatives. Addressing this research gap is vital for achieving menstrual equity, as it ensures that individuals suffering from menstrual pain have access to relief that does not jeopardize their overall health. Advancing research in this area will not only enhance the quality of life for menstruators but also contribute to a more equitable and inclusive approach to menstrual health care. Social implications The findings support reframing menstrual friendly labour policies including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information to everyone, regardless of gender, to reduce misinformation and stigma associated with menstruation at workplaces. Additionally, the study proposes the introduction of reusable menstrual products like menstrual cups to overcome period poverty. Thus, ensuring access to these resources is crucial for enabling informed decision-making, promoting gender equality, addressing health disparities and fostering the development of menstrual-friendly workplace policies. Originality/value This study, by using a case study-based approach, has thoroughly examined the issues and challenges faced by female labourers in fields and factories. It uniquely identifies the inadequacies in menstrual management provisions for female workers in India and advocates for a human rights-based approach to ensure that menstruators can manage their menstrual health safely. Unlike most existing studies, which primarily focus on product usage and the stigma or myths surrounding menstruation, this study advances menstrual justice by calling for labour policy reforms and medical research to lessen menstrual pain without compromising menstruators’ health. These reforms aim to provide working women with adequate rest and necessary provisions during menstruation. Addressing these gaps is essential and has been largely overlooked in global health policies.

Evolution of Labor Concepts and Feminist Perspectives

The study explores the historical evolution of labour from household-based manufacturing to wage-based industrial systems, examining how the definition of work has changed in modern economies. From an economic perspective, work is perceived as a good or service that is traded in markets based on supply and demand. Traditional definitions of work, which emphasize wage labour, are challenged by feminist viewpoints, which emphasize the underappreciation of unpaid care and domestic work. Women's social standing and economic empowerment are restricted by this devaluation, which upholds gender inequality. To look into women's employment and labour participation in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey, the research uses a census technique and deliberate sampling. The results show that women's paid and unpaid labour is influenced by social, cultural, and economic factors such as family history, education, and occupational segregation. These factors also reveal gendered labour dynamics. The study concludes that labour must be redefined to encompass not only paid employment but also a wider range of activities and societal benefits. To advance gender equality and women's economic empowerment in the context of changing global economies, gender inequalities in labour definitions and regulations must be addressed.

A Quantitative Theory of the New Life Cycle of Women's Employment

“A new life cycle of women's labor force participation has emerged” (Goldin and Mitchell, 2017). Compared to previous cohorts, the employment profile of American college-educated married women born after the mid-1950s is flatter and higher with no hump but with a dip in the middle between ages 30-39. At the same time, these younger cohorts have delayed births, but their completed fertility rate has increased. I develop a quantitative theory to explain the changes in college-educated women's employment and fertility decisions across cohorts. First, I provide reduced-form evidence of a positive correlation between fertility and employment decisions. Second, I build a life-cycle model of labor supply and fertility decisions. My estimates indicate that the marginal returns to experience of college-educated married women increased by 33 percent. Although on-the-job accumulation of experience plays a crucial role in generating employment shifts and birth delays, the model does not generate an increase in the total fertility rate in the absence of infertility treatments. Thus, to understand why college-educated married women's life-cycle employment profiles and fertility decisions are changing, both factors must be considered.

Weak identification in discrete choice models

We study the impact of weak identification in discrete choice models, and provide insights into the determinants of identification strength in these models. Using these insights, we propose a novel test that can consistently detect weak identification in commonly applied discrete choice models, such as probit, logit, and many of their extensions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that when the null hypothesis of weak identification is rejected, Wald-based inference can be carried out using standard formulas and critical values. A Monte Carlo study compares our proposed testing approach against commonly applied weak identification tests. The results simultaneously demonstrate the good performance of our approach and the fundamental failure of using conventional weak identification tests for linear models in the discrete choice model context. Lastly, we apply our approach in two empirical examples: married women labor force participation, and US food aid and civil conflicts.

Double burden of malnutrition in 115 Latin American cities: An ecological analysis

AbstractBackgroundUsing harmonized aggregated data on health and socioeconomic environments in Latin American cities (from the Salud Urbana en América Latina (SALURBAL) study), we assessed the association of city‐level contextual factors with the prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition (DBM) in urban settings.MethodsThis ecological study used aggregated survey data from 115 Latin American cities within five countries (Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru) collected between 2008 and 2016. DBM was defined as the coexistence of stunting in children under 5 years and overweight/obesity among adult women at the city‐level. We ran ordinal logistic regression models to examine macrolevel contextual factors that might explain the city‐level DBM. Independent variables were city‐level socioeconomic development index, women educational attainment and women labor force.ResultsOut of 115 Latin American cities, 19 cities from five countries were experiencing a moderate to high burden of stunting and simultaneously a very high burden of overweight/obesity in adult women. All cities had overweight/obesity prevalence above 40%. A poor social environment, higher levels of women education and greater women labor force at the city level were associated with greater levels of DBM.ConclusionSome Latin American cities are still facing moderate and high DBM, while all cities are experiencing an alarming high burden of overweight/obesity. Social macro‐level factors such as poor social environment, high women education and high women labor force were associated with the coexistence of stunting in children and overweight/obesity in adult women.

The Emergence of the Socioeconomic Gradient in Women's Marriage Outcomes

Abstract We present new findings about the relationship between marriage and socioeconomic background in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Imputing socioeconomic status of family of origin from first names, we document a socioeconomic gradient for women in the probability of marriage and the socioeconomic status of husbands, which widens over this period. Regional divergence in occupational structure explains half of the divergence in the probability of marriage, and most of the increase in marital sorting. Urbanization and the associated improvement in women's labor market opportunities drive most of these differences.