Women's Labor Research Articles

The asymmetric role of crime in women's and men's labour force participation: Evidence from India

Increased crime incidents, particularly crime against women, raise security concerns and increase the non-pecuniary cost of travelling, thus deterring women from working away from their dwelling. This raises the possibility that if crime reduces women's labour force participation, men may compensate for the loss of income by increasing their participation in the labour force. Therefore, an increase in crime can explain and exacerbate the existing gender gaps in labour force participation. We investigated the possible asymmetric impact of crime on the labour force participation rates of men and women in India. We combined labour market data from NSS surveys on employment and unemployment and crime statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau for a panel of India's 571 districts from 2000 to 2012. We found that men's labour force participation increased or remained unimpacted by an increase in crime, while an increase in crime decreased women's labour force participation, especially in work away from their residence. These contrasting effects of crime on labour force participation rates are robust to fixed and between effects across districts, the dynamic nature of the relationship between variables, and heterogeneity in the data.

Assessment of rice threshing technology characteristics for enhanced rice sector development in Senegal

Understanding the technology characteristics desirable to farmers to increase the adoption of improved technologies remains a high-priority research issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study aimed to quantify farmers’ demand and assessment of the characteristics of rice threshing technologies to enhance the adoption of innovations in Senegal. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 318 rice farmers in the Senegal River Valley. Three indexes (demand, supply and attainment) of technology characteristics were estimated to assess farmers’ perceptions of the characteristics of three threshing techniques (traditional, ASI thresher and combine harvester-thresher). The results showed that of the eleven selected characteristics, time savings (0.95), labour savings (0.94) and grain quality (0.93) were farmers’ key demand. The ASI thresher and combine harvester-thresher met farmers’ needs well in terms of the attributes of grain quality and production capacity. However, users of the traditional technique reported low levels of perceived usefulness, and users of the combine harvester-thresher reported low levels of ease of use. Women labour usefulness is a trade-off for advancement in threshing technologies in pursuance of rice sector improvement, implying that efforts towards developing gender-friendly threshers are required. The variables estimated in this study offer policy considerations for development of the rice production system in Senegal. The originality of this paper is its use of a combination of take-the-best theory, the technology acceptance model and an indexing approach to reveal specific characteristics for the development of best-fit mechanization equipment, mainly improved threshers for rice sector development in SSA.

Economic Impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme on Rural Women Labourers of Tamil Nadu

This study analyzed the economic impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) on women labourers in rural Tamil Nadu. MGNREGP benefits the rural poor by providing equal wages to both men and women, guarantees 100 days of employment, and provides worksite facilities. This study was conducted in the newly established Tirupattur District of Tamil Nadu in 2018-2019. Tirupattur is one of the 20 blocks in the Vellore District. In Tamil Nadu, MGNREGP was implemented in three phases. In the Vellore district, MGNREGP was implemented under the third phase. A multistage random sampling technique was employed to collect the data from 99 sample households in Karupanur village panchayat. The findings revealed that all women labourers participated in the programme irrespective of their age groups, and the majority of them belonged to the economically weaker sections of society. The study showed that generally, the married women participated in the programme since their husbands could not manage the home with their little earnings. The majority of them, around 93.94 percent, were unaware of the worksite facilities like drinking water, rest shed, first aid box, and creche for their children. The sampled women labourers were unaware of compensation for injuries at the worksite and ex-gratia payment for death and disability. The majority of the scheduled caste women labourers spent their income on children's education. The Chi-square test revealed that women labourers found MGNREGP was very useful irrespective of their communities.

BUDAYA POP DAN FEMINIS DALAM NOVEL RONGGENG DUKUH PARUK KARYA AHMAD TOHARI

This study is a qualitative descriptive and the data source is novel Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk written by Ahmad Tohari. It takes the 2009 edition published by PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama. The data were obtained thorough reading followed by taking notes of all novels related to the pop culture and feminism. The technique of analysis is done through 1) identification, 2) classification, 3) interpretation, and 4) inference. The results showed that Roggeng Dukuh Paruk entails : 1) control of men over women, namely control of women's productive power or labor, control of female reproduction, control over the determination of women's sexuality, and control of women's movements; 2) found depiction of female image, which Hollows calls a fake female image

Skilled immigrant women's career trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

PurposeDespite immigrant-receiving countries' need for skilled professionals to meet labour demands, research suggests that many skilled migrants undergo deskilling, downward career mobility, underemployment, unemployment and talent waste, finding themselves in low-skilled occupations that are not commensurate to their education and experience. Skilled immigrant women face additional gendered disadvantages, including a disproportionate domestic burden, interrupted careers and gender segmentation in occupations and organizations. This study explores how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted skilled newcomer women's labour market outcomes and work experiences.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on 50 in-depth questionnaires with skilled women to elaborate on their work experiences during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThe pandemic pushed skilled immigrant women towards unemployment, lower-skilled or less stable employment. Most study participants had their career trajectory delayed, interrupted or reversed due to layoffs, decreased job opportunities and increased domestic burden. The pandemic's gendered nature and the reliance on work-from-home arrangements and online job search heightened immigrant women's challenges due to limited social support and increased family responsibilities.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the conversation of increased integration challenges under pandemic conditions by contextualizing the pre-pandemic literature on immigrant work integration to the pandemic environment. Also, this paper contributes a better understanding of the gender dynamics informing the COVID-19 socio-economic climate.

Are we all in this together? Alleviating the childcare constraint for women in economic crises

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to advocates the use of gendered economic policies to stimulate a post-COVID-19 recovery. It alerts on the risk of ignoring the female dimension of the current crisis and of resorting again to austerity programs that, like the ones enacted after the 2008 crisis, would hit women and mothers disproportionally harder than other groups.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data from the British Household Panel Survey on female participation and account for gendered constraints and enablers missed by mainstream economics. Using a sequential empirical approach, the authors simulate various welfare policy scenarios that address factors, such as childcare costs, personal and social nudges, that could help women back into the labor market in the aftermath of a crisis.Findings The authors found that incentive-type interventions, such as subsidies, promote female labor market participation more effectively than punishment-austerity type interventions, such as benefits' cuts. Policies oriented to alleviate childcare constraints can be sustainable and effective in encouraging women back to work. Considering factors wider than the standard economic variables when designing labor market policies may provide fruitful returns.Originality/valueThe sequential methodology enables to estimate current and counterfactual incomes for each female in the sample and to calculate their prospective financial gains and losses in changing their labor market status quo, from not employed into employed or vice-versa. Welfare policies affect these prospective gains and losses and, by interacting with other factors, such as education, number and age of children and social capital, prompt changes in women's labor market choices and decision.

Transformation in homespun: Power and creativity in early nineteenth-century Hawaiian cloth manufacturing

Between 1837 and 1840, governor and chief John Adams Kuakini engaged in cotton farming and cloth production, the first Hawaiian to ever do so. His success in running a cloth-making operation was not done alone, however, but with the guidance from New England Congregationalist missionaries who introduced homespun to Kuakini and hired foreigners and makaʻāinana men and women labourers. This article explores Kuakini’s motivations for investing in cloth-making through the lens of his chiefly power, with special attention to the ways in which Kuakini asserted dominance over those who challenged him and those he believed were subservient to him. I examine Kuakini’s motivations and foray into cloth-making, which differed greatly from Congregational Christian ideas about cloth-making, further demonstrating how Kuakini’s power in the early Hawaiian Kingdom extended over both native and foreign bodies.

Dairy cattle farming: how the performance of household labour participant in the farm chain

A Case study was held at smallholder dairy farming at Malang, East Java Province of Indonesia. The research aimed to investigate the value-generating between the household labours in terms of the time allocation and its productivity in engaging dairy cattle. Multi-stage sampling method was a technique to obtain the three strata of dairy farming, including stratum-1(n=12), stratum-2 (n=8) and stratum-3 (n=6) with average owning about 5.22 AU, 6.5 AU and 7.88 AU, respevtively. Data collection used survey method for primary data, whereas secondary data were provided by related institutions. Descriptive analysis using the formulation productivity were applied to analyse the data. Results discovered that productivity per Animal unit stratum-3 confirms the highest one (IDR 20,041) than those stratum-2 (IDR19,084) and stratum-1 (IDR 17,087). This farm also devoted the efficient in rearing dairy cattle about 1.36 hours/AU compared to 1,41 hours (stratum-2) and 1.42 hours (stratum-1). In addition, the largest productivity per hours was on stratum-3 about IDR 14,736 in comparison with about IDR 13,535 for stratum-2 and IDR 12,033 for stratum-3. Regarding gender however, stratum-2 exhibited the highest productivity, namely IDR 13,567 and IDR 647 for men and women labour, respectively.

Social movements, community education, and the fight for racial justice: Black women and social transformation

AbstractThis article addresses the role of community learning within social movements and the fight for social justice and human rights. To understand contemporary social movements and their role in community learning and advocacy for social change, it is essential to contextualize them within the long history of Black women's activist labor and accomplishments. The #BLM movement is presented as a continuation of Black women's longstanding inclusive activism, punctuated by the Abolition, Suffrage, Civil Rights, and modern feminist movements. It highlights the efforts of specific Black women community leaders in creating counterpublics that make claims to power and work to change the status quo. Black women, through their inclusive, community‐based activist endeavors, continue to carve out fugitive spaces and counterpublics where counternarratives are actively generated to fight for a more equitable and inclusive democracy that serves all. This article conceptualizes the role of adult education in social movements and transformative change.

Women’s economic empowerment and COVID-19: the case of vulnerable women with intersectional identities in Indonesia and Vietnam

In recent decades, ASEAN has seen significant progress in gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, advances have not been even and vulnerable women with a range of intersectional identities have not benefited to the same extent as more privileged women or their male counterparts. Moreover, despite ASEAN’s much-lauded success in COVID-19 prevention and containment, the economic gains that had been achieved for women and girls are rapidly losing ground. Disruptions in the tourism sector, labour migration, and international trade have had a devastating economic impact on vulnerable populations, while innovations and new implementation approaches have provided some relief for low-income communities. This paper describes the COVID-19 economic fallout for women homeworkers and labour migrants engaged in informal jobs in Indonesia and low-income ethnic minority women in agriculture and tourism sectors in north-west Vietnam. It discusses early experiences and learning on pivoting projects, funded by the Government of Australia, to be COVID-19 responsive and contribute to longer-term recovery.

ҚИШЛОҚУЙ ХЎЖАЛИКЛАРИДА АЁЛЛАР МЕҲНАТИДАН ФОЙДАЛАНИШ ИСТИҚБОЛЛАРИ

The article reveals the development of women's entrepreneurship by increasing the activity of households in agriculture, the main directions of entrepreneurial activity and the role of entrepreneurship in increasing household income. Government policies, lending and incentives are discussed with the aim of expanding home entrepreneurship. The level of concessional loans provided to households by the central bank and commercial banks is considered in detail. Recommendations are given on the effective use of female labor in rural entrepreneurship.Keywords: women's labor, women's entrepreneurship, home business, entrepreneurship, subsidiary farming, agriculture, gender equality, citizens' gathering, income, personal household plots, employment, crediting, subsidies, family entrepreneurship

A survey exploring women's use of mobile apps in labour in the United Kingdom

ObjectiveTo examine women's use of mobile apps in labour in the United Kingdom. DesignCross-sectional online survey. Descriptive analysis on women's reported use of apps whilst in labour, using multiple choice questions to explore frequency of app use and reasons and experiences of using apps. Thematic analysis of a free text question explored experiences and opinions regarding app use in labour. SettingSocial media. Two groups from Facebook.com and one group from Babycentre.co.uk ParticipantsA total of 749 women, surveyed over a one month period. MeasurementsDemographics of women; characteristics of women's labours and birth; access to smartphones and app; rates of app use in labour and reasons for use; experiences of app use in labour. FindingsA total of 851 women responded, of which 749 were eligible. 431 (57.5%) reporting using an app in labour. No associations were found between age, ethnicity, education or mode of delivery and app use. Women who used an app were significantly more likely to have gone into labour spontaneously, and those who delivered between 40- 40+6 weeks gestation were significantly more likely to use an app. The majority of apps were used to monitor contractions, and most women found the apps useful and would recommend the apps they used. There was no association between number of labour ward attendances and app use, however women who used an app were significantly more likely to be admitted in more advanced labour. Qualitative comments found apps were viewed both as barriers and facilitators to the labour experience. Key conclusionsA large number of women are using apps in labour, with potential benefits. There is no consensus from women on the experience of app use. The use of technology should not replace an individual assessment on a laboring women however. Although national bodies support the use of apps in maternity, there is currently insufficient evidence and regulation to support the safety and efficacy of these recommendations. Implications for practiceThose working in maternity services should be aware many women are using apps in labour, and can consider this information as part of their assessment. Further work is needed to explore what women want from an app in labour, and to investigate whether app use can benefit a woman's experience of labour and improve outcomes.

Lowering Standards to Wed? Spouse Quality, Marriage, and Labor Market Responses to the Gender Wage Gap

Abstract This paper examines the effect of the female-to-male wage ratio, “relative wage,” on women's spouse quality, marriage, and labor supply over three decades. Exploiting task-based demand shifts as a shock to relative pay, I find that a higher relative wage (a) increases the quality of women's mates, as measured by higher spousal education; (b) reduces marriage without substitution to cohabitation; and (c) raises women's hours of work. These effects are consistent with a model in which a higher relative wage increases the minimum nonpecuniary benefits (“quality”) women require from a spouse and therefore reduce marriage among low-quality husbands.

The top 10 research priorities in diabetes and pregnancy according to women, support networks and healthcare professionals.

AimsTo undertake a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) to establish priorities for future research in diabetes and pregnancy, according to women with experience of pregnancy, and planning pregnancy, with any type of diabetes, their support networks and healthcare professionals.MethodsThe PSP used established James Lind Alliance (JLA) methodology working with women and their support networks and healthcare professionals UK‐wide. Unanswered questions about the time before, during or after pregnancy with any type of diabetes were identified using an online survey and broad‐level literature search. A second survey identified a shortlist of questions for final prioritisation at an online consensus development workshop.ResultsThere were 466 responses (32% healthcare professionals) to the initial survey, with 1161 questions, which were aggregated into 60 unanswered questions. There were 614 responses (20% healthcare professionals) to the second survey and 18 questions shortlisted for ranking at the workshop. The top 10 questions were: diabetes technology, the best test for diabetes during pregnancy, diet and lifestyle interventions for diabetes management during pregnancy, emotional and well‐being needs of women with diabetes pre‐ to post‐pregnancy, safe full‐term birth, post‐natal care and support needs of women, diagnosis and management late in pregnancy, prevention of other types of diabetes in women with gestational diabetes, women's labour and birth experiences and choices and improving planning pregnancy.ConclusionsThese research priorities provide guidance for research funders and researchers to target research in diabetes and pregnancy that will achieve greatest value and impact.

China's Rebalancing and Gender Inequality

This paper examines gender inequality in the context of structural transformation and rebalancing in China. We document declining women's relative wages and labor force participation in China during the last two decades, despite rapid growth and expansion of the service sector. Using household data, we provide evidence consistent with a U-shaped relationship between economic development and women's labor market outcomes. Using a model of structural transformation, we show that labor market barriers for women have increased over time. Model counterfactuals suggest that removing these barriers and increasing service sector productivity can boost both gender equality and economic growth in China.

Do Male and Female Students Use Networks Differently?

Gender differences in professional networks have been shown to contribute to men and women's disparate labor market outcomes. This gap could be due to differences in network access, differences in network usage, or both. Using novel administrative data from a student-alumni professional networking website, we study gender differences in student network usage, holding network access fixed. Focusing on messages sent by students to alumni, we document that male and female students network similarly, in terms of both the number of messages sent and the specific questions asked. Furthermore, there are only small gender differences in question tone.

Locating 'Coolie' Women's Health in Tea Plantation Environments in Colonial Assam

Abstract The history of Assam tea plantations in India is well-documented, yet a gender sensitive environmental history of these colonially-introduced plantation landscapes is absent. The colonial tea planters saw advantages in a growing female presence in their plantations, in terms of increased male ties to the plantation, lower wages for female workers and the added benefit of biological reproduction that would fulfil the need for manual labour in these plantations for generations. This paper attempts to understand how this plantation structure in general and the work regime in particular relied on a particular type of gender identity, which in turn had a detrimental effect on the health of the women labourers in this new landscape.

Gender Inequality: Dampaknya terhadap Pendapatan Per Kapita (Studi Kasus 33 Provinsi di Indonesia 2011-2019)

Gender Inequality (gender inequality) is a classic problem in various countries, especially in developing countries like Indonesia. Gender inequality in various fields is considered to hinder economic growth. Slowing economic growth is considered to have a negative impact on income, both at the national level and the per capita level. Researchers are interested in examining per capita income as a proxy for economic growth. Per capita income is a measure of community welfare that is most often used by the government. This study aims to examine the description of gender inequality and per capita income in Indonesia, and analyze the impact of gender inequality on per capita income in Indonesia. The results of descriptive analysis show that there are still gender disparities in all provinces throughout Indonesia in 2011-2019. Furthermore, based on the results of the inference analysis using panel data, this study concludes that gender inequality simultaneously has a significant effect on per capita income. Gender inequality variables that have a partial effect include wages for women workers, women's labor force participation, and gender development

Взгляд на историю Великой Отечественной войны через призму микроистории

In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War beginning, the experience of modern reading of one of the bloodiest events in the history of the country is of current interest. From the author’s point of view, at present there is a tendency towards pathos patriotism and romanticization of the feat in the use of military issues for educational purposes. This, like any deviation, can lead to dangerous consequences, in this particular case, to militarization of consciousness. The article uses the example of one of the largest villages in the Almetyevsk district of the Republic of Tatarstan to demostrate a wide range of different aspects of the history of the war, which show not only the greatness of the victory and the heroes who won it. Considerable attention is given to the coverage of war as the most severe inhumane form of manifesting social relations that require people to make excessive efforts to survive and preserve human dignity. The article includes recollections of the villagers about the first day of the war, about the front-line everyday life, severe hardships, and tragic details of the military battles in which the Novonadyrovtsy participated. The article depicts domestic disorder, extreme stress, psychological overload, constant physical fatigue on the verge of human capabilities. It also tells about remarkable encounters in the war and close front-line friendship. The paper also highlights the extreme conditions in which peasants survived in the rear, women's labor to the point of exhaustion, the unity of people in the harsh realities of the war years, and at the same time ambiguous manifestation of patriotism. The uneasy fates of the soldiers who were in German captivity are also depicted.

Women's Participation in Labor Force in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Review of Determinants and Impacts

Background: In the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in women's participation in gainful employment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scooping review has primarily aimed at assessing the key determinants and effects of women's involvement in the labor force in SSA.
 Methods: The authors did the review based on 19 articles selected from PubMed and goggle search. The selection considered only those published in the last 15 years, conducted based on large sample from Sub-Saharan African countries, and those exclusively related to women’s Labor Force Participation (LFP). More than 80% of the reviewed studies (16 of the 19) employed a cross-sectional study design with quantitative approaches.
 Results: The review witnessed that women's labor force participation in SSA is determined by various individual, household, and community characteristics. Women with lower fertility, living in poor economic condition (low wealth quantiles), and those with above primary education were more likely to participate in gainful employment. Other demographic factors explaining why some women participate in the labor force more often than others include women's age, marital status, number of under-five children, household size, and headship. Among the community variables, living in areas with better infrastructure (transport and communication) increased the likelihood of women’s participation in gainful employment. Nearly all studies showed significant positive impacts of women's labor force participation on several domains of women's life and household well-being, such as on women's nutrition, childcare, and health service utilization.
 Conclusion: The review implies that despite concerns about some adverse impacts of women's participation in gainful employment (such as on childcare), most of the studies indicated positive effects of LFP on women's and children's health, nutrition, and overall household well-being in SSA.