Gender and Labor MarketIssues
Workshop
Capacity Building for Implementation of the GAP in ECA
by
Sarosh Sattar
Senior Economist
October 23, 2008
Outline
Do women and men behave differently in thelabor market?
Why do men and women behave differently inthe labor market?
What are the consequences of women’s dualroles?
What are some public sector responses?
Do Men and Women BehaveDifferently in the Labor Force?
Key Labor Force Indicators
On what basis can we measure thisdifference?
Labor force participation rates
Employment rates
Unemployment rates
Share of women in the labor force
Indicators
The Female Labor Force as a Share ofthe Total Labor Force, 2006
Why Do Men and Women BehaveDifferently?
Reservation wage
Reservation wage is the minimally acceptablewage for someone to work
It varies by type of job
The worse the job conditions, the higher thereservation wage
It varies by need
Young persons and wives from better offhouseholds have higher unemployment rates
The sources of the difference
Marriage and children
Raises the woman’s reservation wage because of
Household chores and time usage
Number of children (fertility)
Need to find reasonable quality and affordable child care
Maximizing household rather than individual welfare
Traditional division of labor
Women take care of dependents (children and elderly)
Consequences for
Women’s Labor Force
Looking at the details
Differences in
Occupations
Public vs. private sector jobs
…result in differences in wages
Gender wage gap
Note: Figures are based on a nationally representative sample of 1000people from all ECA countries
Source: Life in Transition Survey, 2006
Women are more likely to work inpublic sector than men
Example: Garment Worker Wages
Example: Education Workers
Public Sector Responses
Issues of preferential treatment ofwomen
Lower pension age
Women who can retire early face
Lower pension income over their longer life time
Less likely to get promoted
Generous private-sector provided maternitybenefits
If the employer has to pay for maternity leave,why hire young women?
What can governments do?
Policies which lower women’s reservation wages are
Provision of affordable and quality childcare
Services which make it feasible to find and hold a job
Commuting and job search
Availability of flexible jobs
School hour jobs, part-time jobs, telecommuting
Good infrastructure
Gender Equality
Equal retirement age for men and women
Socialize the cost of having children by having thestate pick up the tab for maternity benefits.
Policies and outcomes that need todisaggregate by gender
Active labor market policies
Men and women who fall into unemployment may nothave equal probability of escaping it
Paper for early transition period found that womenwere less likely to escape unemployment
Education
Are the rates of return on education the same for menand women in public and private sectors?
Minimum wage legislation
Are men and women affected equally?