Social Institutions and Gender Discrimination in Employment: Why do so many women end up in “bad jobs”? Christopher Garroway, Statistician OECD Development Centre UNECE Work Session on Gender Statistics April 26 th 2010, Geneva, Switzerland
Social Institutions and Gender Discrimination in Employment:
Why do so many women end up in “bad jobs”?
Christopher Garroway, StatisticianOECD Development Centre
UNECE Work Session on Gender StatisticsApril 26th 2010, Geneva, Switzerland
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Outline
1 Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs
2 Social Institutions as Root Causes of Gender Equality Outcomes
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The Impact of Social Instituions on the Feminisation of Bad Jobs
Ideas for future research
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Mean Std. Dev. Min Max
Female Labour Force(% of total labour force)
41.03 8.07 17.53 50.73
Female Labour Participation (% of female pop. Age 15+)
51.57 15.91 13.88 82.10
Ratio of Female Labour Participation/Male Labour
Participation
0.69 0.20 0.20 0.98
Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs • Female Labour Market Participation (44 countries)
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Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs • Gender Segregation by Sectors
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Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs • Gender Segregation by Working Status
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2. Social Institutions as root causes of gender equality outcomes
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The Importance of Social Institutions
Social Institutions are evolved practices with stable rules of behaviour that are outside the formal system and that deprive women from their basic freedoms.
(cf. Sen, 2007)
CRITICAL determinants of development outcomes (e.g., health & well-being, educational attainment, political empowerment, economic participation)
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5 key areas of discrimination
Social Institutions Variables
• Early marriage• Polygamy• Parental
authority• Inheritance
• Freedom ofmovement
• Freedom of dress
• Female genital mutilation
• Violence against women
• Access to land• Access to bank
loans• Access to
property
Ownership RightsCivil LibertiesPhysical IntegrityFamily Code
• Missing women
Son Preference
The Importance of Social Institutions• Social institutions are root causes of gender inequality
– Traditions inducing inequalities (e.g. inheritance practices)– Social norms impacting on gender equality (e.g. son preference)– Cultural practices limiting the freedom of women (e.g. obligations to be
accompanied by male guardian)
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SIGI Composite Indicator = (Family Code)⅕ 2 + (Civil Liberties)⅕ 2 + (Physical ⅕Integrity)2 + (Son Preference)⅕ 2 + (Ownership Rights)⅕ 2
SIGI: The Social Institutions and Gender Index
SIGI Value
between 1
(highest discrimination)
and 0
(least discrimination)
124 country notes=> 102 SIGI scores
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SIGI: The Social Institutions and Gender Index• Composition of SIGI Scores by Region
0 .1 .2 .3
Middle East and North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
East Asia and Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe and Central Asia
Family Code Civil Liberties
Physical Int. Son Preference
Ownership Rights
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3. Impact of Social Institutions on the Feminization of Bad Jobs
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The higher the discrimination in social institutions, the lower female labour participation
• SIGI and Labour Market Outcomes
Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs
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Highest Levels of Discriminatory Social
Institutions :
Sierra Leone, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq
Lowest Levels of Discriminatory Social
Institutions:
Paraguay, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Argentina,
Costa Rica
Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs44 country sub-sample
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Why do so many women end up in “ bad jobs” ?Outcome (dependent) variables (Female Labor Force Participation measures, ratios of women to men in each sector, ratios of women to men in each working status category)Explanatory (independent) variables (SIGI and 5 Sub-indices: Family Code, Civil Liberties, Physical Integrity, Son Preference and Ownership rightsControls: GDP per capita, (GDP per capita)^2, Women’s Educational attainment
Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs
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KEY FINDINGS• Social institutions hinder women joining the labour force
outside the home by limiting freedom of movement• Social Institutions impact on women’s upward job
mobility by limiting opportunity outside agriculture• Social Institutions leave women stuck in jobs as
contributing family workers, without income or social protection
Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs
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4. Ideas for Future Research/Conclusions
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Ideas for further research
Need for better, more detailed measures of job quality
Need for sub-national data (e.g. Indian States)
Need for further study of link between social institutions and policy/ aid effectiveness
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Food for thought…Other possible linkages!
Son Preference and Savings Rates
The more important the degree of son preference the higher the savings rate
Discriminatory social institutions impact the entire society, limiting economic growth and threatening financial stability.
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Thank you!!!