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Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data

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  • Asif Islam
  • Silvia Muzi
  • Mohammad Amin

Abstract

Institutions are defined as the set of rules that govern human interactions. When these rules are discriminatory, they may disempower segments of a population in the economic spheres of activity. In this study, we explore whether laws that discriminate against women influence their engagement in the economy. We adopt a holistic approach where we explore an overall measure of unequal laws also known as legal gender disparities and relate it to several labour market outcomes for women. Using data for over 59,000 firms across 94 economies, we find that unequal laws not only discourage women’s participation in the private sector workforce, but also their likelihood to become top managers and owners of firms. Suggestive evidence indicates that access to finance, property ownership, business registration, and labour market constraints are pathways by which legal gender disparities disempower women in the private sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Asif Islam & Silvia Muzi & Mohammad Amin, 2019. "Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 822-844, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:55:y:2019:i:5:p:822-844
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1487055
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    Cited by:

    1. Hyland,Marie Caitriona & Islam,Asif Mohammed & Muzi,Silvia, 2020. "Firms' Discriminatory Behavior, and Women's Employment in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9224, The World Bank.
    2. Marie Hyland & Simeon Djankov & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, 2020. "Gendered Laws and Women in the Workforce," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 475-490, December.
    3. Charles Ackah & Holger Görg & Aoife Hanley & Cecilia Hornok, 2024. "Africa’s businesswomen – underfunded or underperforming?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1051-1074, March.
    4. Hoch, Felix & Rudsinske, Jonas, 2022. "Institutional Discrimination Against Female Managers as a Barrier to Firm Internationalization and International Trade," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264005, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2022. "Individualism and women's economic rights," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 579-597.
    6. Eger, Claudia & Fetzer, Thiemo & Peck, Jennifer & Alodayni, Saleh, 2022. "Organizational, economic or cultural? Firm-side barriers to employing women in Saudi Arabia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    7. Kshitij Awasthi & Kiran Kumaraswamy & Natascia Boeri, 2021. "Helping when it matters: Optimal time for supporting women’s self‐employment in India," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(6), pages 971-989, November.
    8. Amin,Mohammad & Islam,Asif Mohammed, 2021. "Exports and Women Workers in Formal Firms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9527, The World Bank.
    9. Lo Bue, Maria C. & Le, Tu Thi Ngoc & Santos Silva, Manuel & Sen, Kunal, 2022. "Gender and vulnerable employment in the developing world: Evidence from global microdata," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    10. Amin,Mohammad & Islam,Asif Mohammed, 2022. "The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Women’s Employment : Evidence Using Firm-LevelSurvey Data from Developing Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10188, The World Bank.
    11. Isis Gaddis & Rahul Lahoti & Hema Swaminathan, 2022. "Women's Legal Rights and Gender Gaps in Property Ownership in Developing Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(2), pages 331-377, June.
    12. Khorana, Sangeeta & Webster, Allan, 2023. "Too few women at the top of firms: Foreign ownership, gender segregation and cultural causes," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1276, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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