IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2016-118.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Women’s Opportunities and Challenges in Sub-Saharan African Job Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Ms. Christine Dieterich
  • Anni Huang
  • Mr. Alun H. Thomas

Abstract

As labor market data is scarce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this paper uses household survey data to analyze the determinants of the gender gap in the labor market and its welfare implications for five SSA countries in multinomial logit models with propensity score matching method. The analysis confirms that education opens up opportunities for women to escape agricultural feminization and engage in formal wage employment, but these opportunities diminish when women marry—a disadvantage increasingly relevant when countries develop and urbanization progresses. Opening a household enterprise offers women an alternative avenue to escape low-paid jobs in agriculture, but the increase in per capita income is lower than male-owned household enterprises. These findings underline that improving women’s education needs to be supported by measures to allow married women to keep their jobs in the wage sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Ms. Christine Dieterich & Anni Huang & Mr. Alun H. Thomas, 2016. "Women’s Opportunities and Challenges in Sub-Saharan African Job Markets," IMF Working Papers 2016/118, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2016/118
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=43959
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Anyanwu & Darline Augustine, 2013. "Gender Equality in Employment in Africa: Empirical Analysis and Policy Implications," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 25(4), pages 400-420.
    2. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Pandolfelli, Lauren, 2010. "Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers: Resources, Constraints, and Interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 581-592, April.
    3. Markus Goldstein & Christopher Udry, 2008. "The Profits of Power: Land Rights and Agricultural Investment in Ghana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(6), pages 981-1022, December.
    4. Angela Luci & Jütting Johannes & Morrisson Christian, 2012. "Why Do So Many Women End Up in 'Bad Jobs'? A Cross-country Assessment for Developing Countries," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00660604, HAL.
    5. Udry, Christopher, 1996. "Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1010-1046, October.
    6. Ms. Louise Fox & Cleary Haines & Ms. Jorge Huerta Munoz & Mr. Alun H. Thomas, 2013. "Africa's Got Work to Do: Employment Prospects in the New Century," IMF Working Papers 2013/201, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Ms. Janet Gale Stotsky, 2006. "Gender and its Relevance to Macroeconomic Policy: A Survey," IMF Working Papers 2006/233, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Ms. Katrin Elborgh-Woytek & Ms. Monique Newiak & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar & Ms. Stefania Fabrizio & Mr. Kangni R Kpodar & Mr. Philippe Wingender & Mr. Benedict J. Clements & Mr. Gerd Schwartz, 2013. "Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2013/010, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Katrin Elborgh-Woytek & Monique Newiak & Kalpana Kochhar & Stefania Fabrizio & Kangni R Kpodar & Philippe Wingender & Benedict J. Clements & Gerd Schwartz, 2013. "Women, Work, and the Economy; Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 13/10, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Mr. Jonathan David Ostry & Mr. Andrew Berg & Mr. Charalambos G Tsangarides, 2014. "Redistribution, Inequality, and Growth," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2014/002, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Mr. David Coady & Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, 2012. "Income Inequality and Fiscal Policy," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2012/008, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Angela Luci & Jütting Johannes & Morrisson Christian, 2012. "Why Do So Many Women End Up in 'Bad Jobs'? A Cross-country Assessment for Developing Countries," Post-Print halshs-00660604, HAL.
    13. Andre Croppenstedt & Markus Goldstein & Nina Rosas, 2013. "Gender and Agriculture: Inefficiencies, Segregation, and Low Productivity Traps," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 79-109, February.
    14. Stephanie Seguino & Maureen Were, 2014. "Gender, Development and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 23(suppl_1), pages 18-61.
    15. Deon Filmer & Louise Fox, 2014. "Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa [L’emploi des jeunes en Afrique subsaharienne - Rapport complet]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 16608.
    16. Mendola, Mariapia, 2007. "Agricultural technology adoption and poverty reduction: A propensity-score matching analysis for rural Bangladesh," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 372-393, June.
    17. Angela Luci & Johannes Jütting & Christian Morrisson, 2012. "Why Do So Many Women End Up in ‘Bad Jobs’? A Cross-country Assessment for Developing Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 24(4), pages 530-549, September.
    18. Olumide TAIWO, 2013. "Employment choice and mobility in multi-sector labour markets: Theoretical model and evidence from Ghana," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(3-4), pages 469-492, December.
    19. Fox, Louise & Sohnesen , Thomas Pave, 2012. "Household enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa : why they matter for growth, jobs, and livelihoods," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6184, The World Bank.
    20. Brian McCaig & Nina Pavcnik, 2015. "Informal Employment in a Growing and Globalizing Low-Income Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 545-550, May.
    21. Christian Gonzales & Sonali Jain-Chandra & Kalpana Kochhar & Monique Newiak, 2015. "Fair Play; More Equal Laws Boost Female Labor Force Participation," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 15/2, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Adeniyi, Labintan, 2010. "Women Farmer’s and Agriculture Growth: Challenge and Perspective for Africa face the economic crisis," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 97062, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    23. Francesca Bastagli & David Coady & Sanjeev Gupta, 2012. "Income Inequality and Fiscal Policy (2nd Edition)," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 12/08R, International Monetary Fund.
    24. Jonathan David Ostry & Andrew Berg & Charalambos G Tsangarides, 2014. "Redistribution, Inequality, and Growth," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 14/02, International Monetary Fund.
    25. Udry, Christopher & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & Haddad, Lawrence, 1995. "Gender differentials in farm productivity: implications for household efficiency and agricultural policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 407-423, October.
    26. Mr. Christian Gonzales & Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar & Ms. Monique Newiak, 2015. "Fair Play: More Equal Laws Boost Female Labor Force Participation," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2015/002, International Monetary Fund.
    27. Thomas Masterson, 2007. "Female Land Rights, Crop Specialization, and Productivity in Paraguayan Agriculture," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_504, Levy Economics Institute.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zuzana Brixiová Schwidrowski & Susumu Imai & Thierry Kangoye & Nadege Desiree Yameogo, 2021. "Assessing gender gaps in employment and earnings in Africa: The case of Eswatini," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 643-663, July.
    2. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye & Fiona Tregenna, 2020. "Enterprising Women in Southern Africa: When Does Land Ownership Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 37-51, March.
    3. Alyson G. Young, 2017. "Risky resources: Household production, food contamination, and perceptions of aflatoxin exposure among Zambian female farmers," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 200-212, June.
    4. Rasmané Ouedraogo & Elodie Marlet, 2018. "Foreign Direct Investment and Women Empowerment: New Evidence on Developing Countries," IMF Working Papers 2018/025, International Monetary Fund.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andre Croppenstedt & Markus Goldstein & Nina Rosas, 2013. "Gender and Agriculture: Inefficiencies, Segregation, and Low Productivity Traps," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 79-109, February.
    2. Ram, Harchand & Chakravorty, Swastika & Goli, Srinivas, 2022. "Does gender inequality affect economic development? An evidence based on analysis of cross-national panel data of 158 countries," SocArXiv 7svz4, Center for Open Science.
    3. International Monetary Fund, 2015. "Hungary: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2015/093, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Lara Fontanella & Annalina Sarra & Simone Zio, 2020. "Do Gender Differences in Social Institutions Matter in Shaping Gender Equality in Education and the Labour Market? Empirical Evidences from Developing Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 133-158, January.
    5. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie & Sheriff, Glenn & Zhu, Siyao, 2016. "Do Female Instructors Reduce Gender Bias in Diffusion of Sustainable Land Management Techniques? Experimental Evidence From Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 436-449.
    6. Johan Graafland & Bjorn Lous, 2019. "Income Inequality, Life Satisfaction Inequality and Trust: A Cross Country Panel Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 1717-1737, August.
    7. Tendai Zawaira & Matthew Clance & Carolyn Chisadza & Rangan Gupta, 2021. "Financial Inclusion and Gender Inequality in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 202167, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    8. Asadullah, Niaz & Wahhaj, Zaki, 2016. "Missing from the Market: Purdah Norm and Women's Paid Work Participation in Bangladesh," IZA Discussion Papers 10463, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. de la O Campos, Ana Paula & Covarrubias, Katia Alejandra & Prieto Patron, Alberto, 2016. "How Does the Choice of the Gender Indicator Affect the Analysis of Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 17-33.
    10. Farhad Taghizadeh‐Hesary & Naoyuki Yoshino & Sayoko Shimizu, 2020. "The impact of monetary and tax policy on income inequality in Japan," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(10), pages 2600-2621, October.
    11. Magnan, Nicholas & Spielman, David J. & Gulati, Kajal & Lybbert, Travis J., 2015. "Information networks among women and men and the demand for an agricultural technology in India:," IFPRI discussion papers 1411, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Cristian Alonso & Mariya Brussevich & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Yuko Kinoshita & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar, 2019. "Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Work: Stronger Policies to Support Gender Equality," IMF Working Papers 2019/225, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Lous, Bjorn, 2020. "On free markets, income inequality, happiness and trust," Other publications TiSEM e2480eed-722b-4e2a-8e29-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Iván González Gordón & Budy P. Resosudarmo, 2019. "A sectoral growth‐income inequality nexus in Indonesia," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 123-139, March.
    15. Takayama, Taisuke & Horibe, Atsushi & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "Women and farmland preservation: The impact of women’s participation in farmland management governance in Japan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 116-125.
    16. Jonathan D. Ostry & Andrew Berg & Siddharth Kothari, 2021. "Growth‐equity trade‐offs in structural reforms," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(2), pages 209-237, May.
    17. Meinzen-Dick, R., 2010. "Engendering agricultural research," IWMI Working Papers H043604, International Water Management Institute.
      • Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Behrman, Julia & Biermayr-Jenzano, Patricia & Wilde, Vicki & Noordeloos, Marco & Ragasa, Catherine & Beintema, Nienke, 2010. "Engendering agricultural research," IFPRI discussion papers 973, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Purva Khera, 2016. "Macroeconomic Impacts of Gender Inequality and Informality in India," IMF Working Papers 2016/016, International Monetary Fund.
    19. Purva Khera, 2018. "Closing Gender Gaps in India: Does Increasing Womens’ Access to Finance Help?," IMF Working Papers 2018/212, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Ms. Sonali Jain-Chandra & Ms. Kalpana Kochhar & Ms. Monique Newiak & Yang Yang & Ms. Edda Zoli, 2018. "Gender Equality: Which Policies Have the Biggest Bang for the Buck?," IMF Working Papers 2018/105, International Monetary Fund.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2016/118. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.