social institutions and gender discrimination in employment: why do so many women end up in “bad...

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.

www.oecd.org/dev/gender

www.genderindex.org

www.wikigender.org

Christopher.Garroway@oecd.org

Thank you!!!