scholarly journals GENDER GAP INDEX FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Author(s):  
Shweta Tewari ◽  
Rajshree Chouhan ◽  
Sanjeev

Women account for nearly half of the human resources of a nation and play an important role in the socio-economic development of a country. In India, in spite of focus on women empowerment, condition of women at the work place is not very encouraging. Women often face greater barriers than men in terms of securing a decent jobs, wages and conducive working conditions. Provisions relating to women’s work were introduced in 1891, with amendment of the Factories Act, 1881. After independence, number of provisions has been made in the constitutions to protect the welfare of women workers. Number of protective legislations have also been made and implemented by the government for the interest of women workers. The basic objective behind implementation of these legislation are to provide equal and a decent level of remuneration, proper child care center , maternity relief and decent working conditions to women workers. Despite these constitutional and legislative arrangements to reduce gender gap, women in India are facing discrimination at work place and suffer from harassment. The present paper critically reviewed the effectiveness of government policies and legislations framed and enacted for the welfare of women workers. It also examines the gender dimensions of the trends in various aspects of labour market viz. labour force participation rate, workforce participation rate, unemployment rate and wage rate. An attempt has been made to capture the discrimination at work by computing Gender Gap Index using major indicators of labour market. For computing the index, data for the last four decades has been used. The analysis shows that there are gaps in effective enforcement of relevant laws and implementation of women responsive policies. The gender gap index for employment opportunities and the analysis of major employment indicators showed that gender gap is increasing in many aspects. Major indicators of employment such as Labour Force participation rate, Worker population ratio, Unemployment rate and wages now have larger gender gaps than before.

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 551-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sabir

Economic growth and development of the nations largely depend on the quantity and quality of their labour force. In Pakistan, a sizeable segment of population is considered as out of labour force. For instance, the overall labour force participation rate for the age 15 years and above remained roughly in the range of 49 percent to 53 percent during 1974-75 to 2012-13. This means that of the total population in 2012-13, aged 15 years and above, 53 percent is economically active or part of labour force whereas 47 percent is economically inactive or out of labour force. And more than 75 percent of the women population is considered as economically in-active. In addition, the labour market statistics show that a smaller proportion of women than men, age 15 years and above, are employed. The unemployment rate among women is higher than men. One of the possible explanations of this gender gap is gender discrimination in the labour market. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the behaviour of female and male in labour force participation by empirically investigating the determinants of labour force participation, and access to paid job for both female and male. It also shed light on occupational gender inequalities. It is believed that these types of analyses help designing better policies to increase employment opportunities for both females and males. They also facilitate suggesting various practical measures that can be incorporated in gender sensitised employment policies that in turn could lead towards greater labour force participation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob (Yaacov) Weisberg ◽  
Noah M. Meltz

In industrialized economics, unemployment rates are inversely related to education levels. Data from 1963 to 1994 show that Israël is an anomaly exhibiting an inverted U-shaped relationship. Workers with 9-12 years of schooling consistently experienced a higher level of unemployment than the schooling groups with less and more education. Multivariate regression analysis of data for Israël during the 1976-1994 period indicates that this inverted U-shaped relationship is moderating. The national unemployment rate and a time trend variable had positive and significant effects tending to strengthen the inverted U-shaped relationship. However, an increase in the unemployment rate within the 0-8 education group relative to the 9-12 group and a decline in the labour force participation rate of the 0-8 group overrode these factors, resulting in a flattening of the inverse relationship. The major factor responsible for the anomaly in the education-unemployment relationship in Israël appears to be government policies intended to protect low-educated immigrants with large familles. A reduction in government support over recent years seems to have increased the exposure of the least educated to labour market forces.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Birch ◽  
Alison Preston

1 This article provides an overview of the key features of the labour market in 2019, with historical data providing insight into recent trends. In 2019, the female labour force participation rate reached an all-time high of 61.3%, 10 percentage points lower than the male rate. Disaggregated analysis shows this growth stems from rising participation amongst older women. This, in turn, is underpinned by a growth in feminised sectors of the labour market, notably the Health Care and Social Assistance sector. Since 2000 this sector has contributed 22.6% to total employment growth and at 2019 accounted for 13.5% of the Australian workforce. There has also been a growth in part-time and casual employment over recent years, with the latter now accounting for 25% of all employees. These are concerning developments, with estimates showing that 58.6% of casuals are not guaranteed a minimum number of hours of work in their job. The article notes that wages growth remains below that required to stimulate employment growth, and that a continued focus on conventional labour market indicators has the potential to lead to misguided policy formulation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Abdulaleem Moyosore Isiaka

This study utilizes static and dynamic models in examining the short run and long run impacts of government spending on labour force participation and unemployment within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) over the period 1991-2018. While the static models are estimated using the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) technique and the Least Squares Dummy Variables (LSDV) technique, the dynamic models are estimated using the GMM-IV technique. The GMM-IV technique better addresses endogeneity issues relative to the other techniques utilized and also, the parameters obtained from the technique are confirmed to be consistent by the Arellano-Bond test for zero autocorrelation. Accordingly, this technique is given preference in this paper. The results from the technique reveal that government spending increases the labour force participation rate but has an ambiguous impact on unemployment rate. In the long run, the parameter estimates largely remain unchanged in terms of their sign and significance; however, they increase in size. Based on these findings, this paper firstly recommends that policy makers intensify efforts in increasing government spending; as a reduction may impact negatively on the labour force participation rate. Secondly, this paper recommends the formulation and implementation of fiscal policies that are robust enough to reduce the unemployment rate as they increase the labour force participation rate.


Author(s):  
David Paterson

This paper will review recent developments in the New Zealand labour market and trace the passage of these indicators through the global financial crisis to the outlook for the coming 3 years. The paper is based on the Ministry’s Quarterly Labour Market report and Short-term Employment Forecasts. The paper describes a strong labour market.  Indicators of labour demand growth have moderated from the elevated levels recorded earlier in 2014, but remain solid. Construction is a significant source of employment demand across the entire country, and not just Canterbury. Migration-led population growth and near-record labour force participation rates are expanding labour supply. Women in general are showing increased involvement in the labour market: the female labour force participation rate returned to its record high of 63.7 per cent (equal to that recorded in March 2014), and the female employment rate (59.7 per cent) is at its highest rate since December 2008. Single mothers in particular have seen a sharp increase in their employment rate, which has reached its highest level since the series began in 1986. High participation is likely slowing the fall in the unemployment rate, which nevertheless hit its lowest level since March 2009. Wage growth remains subdued over the September quarter, but this comes against the backdrop of low inflation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-760
Author(s):  
Emilio Congregado ◽  
Ewa Gałecka-Burdziak ◽  
Antonio A. Golpe ◽  
Robert Pater

Research background: We analyse the added worker effect (AWE) and the discouraged worker effect (DWE) from an aggregate perspective. The first effect refers to an increase in labour force participation in response to a decrease in the wage rate. The second effect refers to the decision by workers who have been unsuccessful in their job search to leave the labour market or to decrease their labour force participation. For our analysis, we use the case of Poland, a country with a persistently low labour force participation rate. Purpose of the article: While previous studies focused on the net of the two effects, we aim to analyse the two effects both separately and simultaneously. We propose a new approach for analysing the two effects. We generalise and model them as resulting from different shocks: (i) the AWE as the result of a negative wage income shock, and (ii) the DWE as the result of a positive job search time shock. The underlying assumption is that both shocks have at least a transitory effect on the labour force participation rate. However, we also track the potential long-lasting effects of these shocks, and we analyse the reactions of gender and age groups to them. While this approach demonstrates the robustness of our results, it also provides the range of the sensitivity, as it shows that there are large differences in the magnitude of the AWE and the DWE for different labour market cohorts. Methods: We use the multivariate unobserved component model to extract the AWE and the DWE, and we then use VAR models, applying sign and exclusion restrictions to model the underlying shocks. We use quarterly data for Poland in 1995?2019. Most of these data come from the Labour Force Survey, while the rest come from Statistics Poland. Findings & value added: In contrast to previous literature, which analysed only the net effect of the two effects, we model the AWE and the DWE separately. Contrary to the findings of previous research, our approach seems to confirm that both effects are simultaneously present in the labour market, and both effects influence the labour force participation rate. Thus, we find that both effects are significant. Specifically, we show that the AWE is stronger, but transitory; while the DWE is weaker, but long-lasting.


Author(s):  
Tchakounté Njoda Mathurin ◽  
MBAM Ulrich Gaetan

In this paper, we analyze the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of informal workers in Cameroon. We also estimate the effects of some determining factors on LFP decisions. We use data from the Cameroon National Institute of Statistics (CNIS), a three-wave panel obtained respectively in 2001, 2005 and 2010 for a sample of individuals in the labour market. The sample data of the national population is representative. All information’s on demographic, socioeconomic and employment characteristics used in this study are provided by the CNIS database. It is particularly remarkable that the LFPR in informal sector increased substantially during latest years, particularly those of young workers. This rise in the LFPR is principally explained by the significant increase in the labour-market activity of the urban younger generation which has been improved by migration. Estimating a simple model of LFP with logistic methodology, we find that poverty, age and urbanization are significantly related with LFPR of informal labour market in Cameroon.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document