81851 Gender at Work Emerging Messages A companion report to the World Development Report on Jobs A BIG DEAL: GENDER EQUALITY AT WORK MATTERS Good jobs bring gains for women themselves, as well as for their families, busi- nesses, and communities. They boost self-esteem and pull households out of poverty. Yet gender disparities persist in the world of work. Closing these gaps, while working to expand job growth more broadly, is a prerequisite for ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Gender equality in the world of work is a win-win on many fronts. There is a large and growing body of evidence that demonstrates both the business and the de- velopment case. A Goldman Sachs study found that narrowing the gender gap in em- ployment could push income per capita in emerging markets up to 14 percent higher by 2020. Almost half of women’s productive potential globally is unutilized, compared to 22 percent of men. Yet across 42 countries, 35 percent of employers report difficulty filling key jobs. Following the WDR2013, “jobs” are broadly defined to include various forms of wage and non-wage work, formal and informal. The latter is the largest source of employment throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and working women are more likely than men to be self-employed or farming. WHERE DO WE STAND? Gender inequality in the world of work is multidimensional. Broadly, key dimen- sions include labor force participation, employment, earnings, and jobs that expand agency and choice. The last is the most difficult to measure. However, full-time wage employment is a strong predictor of subjective wellbeing, and jobs that provide benefits, rights, and opportunities for skills development are more likely to expand agency. On virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men. Trends suggest that gains in women’s labor force participation worldwide over the last three decades have been small and slow, hovering around 51 percent globally but as low as 21 percent in the Middle East and North Africa. Globally, men are nearly twice as likely as women to have “good jobs”—full-time jobs for an employer—and, in South Asia, they are more than three times as likely. Gender gaps can be seen among farmers, entrepreneurs, and employees alike. Fe- male farmers tend to have lower average productivity, farm smaller plots, and grow less profitable crops. In Ethiopia, female-headed households have 35 percent lower value of output per hectare than male-headed households, largely due to unequal access to productive inputs. Female entrepreneurs typically operate in smaller firms and less prof- itable sectors. In Latin America and the Caribbean, half of established businesses owned by women have no employees compared to 38 percent of businesses owned by men. Fe- male employees are more likely to work in temporary and part-time jobs, are less likely to be promoted, and concentrate in occupations and sectors with lower barriers to entry. Gender and Development | World Bank Group Figure 1. Women are less likely than men to be in the labor force, employed in wage and salaried work, and receiving the same pay: The 10 largest developing countries with available data (representing one-third of the world’s population) 100   90   80   70   Percentage  (%)   60   50   40   30   20   10   0   India   India  Indonesia   Indonesia Brazil   Brazil 8Pakistan   Pakistan   Bangladesh Mexico   Mexico Vietnam   Vietnam   Philippines Egypt   Egypt Turkey   Turkey Bangladesh   Philippines   (bar) Female ◊ Male ■ Labor force participation (age 15-64) ■ Wage and salaried workers ■ Female wages as a percentage of male wages Source: World Development Indicators and WDR2013 statistical annex (for wage gaps, except Mexico’s wage gap, from UN Statistics). Women generally earn less than men. ILO analysis of 83 countries Good jobs increase women’s agency, but a lack of agency also shows that women in paid work on average earn between 10 and 30 restricts women’s job opportunities. Agency is the ability to make percent less than men. Gaps are particularly acute in the Middle East one’s own choices and act upon them. In most developing coun- and North Africa, but also persist in high-income OECD countries. tries, women have fewer choices in fundamental areas of day-to-day Occupational segmentation explains much of the pay gap. life, including their own movements, health decisions, ability to Throughout the world, women are concentrated in less productive use household assets, and whether and when to go to school, work, jobs and run enterprises in less productive sectors, with fewer oppor- or other economic-related activities. Further, a large proportion of tunities for business scale up or career advancement. The latest Grant women in the world lack freedom from violence. The World Health Thornton International Business Report indicates that the share Organization estimates that more than 35 percent of women have of women in senior management roles globally is only 21 percent. experienced gender-based violence. Without addressing these critical Across developing countries, 18 percent of non-agricultural self-em- constraints on agency, women cannot take full advantage of potential ployed males work in business-oriented services, compared to only 5 economic opportunities. percent of females; women are more heavily concentrated into retail services, often in the informal sector. Figure 2. Share of men and women who agree that, if jobs are OVERLAPPING DISADVANTAGES AND GENDER scarce, men should have more right to a job EQUALITY AT WORK World   80%   Gender-smart jobs strategies need to identify and address key deprivations and constraints that underlie gender inequality in 60%   the world of work. The WDR2012 presented a framework for un-   40%   East  Asia  &  Pacific   South  Asia   derstanding gender inequality, which highlights key outcome areas— 20%   agency, endowments, and economic opportunities—and underscores that disparities are driven by multiple constraints that arise in formal 0%   and informal institutions, markets, and households. Social norms are a key factor underlying deprivations and con- Middle  East  &  North   Europe  &  Central  Asia   straints throughout the lifecycle. They broadly impact women’s Africa   work by constraining their time and undervaluing their potential. Housework, child-rearing, and elderly care are often considered pri- La=n  America  &   marily women’s responsibility. Further, nearly four in 10 people glob- Caribbean   ally (close to one-half in the developing countries) agree that, when jobs are scarce, men should have more right to jobs than women. Female   Male   Research shows that women are frequently disadvantaged by gender Source: Authors’ analysis of World Values Surveys data, 2005-2008 biases in performance and hiring evaluations. 2    Gender at Work: Emerging Messages Figure 3. Women are less likely to have a financial account Figure 4. Average number of sex-based legal differences per 100   country by region 80   East  Asia  &  Pacific   Percentage  of  popula/on   Sub-­‐Saharan  Africa     6   60   7   Europe  &   Central  Asia   4    High  income:  OECD     40   2   South  Asia   La?n  America  &   10   Caribbean   20   3   Women   0   Men   High  Income   East  Asia  Pacific   Europe  &  Central   La@n  America  &   Middle  East  &   South  Asia   Sub-­‐Saharan   Asia   Caribbean   North  Africa   Africa   Middle  East  &  North   Africa   18   Source: Authors’ analysis of Gallup World data Source: Women, Business and the Law 2014 Inequalities in endowments and assets contribute to gaps in the world of work. While there has been important progress glob- and equitable inheritance laws; and the application of nondis- ally, in some countries, fundamental deprivations persist. In 2010, crimination principles to customary laws. Most countries have girls were enrolled less than boys in primary school by at least 10 made significant progress towards more equitable laws over re- percentage points in 15 countries, mainly in Africa. Many women cent decades, but this has not been the case in the Middle East lack access to land and financial capital. However, even where prog- and North Africa or in South Asia. ress is evident in these areas, more deep-seated differences remain. 2. Engage the private sector in promoting gender equality. The For example, young women and men concentrate into different ed- private sector accounts for about three out of four jobs in coun- ucational streams and develop differences in non-cognitive skills that tries such as Egypt, Finland, and France and nine out of 10 jobs underlie occupational segregations. A wider account of productive in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Japan, and South Africa. The inputs shows women disadvantaged in areas such as access to finan- IFC is supporting commercial banks to increase their female cial services, technology, training, information, and social networks. clientele and companies in male-dominated sectors, such as Legal discrimination is a remarkably common barrier to wom- chemicals and construction, to increase women’s jobs through en’s work. Of 143 economies, 128 had at least one legal sex differen- more concerted recruitment and family-friendly work arrange- tiation in 2013. These barriers include restricting women’s ability to ments. Multinational firms increased profitability in South Ko- access institutions (such as obtaining an ID card or conducting official rea by aggressively recruiting women for local managerial posi- transactions), own or use property, build credit or get a job. In 15 tions. While success stories are encouraging, a focus on gender countries, for instance, women still require their husbands’ consent to equality is still all too rare. Only 2 percent of employers across work. In many economies, especially in the Middle East and North 42 countries report having adopted strategies to recruit more Africa, women face the cumulative effects of multiple legal constraints. women according to ManpowerGroup surveys. 3. Entrepreneurship can contribute to growth, a dynamic pri- IGNITING WOMEN’S WORK vate sector, and new economic opportunities for women. The WDR2013 made clear that there are no “magic formulas” Women’s entrepreneurship can be fostered through a combina- to address jobs challenges. Nevertheless, effectively tackling gender tion of increased access to capital, networks, and new markets; inequality at work is an integral part of any solution. Overcoming high-quality business skills and development training; and ac- gender inequality involves understanding local specificities and de- cess to broader services that offset gender-specific constraints. veloping bold, coordinated actions to address overlapping depriva- 4. Removing and offsetting constraints across the lifecycle tions and constraints. It requires investments in women’s and men’s will have broader, more sustainable impact. Biases can begin skills and capabilities, and supporting their abilities to contribute very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, but start trajecto- to higher productivity activities and economy-wide competitiveness ries of inequality that are increasingly difficult and costly to over the life cycle. Four broad areas are likely to be important. resolve over time. The report includes a wider range of action 1. Eliminate legal and formal barriers to women’s work. Re- options, but selected examples are highlighted here. forms should focus on: removing restrictions to women’s work During childhood and youth, policy actions can tackle in- in labor and employment; removing unequal status of women, equalities through education and training. Examples of strategies such as head-of-household provisions, in family law; allowing that have shown positive results by addressing gender-specific con- and encouraging women’s ownership and joint-titling of land straints include increasing the proximity of schools to homes in Af- Gender and Development | World Bank Group    3 Figure 5. The share of elderly people is growing in developing causes steep early labor force withdrawal of urban women in China. countries In developing countries, many elderly women are outside the scope of formal social protection due to the informal nature of their work, although studies in Brazil and South Africa have shown that pen- Child  dependency  ra7o   Old-­‐age  dependency  ra7o   sions received by elderly women significantly increased granddaugh- 44   ters’ education and health. 41   38   36   35   34   IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WORLD BANK GROUP The World Bank Group can work to better mainstream and deep- 26   en the integration of gender and jobs into its programs in order to 22   advance the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared 19   15   prosperity. 9   11   2010   2020   2030   2040   2050   2060   Integrate gender into country diagnostics. Growth and labor market country diagnostics can identify the gender-specific con- Source: UN World Population Prospects data for less developed regions, straints that women face in accessing productive jobs. In Nigeria, ratio of children (< age 15) and elderly (> age 64) per 100 persons aged for example, staff diagnostics found high numbers of school dropout 15-64. and unemployment among girls and young women in rural Edo, and policy actions responded by increasing the number of female teachers in science and encouraging higher participation among girls in the subject. A joint World Bank Group and Asian Development ghanistan and building “girl-friendly” schools in Burkina Faso that Bank gender assessment for Lao PDR found persistent wage gaps improve facilities and incentives for girls’ education while engaging and self-employed women running smaller businesses. The diagnos- parents and teachers. Education systems can challenge stereotypes tics informed growth strategy recommendations focused on improv- through curricula. Tanzania’s national curriculum includes substan- ing access to finance and business training for women entrepreneurs. tial gender-related material in its secondary school civics syllabus and A gender assessment in Vietnam identified adverse impacts of gender examinations. Multicomponent skills-development programs can differences in statutory retirement ages and outlined policy options also make a difference. A World Bank-funded youth employment for addressing the problem. program in Liberia that included vocational and life skills training, Advance gender equality as a priority in inclusive growth and along with job placement help, increased young women’s employ- jobs strategies. Inclusive growth strategies should consider the re- ment by 50 percent and average weekly earnings by 115 percent. forms and programs needed to address gender-specific constraints to For women of productive age, actions can focus on enabling accessing and creating good jobs. This in turn should be reflected in their engagement in paid work. Strategies can include fami- results frameworks and targets. The World Bank Group’s own targets ly-friendly leave and flexibility policies, extending affordable child- can set good examples. care and early child development programs, and developing tech- Build implementation capacity for gender-smart jobs strate- nology and infrastructure to reduce burdens on women’s time for gies and monitoring their results. Improving country-level indica- household production. For example, the World Bank estimates that tors and monitoring, along with dynamic feedback loops, is critical. adding one year of preschool education in Turkey could increase fe- In Nigeria, Paraguay, and Vietnam, among others, the World Bank is male labor force participation by nine percent. Father-friendly leave actively working with national statistics offices to improve the avail- policies in the UK and Nordic Countries have strengthened oppor- ability and use of gender-disaggregated data. Monitoring the results tunities and incentives for men to share in domestic responsibilities. of inclusive growth strategies on women’s jobs and earnings will pro- A World Bank-supported program in Cambodia reduced women’s vide essential feedback on their success. time devoted to collecting firewood and increased their jobs and incomes by selling low-cost, fuel-efficient cookstoves through local Contribute to global knowledge. This includes addressing data female vendors. gaps—such as on wage disparities, control over assets, and gen- der-based violence in homes and workplaces. It also means con- During elderly years, governments can support equitable old- tributing to stronger evidence on what works for increasing gender age labor regulations combined with appropriate social protec- equality in the world of work. The Bank recently launched enGEN- tion. The importance of this demographic cannot be ignored. In DER IMPACT, a gateway to our gender-related impact evaluations. developing countries, the child dependency ratio is projected to This effort complements gender innovation and evaluation initia- decrease by 20 percent from 2010 to 2050 whereas the old-age de- tives in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, pendency ratio is expected to increase by 144 percent during the and efforts by the IFC to highlight good business practices. same period. This translates to increased elderly care responsibilities for productive age women, as well as potential challenges for elderly people themselves. Many governments have removed differences in retirement and pension ages, but differences remain in 49 coun- tries. World Bank analysis showed that mandatory earlier retirement In the World of Work 4    Gender at Work: Emerging Messages