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Why Do so many Women End up in Bad Jobs?: A Cross-country Assessment

Author

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  • Johannes Jütting
  • Angela Luci
  • Christian Morrisson

Abstract

There is an increasing concern in the development community about the increase in the ‘feminisation of bad jobs’ of many developing countries. Indeed, recent analysis shows a growing proportion of women are in jobs with poor working conditions and low pay. But what is driving this phenomenon? This paper addresses this issue by looking at the role of social institutions, i.e. traditions, social norms and informal laws, in shaping labour market outcomes. By applying the newly established Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) of the OECD on 44 developing countries, the paper finds that social institutions influence to a great extent activity patterns and job quality for women. Our results suggest that addressing discriminating social institutions is crucial for advancing gender equality. On se préoccupe de plus en plus de la « féminisation » des mauvais emplois dans les pays en développement. Les analyses récentes montrent qu’il y a un pourcentage croissant de femmes qui ont des emplois caractérisés par de mauvaises conditions de travail et un faible salaire. Quelle est la cause de ce phénomène ? Ce document traite ce sujet en étudiant le rôle des institutions sociales, c’est-à-dire des traditions, des normes sociales et des lois informelles, dans la détermination des résultats qu’obtiennent les femmes sur le marché du travail. En appliquant le nouvel indicateur de l’OCDE en usage SIGI (social institutions and gender index) à 44 pays en développement, nous trouvons que les institutions sociales influencent dans une large mesure les genres d’activité et la qualité des emplois pour les femmes. Nos résultats suggèrent qu’il est crucial de traiter le problème de la discrimination sociale envers les femmes pour améliorer leurs chances d’accès à un bon emploi dans les pays en développement.

Suggested Citation

  • Johannes Jütting & Angela Luci & Christian Morrisson, 2010. "Why Do so many Women End up in Bad Jobs?: A Cross-country Assessment," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 287, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:devaaa:287-en
    DOI: 10.1787/5kmlhlrz6br0-en
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Boris Branisa & Carolina Cardona, 2015. "Social Institutions and Gender Inequality in Fragile States: Are They Relevant for the Post-MDG Debate?," Southern Voice Occasional Paper 21, Southern Voice.
    2. Niklas Potrafke & Heinrich Ursprung, 2011. "Globalization and Gender Equality in Developing Countries," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2011-33, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    3. Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich W., 2012. "Globalization and gender equality in the course of development," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 399-413.
    4. Konte, M., 2014. "Gender difference in support for democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," MERIT Working Papers 009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    5. Mohammad Amin & Asif Islam, 2015. "Does Mandating Nondiscrimination in Hiring Practices Influence Women's Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 28-60, October.
    6. Maty Konte & Stephan Klasen, 2016. "Gender difference in support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 55-86, April.
    7. Nuno Crespo & Nádia Simões & José Castro Pinto, 2013. "Determinant factors of job quality in Europe," Working Papers Series 2 13-01, ISCTE-IUL, Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL).
    8. Pierre-Richard Agénor & Baris Alpaslan, 2013. "Child Labor, Intra-Household Bargaining and Economic Growth," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 181, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    9. Mirko Savic, Ivan Zubovic, Danica Drakulic, 2014. "Dynamics Of Female Participation In Higher Education And Employment – The Absorption Index," Ekonomika, Journal for Economic Theory and Practice and Social Issues 2014-01, „Ekonomika“ Society of Economists, Niš (Serbia).
    10. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West (ed.), 2012. "Regional Cooperation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: South and South-West Asia Development Report 2012-2013," SSWA Books and Research Reports, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office, number brr4, May.
    11. Salahodjaev, Raufhon & Azam, Sardor, 2015. "Intelligence and gender (in)equality: empirical evidence from developing countries," MPRA Paper 66295, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    agriculture; agriculture; gender inequality; institutions sociales; job quality; labour market; marché du travail; qualité de l’emploi; SIGI; SIGI; social institutions; égalité homme-femme;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J43 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Agricultural Labor Markets
    • J8 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards

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