Female Labor Force Participation and Sustainable Development: A Global Study

Low female labor force participation is a critical global issue, and the global agenda is achieving sustainable development. This study explores the impact of female labor force participation on economic, social, and environmental development, which are the three main pillars of sustainable development. To measure these pillars, the study uses indicators such as per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita. The primary variable of interest is the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR), with additional variables including total population (POP), per capita energy consumption (ENG), and the male labor force participation rate (MLFPR), which serve as both study and control variables. The research is conducted using data from a global panel of 118 countries spanning from 1990 to 2019. To effectively handle cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity, second-generation panel data methods are employed. The Driscoll-Kraay robust standard error regression is utilized to estimate both the linear and nonlinear effects of female labor force participation on economic, social, and environmental development. Furthermore, the Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test is applied to identify short-run causal relationships among the study variables. Empirical findings indicate that an increase in female labor force participation leads to enhancements in per capita GDP and HDI while contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions globally. The relationship between female labor force participation and per capita GDP is found to be U-shaped, whereas its relationship with HDI and CO2 emissions is inverse U-shaped. These results underscore that higher female labor force participation significantly boosts economic, social, and environmental development worldwide, highlighting the importance for policymakers to foster sustainable development by maximizing the advantages of female labor force participation on a global scale.