Examining the Relationship Between Female Employment Rate and Poverty in the Context of Three Fragile Countries: A Panel Data Analysis

Poverty is a common difficulty in almost all countries in the world, and its fundamental cause is income inequality, which indicates that resources are unable to be distributed fairly among the population. Income inequality and poverty are two significant pieces of data that show how equitable distribution is in the public. Income inequality has been the phenomenon most affected by dominant patriarchal gender roles throughout history and has caused women to have low education levels and low employment participation. When evaluating the general status of women in terms of gender, women are seen to be a more vulnerable group in terms of income and socioeconomics. This research is based on a panel data analysis and interprets female employment and poverty using gross domestic product in the context of three fragile countries (i.e., Turkey, Brazil, and Indonesia) during the 2002-2018 period. This study performed its panel data analysis by utilizing random effects, and the results of the study have concluded increased female employment rates to reduce poverty. Increases in gross domestic product (GDP) and gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) levels are also observed to have a poverty-reducing effect. In addition, education and working conditions need to be improved to increase female employment. The study suggests raising men’s awareness changing the mentality toward women in the workplace in order to increase women’s employment. Lastly, the study has concluded development policies should focus on increasing female employment in order to be able to reduce poverty levels.