Gender and Economic Development
Gender and Economic Development
Gender and Economic Development
This report surveys research and policy in the field of gender and
economic development, with particular emphasis on economic
literature and practice. The begins with a history of gender
and economic development thought, and includes a statistical
overview of women and men in developing economies, covering
data on employment, Millennium Development Goals, and
composite indices of gender equality. The report is mainly based
on an analytical framework for applying gender and economic
development concepts to policy by linking production relations
in the household to macroeconomy. In the household model, it
emphasizes how gender structures the conditions of provisioning,
and the consequences for women’s empowerment and human
capabilities. It contrasts standard economic approaches to
macroeconomy with one that reflects how meso-level institutions
like markets or the public sector are themselves “bearers of
gender,” explicitly incorporating the production of human
capabilities in the domestic sector. It applies this framework
to a survey of current gender and economic development
issues, including globalization, liberalization and women’s
empowerment, the gendered terrain of central bank policy, the
relationship between gender equality and economic growth, and
the macroeconomics of economic development and care.
HS/033/11E
ISBN(Series): 978-92-1-132027-5
ISBN(Volume): 978-92-1-132335-1
Sec1:i
The Global Urban Economic Dialogue Series
Gender and Economic Development
HS/033/11E
ISBN(Series): 978-92-1-132027-5
ISBN(Volume): 978-92-1-132335-1
Disclaimer
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Acknowledgements:
Director: Oyebanji Oyeyinka
Chief Editor and Manager: Xing Quan Zhang
Principal Author: Elissa Braustein
English Editor: Eric Orina
Design and Layout: Andrew Ondoo
Suppport: Lucia Kiwala, Everngelista Mutandi
ii
FOREWORD
iii
Gender and Economic Development
iv
Contents
table of Contents
FOREWORD iii
Abbreviations vii
v
Gender and Economic Development
References 80
Appendix A 92
vi
Abbreviations
Abbreviations
Figures
Figure 1: Adult employment-to-population ratios, by sex and region, 1998 and 2008 (percent) 12
Figure 2: Unemployment Rate by Sex & Region, 1998 & 2006 14
Figure 3: Vulnerable Employment Share by Sex and Region, 2007 (percent) 16
Figure 4: Percentage Gender Gap in Median Earnings of Full-Time Employees in
OECD Countries, 2006 or latest year available 18
Figure 5: Sectoral Distribution of Employment by Sex and Region, 1998 & 2008 20
Figure 6: Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education (girls per 100 boys) 21
Figure 7: Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector (percent) 24
Figure 8: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 25
Figure 9: HDI, GDI and GEM by region, 2007 26
Figure 10: The Global Gender Gap Index by region, 2009 28
Figure 11: Components of the Global Gender Gap Index by Region, 2009 29
Figure 12: An Intra-Household Bargaining Model 37
Figure 13: The Circular Flow of the Macroeconomy 40
Figure 14: An Alternative Circular Flow 41
Figure 15: Demand and Supply of Social Protection 47
Figure 16: The Effects of Liberalization on Social Protections 48
Figure 17: How Economists Look at Economic Growth 60
Figure 18: The value of unpaid care work as a percentage of GDP 72
Figure 19: The value of unpaid care work as a percentage of paid care work 73
Appendix A: Regional Groupings for Figures 8 & 9 92
viii
chapter one Introductory Overview
This report reviews research and policy The fourth section sets out an analytical
in the field of gender and economic framework for applying gender and economic
development, with particular emphasis on development concepts to policy by outlining
economic literature and practice. “Gender” models of production relations in the
is a social construct, and refers to the social household and the macroeconomy. In the
meaning of and expectations assigned to being household model we emphasize how gender
biologically male or female, the relationships structures the conditions of provisioning, and
between women and men, and the nature of the consequences for women’s empowerment
the social and economic hierarchies that these and human capabilities. We contrast standard
relationships produce. Gender as meaning, economic approaches to the macroeconomy
expectations, relationships and hierarchies with one that reflects how meso-level
vary by nation, race/ethnicity, class, stage of institutions like markets or the public sector
the life cycle, level of economic development are themselves “bearers of gender,” explicitly
and structure of production. In the context incorporating the production of human
of economic development, we will use the capabilities in the domestic sector.
term gender to refer to how sex structures
the division of work, rights, responsibilities, The final four sections survey a sample of
and resources, and how these divisions are in current gender and economic development
turn reflected in economic institutions and issues, using the analytical framework
dynamics. developed in the prior section to both
evaluate current practices and policies and
The first two sections provide context for to consider how gender and development
the remainder of the report. The first section concepts can be used to improve upon them.
begins with a short history of gender and We emphasize the macroeconomic aspects
economic development thought, tracing the of gender and economic development,
transition from women in development in though the microeconomic constraints and
the 1970s to the gender and development conditions drawn out in the household
approach that dominates development model are continually referenced to measure
thought today. It then contrasts how gender empowerment and well-being. Both directions
and development has been applied at the of micro-meso-macro pathways are covered.
World Bank versus the UN as an example of Section 5 on globalization, liberalization and
the range of institutional approaches to gender women’s empowerment and section 6 on the
and development, and discusses the outcomes gendered terrain of central bank policy focus
of recent efforts to mainstream gender in on the effects of macroeconomic conditions
development institutions more generally. The and policy on women and communities, while
second section provides a statistical overview section 7 on gender inequality and economic
of women and men in developing countries, growth and section 8 on the macroeconomics
covering data on employment, the Millennium of development and care discuss how gender
Development Goals, and composite indices of relations at the micro- and meso-levels affect
gender equality. the aggregate economy. Section 9 concludes.
1
Gender and Economic Development
2.1 From Women in Development to by modernization theory – the belief that all
Gender and Development developing countries would pass through a
set of pre-determined and identical stages of
In this section, we give a brief overview of economic growth and development propelled
how the theory and practice of gender and largely by physical capital accumulation
economic development have evolved since (Todaro and Smith 2006). According to this
the 1970s. Most reviews of this type begin view, development would bring with it the
by identifying three distinctive schools of benefits of industrialization: higher living
thought: women in development, women standards, wages and education levels, and
and development, and finally gender and better health (Rathgeber 1990).With the
development. Each of these approaches is emphasis on capital accumulation in the
based on different understandings of and context of aggregate models of growth, early
assumptions about the development process, development research and practice predictably
the role of women and men in this process, gave little to no consideration to women as a
and thus how to conduct policy in relation distinctive group (Ibid.).
to these linkages. Though they are roughly
chronological in their genesis, from women This is the context in which economist Ester
in development to women and development Boserup published her now famous book
to gender and development, there is overlap Woman’s Role in Economic Development in
among them, as well as contemporaneous 1970. Up to that point, development theory
versions in research and policy today.Table was an almost exclusively male enterprise
1 gives a summary outline of the three (Elson 1999), and it was the first time that an
approaches, indicating their origins, key economist claimed that economic development
arguments, implications for public policy, treated women differently from men (Benería
and a list of some of the main criticisms that 2001a). Boserup argued that women had been
have been directed at each. (Note that some of marginalized in the modernization process, and
the critiques of women in development and that extant practices of growth, development,
gender and development will be discussed and development policy threatened to actually
more at length in the next two sections on make women worse off (Ibid: xi).
mainstreaming gender.)
Influenced by Boserup’s work, a network of
The place to begin is with the wider stage Washington, D.C.-based female development
of development thought, as it is here that the professionals originated the term “women
notions of “women” and “gender” as distinctive in development” (WID) in the early 1970s
and important categories for development (Moser 1993). These and other early WID
were either: (1) conspicuously missing, or (2) advocates promoted policies and programs
identified as simply inaccurate and potentially that drew women into modernization, for
damaging to women themselves and the example by increasing female labor force
development process generally. Development participation in industrializing sectors via
thought in the 1950s and 1960s was dominated targeted education and training (Benería
2
Table 1: A Taxonomy of Approaches to Women and Economic Development Thought
Women in Early 1970s: Critiques of industrialization Integrating women into Promote women’s economic participation Over-reliance on the market mechanism as a
Development as leaving women out of modern development is economically by creating the conditions for markets solution to women’s development problems
economic development efficient, contributing to both to work Women treated merely as a conduit for
1980s: Incorporates neoclassical/free growth and development Key areas for intervention include development and economic growth
market arguments education, changing formal rules, and Does not fundamentally challenge gender
countering cultural stereotypes stereotypes, especially as regards the traditional
sexual division of labor
Tends to focus on women in isolation of the
social, economic and political institutions that
marginalize them
Women and Late 1970s: Marxist/Socialist and Third Women are not marginalized from Promotion of income-generating projects Overly focused on the international relations of
Development World critiques of capitalist development development, but rather integrated for women that are locally-oriented production
and modernization theory on unequal terms that reflect Industrial development, inclusive of Tends to leave out the reproductive sector in
and sustain hierarchical relations women, that is sheltered from global analysis and policy
between the First and Third Worlds economic volatility Excludes consideration of intra-class or intra-
ethnic relations between women and men
Gender and Early 1980s: Combining work on gender Women’s economic (and a Advocacy of women’s empowerment as a Development institutions have widely adopted
Development from psychology, sociology and critical number of general development) goal in and of itself the language of gender, but there is little policy
studies with Women and Development problems based on gender – the Focus on equality and social justice rather change
critiques of capitalist development social relations of production and than economic growth In turning to gender, risks diversion of
paradigm reproduction between women Inclusion of men in policies and programs development funding away from women-specific
and men. Mainstream gender into all aspects of issues
Prevailing social, political and development policy Emphasis of differences among women by class
economic models and institutions or ethnicity obscures their commonalities as
must be critically evaluated and women
challenged to effect transformative No strategy for the institutional transformation
changes. necessary to effect real change
Thought and Policy Approaches
Chapter Two A History of Gender and Economic Development
3
Gender and Economic Development
2001a). WID proponents also adopted an institutional and social change. Granted, the
explicit equality argument, particularly as welfarist approaches of the 1970s did include
it applied to enabling women to participate development projects for women’s income
equally in modern production (Kabeer 1994). generation, but “women’s problems [were
In keeping with the goals of modernization defined] in terms of the family’s basic needs
theory and policy, the WID approach rather than their unequal access to income” and
rationalized equality between women and men did little to fundamentally challenge unequal
on efficiency grounds, arguing that women social and economic relations between women
were an untapped resource whose inclusion in and men (Kabeer 1994: 7).
the modern economy would ultimately benefit
growth and development (Moser 1993). Modernization theory also met with
mounting criticism from developing country
These arguments for equality were cast on intellectuals and Marxists in the 1970s, giving
a shifting stage of development thought and rise to a variety of dependency-oriented schools
practice, however. By the 1970s development of thought that argued that existing structures of
researchers and practitioners were turning international inequality served to maintain the
towards frameworks and policies that more advantage of the developed world (Todaro and
directly addressed poverty and basic needs, Smith 2006). Drawing from these dependency
partly because of the failure of modernization theories as well as explicitly Marxist and
approaches to deliver significant improvements socialist critiques of capitalist development,
in the welfare of the world’s poor (Elson women and development (WAD) proponents
1997). This new welfare-oriented approach critiqued Boserup and WID as ignoring how
to development incorporated WID insights women’s economic marginalization was linked
by acknowledging that women’s roles were to the development model itself (Benería
different from men’s in ways important to 2001a). The problem was not that women
development and policy effectiveness. The were marginalized from development, but
basic needs framework of the 1970s tended rather the unequal terms under which they
to subordinate and stereotype women’s roles, were incorporated (Elson 1999). Women
however; development institutions treated have always been a part of the development
women primarily as housewives and mothers, process, according to WAD, but in a manner
and men as household heads and productive that supports existing structures of inequality
agents (Kabeer 1994). The result was that men internationally (Ratheberger 1990). In two
maintained their positions as the main targets classic articles detailing the WAD perspective,
of development policy, with women becoming Benería and Sen (1981, 1982) argued that the
passive recipients of welfare assistance or key concept should be subordination in the
merely conduits to fulfilling their families’ context of new capitalist forms of insecure and
basic needs (Kabeer 1994; Rathberger 1990). hierarchical job structures, not marginalization
Kabeer (1994) further argues that the (largely as WID approaches emphasized.
male-staffed) development agencies of the
time saw WID’s early equality principle as too Wider political, economic and intellectual
extreme in terms of the political and economic events soon reshaped these discussions as
costs that the required redistribution and equal economic stagnation and crises in both
opportunity measures would entail. So it was the developed and developing worlds
not just the shift from modernization theory created the conditions for a “neoclassical
to welfare and basic needs in development counterrevolution” in economic theory and
thought that stalled WID calls for equality, policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based
it was also the difficulty of effecting on a fundamental belief in the supremacy of
free markets, small and non-interventionist
4
Chapter Two A History of Gender and Economic Development
Thought and Policy Approaches
government, and free global flows of trade and better data, education and formal rules for
finance, the neoclassical approach constituted equality were put forth as key to transforming
a stark departure from the post-World War these processes in development planning
II Keynesian confidence in activist economic (Kabeer 1994). Indeed, in keeping with the
policies. The new neoclassical terrain of the neoclassical perspective, discrimination against
1980s affected development in a couple women could be viewed as more of a market
of ways: development economics became imperfection than the intentional exercise of
dominated by neoclassical economists who power. Since women and men are rational
saw the major obstacles to development as economic actors, planners need only get the
policy-induced price distortions and imperfect prices/rules/information right to bring about
markets, and the twin goals of liberalization and equality and economic efficiency.
privatization replaced traditional development
planning (Elson 1999). The WID efficiency By contrast, drawing from insights
argument for equality dovetailed nicely with developed in psychology, sociology, and
neoclassical economic theory. Discrimination critical studies, gender and development
against women in labor, credit and land (GAD) theorists shifted from understanding
markets were cast as market imperfections; women’s problems as based on their sex (i.e.
gender inequalities in health and education their biological differences from men) to
as inefficient obstacles to enabling women understanding them as based on gender – the
to live up to their full economic potential. social relations between women and men,
The neoclassical counterrevolution solidified their social construction, and how women
WID’s efficiency argument for equality have been systematically subordinated in this
between women and men, an emphasis that relationship (Moser 1993). At their most
continues into today. fundamental, GAD perspectives link the
social relations of production with the social
It was in this context that the notion of relations of reproduction – exploring why and
“gender” – the socially constructed roles how women and men are assigned to different
of women and men that dictate how sex roles and responsibilities in society, how these
determines one’s role in production and dynamics are reflected in social, economic, and
reproduction – made its way into development political theories and institutions, and how
thought (Benería 2001a). Many critics of these relationships affect development policy
WID argued that it failed to sufficiently effectiveness. Women are cast not as passive
address the differential power relations recipients of development aid, but rather
between women and men, and tended to over- active agents of change whose empowerment
emphasize women’s productive (as opposed to should be a central goal of development policy
reproductive) roles (Kabeer 1994; Rathgeber (Grown 2008a; Moser 1993; Rathgeber 1990).
1990; Razavi and Miller 1995). True, early One could argue that GAD grew out of WAD,
welfare-based development programs at times combining a gender perspective and a concern
provided assistance like help with hygiene or for equality and social justice with a critical
childcare, but these mostly assumed that just approach to the confidence in free market
giving women another income-generating solutions proffered by neoclassical theory. In
activity would be sufficient to alleviate direct contrast to WID, GAD theorists aimed
women’s reproductive constraints (Rathgeber for social transformation, both in terms of the
1990). Furthermore, WID implicitly relations between women and men, and the
presumed that women’s marginalization definition and goals of the development model
from the development process was largely itself (Grown 2008a; Jackson and Pearson
the result of cultural bias and stereotypes, so 1998; Moser 1993).
5
Gender and Economic Development
6
Chapter Two A History of Gender and Economic Development
Thought and Policy Approaches
7
Gender and Economic Development
rather than as an aspect of the ultimate target institutions are largely male-dominated and
of development, human capacity (Elson 1999: the organizational culture often male-biased, so
105). In terms of gender, one can see how this mainstreaming sometimes meets with resistance
tendency could transform policy statements among staff, from senior management to field
on the importance of women’s capabilities and staff (Moser and Moser 2005). There is little
empowerment to policy implementations that accountability, monitoring, and evaluation,
merely invest in women for the sake of raising and responsibility for gender mainstreaming
incomes or rates of economic growth. is often vested in the commitment and skills
of just a few individuals in the organization
(Ibid.). Others are not surprised at these
2.3 Mainstreaming Gender problems, as implementing gender equality
Addressing this possibility, and keeping is a fundamentally political process aimed at
the goal of gender equality squarely at the social transformation, somewhat far afield
center of institutional development work, from the largely technical process of gender
for both the UN and other international mainstreaming in the context of a bureaucracy
agencies, is what drove the adoption of the (Grown 2008a).
principle of “gender mainstreaming” in the Certainly part of the problem is the
1995 Beijing Platform for Action (Grown relative absence of men in GAD work, both
2008a). Gender mainstreaming is a strategy as practitioners and targets of analysis. Even
for institutional transformation, one that though GAD’s focus on gender relations,
seeks to firmly embed the goals of gender rather than women alone, is more inclusive
equality and women’s empowerment in all of men, incorporating men presents both
aspects of development analysis, planning, practical difficulties (of the sort that plagues
and implementation. It has three elements: gender mainstreaming), and political anxiety
(1) Assessment of the implications for women over shifting any focus away from women to
and men of any legislation, policy or program; include men (Chant 2000). But excluding
(2) Institutionalizing gender concerns in men is ultimately detrimental for women and
organizations themselves, for instance through the promise of GAD, not least because women
staffing or organizational culture; and (3) are tasked as the sole agents of social change, a
Empowering women to ensure that they have heavy burden that would certainly be lightened
a voice in agenda setting and policy decisions if men are actively and intentionally engaged
(Moser and Moser 2005; UN 1997). in changing gender relations as well. Examples
Since its adoption, gender mainstreaming of efforts like these are multiplying within both
has become a near universal practice among the UN system and the NGO community, as
international development agencies, at least in changing gender relations around issues like
terms of adopting the terminology of gender the distribution of care responsibilities or
equality and gender mainstreaming. But stopping violence against women must clearly
evaluations of gender mainstreaming have been involve men to be successful.1
universally critical of the apparent disconnect
between having an official policy and following
through via actual interventions (Grown
2008a; Moser and Moser 2005; Standing
2007). Some identify this as an institutional
problem, arguing that there is no analysis of 1 See, for instance, the discussion and background papers for
the Fifty-third Session of the Commission on the Status of
complex institutional dynamics in gender Women, which focused on the Equal Sharing of Responsibilities
between Women and Men, including Caregiving in the
mainstreaming. For instance, development context of HIV/AIDS (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/
csw/53sesspriorityhtm.htm).
8
Chapter Two A History of Gender and Economic Development
Thought and Policy Approaches
9
Gender and Economic Development
10
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
The third section gives an overview of (see Clark, York and Anker (2003) for an
gendered indices, focusing primarily on the example). The conventional wisdom, borne
UN’s Gender Development Index (GDI) and out by a number of empirical studies, is that
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), but female labor force participation tends to follow
including a number of others for comparison a U-shaped pattern as development proceeds
as well. and incomes increase: high in the early
stages of development and industrialization
when women’s roles in traditional modes
3.1 Employment Indicators of production are significant, declining in
Figure 1 illustrates adult employment-to- the middle stages of industrialization as
population ratios by sex and region in 1998 household incomes rise and new industrial
and 2006 based on International Labour sectors displace women’s roles in traditional
Organization (ILO) estimates. These ratios production, and rising once again in the later
exclude youth (aged 15-24) to control for stages of industrialization as service sectors
the effects of regional and longitudinal expand along with the demand for women’s
differences in youth education on labor force market labor (and the rising opportunity
participation. These figures are also intended cost of not working for pay). Independent of
to capture informal workers and unpaid family income, economies dominated by traditional
workers, though these categories of workers are agriculture also tend to have higher female
undoubtedly undercounted in labor force and labor force participation all else equal – hence
census surveys, and because women constitute the high female employment rates in Sub-
a higher proportion of these categories than Saharan Africa despite low income per capita.
men around the world, they are more likely Fertility is used as a proxy for the extent to
to be undercounted than men. We present which the demands of family constrain female
employment-to-population ratios rather than labor force participation, though the effect can
labor force participation rates to capture the also run the other way: better opportunities
proportion of the population that is actually in the labor market draw women out of the
employed. Figure 2 presents unemployment home and lower fertility. Controlling for
rates by sex and region for the same time regional differences – independent of per
period to give readers a sense of labor force capita income, size of the agricultural sector,
participants that are actively looking for but and fertility – is variously used as a control
cannot find work. for the gender culture, preferences, or any
other factor common within a region that is
Looking at figure 1, we see that women’s not explicitly measured in the study. So, for
employment is lower than men’s across all instance, female labor force participation rates
regions and levels of development, though in the Middle East and North Africa are lower
there is a lot of variation in the gendered than predicted by their per capita income,
employment gap. The biggest gaps are in fertility, and agricultural sectors, an outcome
the Middle East and North Africa, followed that many attribute to a gender culture
by South Asia; the smallest in East Asia, that discourages market work for women.
followed by Central and South Eastern Conversely, East Asia has higher female labor
Europe, the Developed Economies and the force participation rates than the empirical
European Union. At the macroeconomic level, model would predict, a result not attributed
economists explain gender differences in labor to the gender culture but rather the female
force participation primarily by controlling labor-intensive export-oriented development
for income per capita, fertility, whether the model adopted by many East Asian countries
economy is primarily agricultural, and region (Standing 1989).
11
12
Figure 1: Adult employment-to-population ratios, by sex and region, 1998 and 2008 (percent)
90
88.6 89.1
87.4 86.7 86.2 85.3
84.4 83.2
80 82.0 82.3 82.2 81.6
81.0 81.7
70
69.8 69.7 48.0 48.0
68.7 68.7
Gender and Economic Development
60 62.2
59.9 60.8
58.4
50 51.9
50.3
Percent
48.3 49.0 50.0
44.2
40
36.7 37.7
30
26.3
24.0
20 22.6
20.5
10
Developed Economies Central & South East Asia South-East Asia & South Asia Latin America Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
& European Union Eastern Europe the Pacific & the Carribean
(non- EU) & CIS
Source: ILO. 2009. Global Employment Trends for Women. Geneva: ILO, Table A5.
Notes: Figures exclude youths aged 15-24. Figures estimated by the ILO using its Global Employment Trends Model, which employs econometric methods to produce regional estimates of labor
market indicators when country data is unavailable.
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
Still, there are some commonalities across For the most part, then, these figures do not
regions. Turning back to figure 1, we see suggest that women are making employment
that women’s and men’s employment-to- gains at the expense of men’s employment,
population ratios are converging around the though a more disaggregated and country-
world, with the exception of South-East Asia specific analysis is necessary to assert this claim
and the Pacific (where employment rates more strongly.4
have diverged a little over 0.3 percentage
points between 1998 and 2006). The largest What about the 2008 financial crisis and
convergence by far is in Latin America and the the consequent global recession in 2008/09?
Caribbean, where women’s employment-to- Advanced economies were hit harder than the
population ratio increased by 7.7 percentage developing world in terms of aggregate GDP
points, compared to a 0.3 percentage point growth. Advanced economy output grew
increase in men’s ratio. In most cases, except by 0.5 percent in 2008 and declined by 3.2
for Central and South Eastern Europe, Latin percent in 2009; the figures for emerging and
America and the Caribbean, and North developing countries are increases of 6.1 and
Africa, convergence between women’s and 2.1 percent in 2008 and 2009 respectively
men’s employment rates is both the result of (IMF 2010). While we do not have regional
increases in women’s employment and declines unemployment estimates for this period, we
in men’s employment.3 can make some preliminary observations based
on individual reporting from national labour
Since these figures illustrate employment force surveys. Some countries in the developed
rather than labor force participation, it could world have experienced much wider dispersion
be that men’s employment is declining in in sex-specific unemployment rates than prior
most regions because of increased difficulty to the recession, with men’s unemployment
in finding work relative to women, or because increasing much faster than women’s in the
of non-labor market factors, such as earlier United Kingdom, Iceland, Ireland, and the
retirement or higher rates of disability (recall United States and Canada.5This is a result of
that figure 1 illustrates adult employment, so the fact that some of the hardest hit industries
spending more time in formal education will in these countries, such as banking, finance,
not affect the figures very much). We turn to and construction, are male-dominated
figure 2 to indicate whether this is indeed the industries.
case. Women’s unemployment rates are higher
than men’s in all regions in both 1998 and Turning to the emerging and developing
2006, with the notable exception of East Asia economies, based on the data available, there
in both 1998 and 2006, and Central and South is no marked divergence from the gendered
Eastern Europe in 2006 only. The gender gap unemployment patterns in the developing
in unemployment (with women having higher world relative to before the recession,
unemployment rates than men), and absolute and indeed, there seems to be much less
level of unemployment, is most pronounced recession-induced unemployment relative to
in Latin America and the Caribbean and the the advanced economies, as the figures on
Middle East and North Africa, while the economic growth suggest.6
gender gap is most narrow among developed
economies.
4 The latest year in figures 1 and 2 is 2006, although estimates
are available from the ILO up through 2008. It is this author’s
opinion that the ILO model probably underestimates the impact
of the global recession on employment, and so we do not report
3 Of course, it could also be that the labor market surveys and these later estimates.
census data used by the ILO to generate these estimates are 5 This conclusion is based on unemployment rates reported to the
getting better at recording women’s market work, though the ILO and published as part of their global statistics on the labour
statistical techniques used by the ILO, which include time series market series: http://www.ilo.org/pls/apex/f?p=109:1:0.
information, should minimize this effect. 6 See footnote 4 for source.
13
14
Figure 2: Unemployment Rate by Sex & Region, 1998 & 2006
18.3
18
16 16.1 15.9
14 14.0
12 12.3
11.9
Gender and Economic Development
11.3
10.8
10
9.8
Percent
9.3 9.4 8.5
8.9
8.4 8.6
8
7.8 7.9
7.3 7.3
6.6 6.6 6.8 6.7
6 5.7
6.0 6.0
5.7
5.2 5.1
4.9 4.5
4 4.1 4.1
3.6 3.6
3.0
2
Developed Economies Central & South East Asia South-East Asia & South Asia Latin America Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
& European Union Eastern Europe the Pacific & the Carribean
(non- EU) & CIS
Source: ILO. 2009. Global Employment Trends for Women. Geneva: ILO, Table A2.
Notes: Figures estimated by the ILO using its Global Employment Trends Model,
which employs econometric methods to produce regional estimates of labor
market indicators when country data is unavailable.
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
But capturing the impact of the global It is not just whether one has a job that
recession using standard macroeconomic contributes to economic well-being, but also
indicators like GDP growth and unemployment the income earned from that work. Figure 4
rates in developing economies is potentially illustrates the percentage gender gap in median
misleading on a couple of counts. First, owing earnings of full-time employees for OECD
to the greater likelihood of informal and countries. It is good to consider median,
insecure work in developing countries relative as opposed to average, earnings because
to advanced economies, it is more likely that the median is not influenced by extremely
unemployed developing economy workers high (pulling the average up) or low earners
will move out of standard labor categories (pulling the average down). One is essentially
and not be counted as officially unemployed considering what the middle person in the
during periods of economic upheaval. Second, spectrum of earners is earning. The average
social safety nets that provide benefits like median gap among OECD countries is 17.6
unemployment insurance and food for the percent. That is, among full-time workers,
poor are weak to non-existent in the developing men earn 17.6 percent more than women on
world, so even seemingly small increases in average when considering median earnings.
unemployment can have extremely deleterious This average masks some large differences
impacts on human development relative to between countries, however, with Korea and
the social dislocation experienced in advanced Japan showing a 38.0 percent and 33.0 percent
economies as a result of unemployment. gap respectively, followed by Germany at 23.0
percent.
One way to get at this issue is to consider
the ILO’s figures on the share of what it terms Gender-specific wage data is notoriously
“vulnerable employment”, which refers to the spotty and at times misleading when it does
sum of own-account workers and contributing exist for developing economies. For example,
family workers as a share of total employment. wage gaps tend to be lower in regions that are
Workers in vulnerable employment face associated with the greatest gender inequalities
greater economic risk; they are less likely to in other measures such as education or labor
have formal work arrangements and access to force participation (e.g. countries in the Middle
social insurance, while earning less income East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa,
and facing more income volatility overall and low-income Asian countries) (Tzannatos
(ILO 2009). Looking at figure 3, we see 2009). This is because women in the labor
that the majority of workers are engaged in market in these countries are those with more
vulnerable employment in most developing education and thus relatively high labor market
regions, with the exception of Latin America returns; women in these regions are also more
and the Caribbean, the Middle East and likely than men to be working for the higher-
North Africa. In addition, women are more paying public sector (Ibid.). That said, we
likely to experience this vulnerability in every can make some general statements about the
region except for Latin America and the gender pay gap and women’s income in the
Caribbean, where men’s and women’s shares context of economic development. Women
are very close. Clearly, to the extent that these typically earn about two-thirds of what similar
shares represent the distribution of economic men earn, with only around 20 percent of
insecurity between women and men, women’s the world’s wages accruing to women – both
employment is on the whole certainly more because women are less likely to work for pay
unstable and hence more vulnerable to the than men, and because when they do work for
vagaries of the economic boom-and-bust pay, they tend to work in low-paying sectors
cycle. (Ibid: 154).
15
16
Figure 3: Vulnerable Employment Share by Sex and Region, 2007 (percent)
90 Female Male
80 85.1 83.9
70 74.3
71.3
60 66.2
61.4
58.9
50
Gender and Economic Development
51.1
40 48.4
43.6
Percent
30
33.4
31.5 32.1
20 29.1
10
East Asia South-East Asia & South Asia Latin America & Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan
the Pacific the Caribbean Africa
Source: ILO. 2009. Global Employment Trends for Women. Geneva: ILO, Table A7.
Note: Vulnerable employment refers to the sum of own account workers and contributing family workers as a share of total employment.
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
17
18
Figure 4: Percentage Gender Gap in Median Earnings of Full-Time Employees in OECD Countries, 2006 or latest year available
40
38.0
35
33.0
30
Gender and Economic Development
25
23.0
20 21.0 21.0 OECD average =17.6%
19.0 19.0 19.0 18.9
18.0
Percent
17.3 17.0 17.0
15
15.0
14.0
13.2
12.0 11.5
10 11.0
10.0 10.0
9.3
0
m lic
do tes ub ds nd
y K ing nd Sta p a an y k ala
a n da d erla d d al Re ali rl n r r d Ze
ea n t ug h he de nd ga ce ce ma um
r pa rm na ite itz ite lan r ec ain str t e la n n ee n lan w lgi
Ko Ja Ge Ca Un Sw Un Fin Po Cz Sp Au Ne Sw Ire Hu Fra Gr De Po Ne Be
But in light of the dominance of the MDGs For most regions, the share of women in non-
in the development discourse, it is important agricultural wage employment roughly parallels
to have a sense of the statistics used to evaluate women’s employment-to-population ratios
MDG3 progress. overall (see figure 1), with two exceptions:
Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. In
Three indicators are used to track MDG3: both of these regions, women are much more
the ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary underrepresented in the modern wage sector
and tertiary education; the share of women – relative to their overall employment levels
in wage employment in the nonagricultural – than in other regions, as also suggested by
sector, and the proportion of seats held by their high shares of vulnerable employment in
women in national parliament illustrates the figure 3.
education data by region for 2000 and 2007,
and indicates that progress towards gender Turning to figure 8, for developing regions
parity in all levels of education has been made as a whole, women held17.2 percent of
over the period. For developing regions as a national parliament seats as of January of
whole, in 2007 there were 95 girls per 100 boys 2009, compared with 10.8 percent in 2000.
enrolled in primary education, 94 in secondary Women hold 30 percent or more of upper or
education, and 96 in tertiary education. lower national parliament chamber seats in 24
Though this progress is important, these ratios countries, and 30 percent or more of upper
do not capture absolute enrollment rates (so chamber seats in 15 countries (UN 2009:
increases could reflect lower enrollment for 23). These “frontrunners” are a diverse set of
boys), nor do they indicate anything about countries, and include developed countries as
completion rates, a perhaps more important well as post-conflict and developing countries
indicator of the development of human in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the
capabilities (Buvinic and Morrison 2008.) Caribbean; nine chambers, mostly in the
Pacific Islands and the Arab Gulf States, have
If we think of enrollment in school as an no women members of parliament (Ibid.).
indicator of capabilities, and the share of
women in non-agricultural wage employment
and the proportion of seats held by women 3.3 Composite Indices
in parliaments as indicators of opportunities,
there remains a lot more ground to be covered Uni-dimensional indicators of gender
to reach gender parity in opportunities than differences, such as the ones reviewed above,
capabilities, as illustrated by figures 6 and are preferable when trying to understand a
7. The share of women in non-agricultural particular aspect of economic development. But
wage employment is a sort of reverse image the persistent use of, and dissatisfaction with,
of the vulnerable employment portrait in per capita GDP as a proxy for development
figure 3, as working for a wage outside of has spurred the creation of composite indices
the agricultural sector indicates more stable, to serve as an alternative. The earliest and
modern and higher-paid employment than most well-known is the UNDP’s Human
other alternatives. With the exception of the Development Index (HDI), which combines
Commonwealth of Independent States region, measures of health (life expectancy at birth),
men constitute the majority of these workers in education (adult literacy and gross primary,
all regions, though the ratio is near 50 percent secondary, and tertiary enrollment ratios), and
in developed regions (and the circumstances of standard of living (the natural log of per capita
other types of employment are not necessarily GDP at purchasing power parity). Regularly
indicative of fewer opportunities for women published with the UNDP’s annual Human
in the same way as in developing regions). Development Report since 1990, the HDI
19
20
Figure 5: Sectoral Distribution of Employment by Sex and Region, 1998 & 2008
100%
90%
80%
70%
Gender and Economic Development
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
F98
F08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
M98
M08
Developed Central & South East Asia South- East Asia South Asia Latin America Middle East North Africa Sub - Saharan
Economies & Eastern Europe & the Pacific & the Carribean Africa
European Union (non-EU) & CIS
Source: ILO. 2009. Global Employment Trends for Women. Geneva: ILO, Tables A6b and A6c.
Note: F98 refers to females in 1998, F08 to females in 2008, and M98 and M08 to male shares in 1998 and 2008 respectively.
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
Northern Africa 91
94
97
Latin America & Caribbean
97
101
Eastern Asia
99
84
Southern Asia
95
97
South- Eastern Asia
98
88
Western Asia
90
90
Oceania
89
Commonwealth 99
of Independence States 99
99
Developed Regions 100
91
Developing Regions 95
0 20 40 60 80 100
reflects Amartya Sen’s work on the centrality of and decision-making, as reflected in women’s
functionings and capabilities as the appropriate and men’s percentage shares of parliamentary
target and barometer of development efforts. seats; economic participation and decision-
making, as measured by women’s relative
The 1995 Human Development Report share of positions as legislators, senior officials,
introduced two new human development managers, and professional and technical
indicators: the gender development indicator workers; and power over economic resources,
(GDI) and the gender empowerment measure as measured by their share of earned income
(GEM). The GDI imposes a welfare penalty (UN 2007: 360).
on the HDI for differences between men and
women in life expectancy, adult illiteracy and Both the GDI and the GEM have spawned a
gross enrollment ratios (what proportion of number of comparative studies, debate, and the
the age-appropriate population is enrolled in creation of new, alternative aggregate measures
primary, secondary, and tertiary education), of gender inequality and absolute achievements
and earned income. The GEM combines (see the Journal of Human Development’s 2006
measures of women’s relative empowerment in special issue for an overview of this work). One
the following three areas: political participation of the more common criticisms is that the GDI
21
Gender and Economic Development
2000 2007
Northern Africa 91
94
97
Latin America & Caribbean
97
101
Eastern Asia
99
77
Southern Asia
85
98
South- Eastern Asia
103
80
Western Asia
84
91
Oceania
87
Commonwealth 100
of Independence States 98
101
Developed Regions 100
90
Developing Regions 94
0 20 40 60 80 100
22
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
Northern Africa 68
104
113
Latin America & Caribbean
119
55
Eastern Asia
96
67
Southern Asia
77
90
South- Eastern Asia
111
82
Western Asia
93
68
Oceania
85
Commonwealth 121
of Independence States 129
120
Developed Regions 129
77
Developing Regions 96
Source: UN (2009), Statistical Annex. For a list of countries in each region, seehttp://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.
aspx?Content=Data/RegionalGroupings.htm.
Note: These ratios are based on gross enrollment: the number of girls and boys enrolled in a particular school level regardless of
age.
comparing the HDI to the GDI (though there share of parliament (Dijkstra 2002).
is a lot of variation in human development, While all of these factors are reflected in
as illustrated by the vertical differences in the GDI and the GEM, the SIGE only
figure 9). The GEM, however, tells a slightly captures the extent of gender equality
different story, with all regions scoring much (and not absolute achievements). It
lower on gendered empowerment than (gender counters the weighting problem by
inequality-adjusted) human development. standardizing the components of the
index, so cross-country comparisons
A number of scholars, practitioners and are more straightforward. But the
development organizations have come up with standardization process means that
alternative composite measures that address gender inequality in any one country is
the critiques of the GDI and the GEM. The measured relative to the average position
following is a representative list. of gender inequality in other countries,
• The Standardized Index of Gender and does not indicate whether women’s
Equality (SIGE) combines indicators positions are better or worse than men’s
that capture female versus male (Permanyer 2010). Another problem
achievements in the following areas: with this approach is that component
education, life expectancy, economic weights are different every year, thus
activity rates, the female share of higher making comparisons over time somewhat
labor market positions, and the female problematic (Klasen 2006).
23
Gender and Economic Development
2000 2009
14.8
Latin America & Caribbean
22.2
19.9
Eastern Asia
20.2
6.7
Southern Asia
16.7
9.7
South- Eastern Asia
17.3
4.7
Western Asia
9.2
3.4
Oceania
2.5
7.3
Commonwealth of Independence States 14.1
17.5
Developed Regions 22.9
10.8
Developing Regions 17.2
0 5 10 15 20 25
Source: Statistical Annex, U.N. (2009). For a list of countries in each region, see http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.
aspx?Content=Data/RegionalGroupings.htm.
24
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
2000 2009
19.9
Eastern Asia
20.2
14.6
Eastern Asia Excluding China
17.2
6.7
Southern Asia
16.7
5.6
Southern Asia excluding India
18.7
9.7
South- Eastern Asia
17.2
4.7
Western Asia
9.2
3.4
Oceania
2.5
7.3
Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS)
14.1
17.5
Developing Regions 22.9
0 5 10 15 20 25
Source: Statistical Annex, U.N. (2009). For a list of countries in each region, see http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.
aspx?Content=Data/RegionalGroupings.htm.
• African Gender and Development The African GDI’s strength – its broad
Index. Launched by the UN Economic coverage – is also its major weakness,
Commission for Africa, the African as the data requirements mean it can
GDI is an effort to broaden the scope of be figured for only a limited number of
standard indices. It combines a Gender countries (Permanyer 2010). A 2009
Status Index, which is a weighted average pilot study covered only 12 countries
of the female-to-male ratio of 41 diverse (UNECA 2009).
indicators of basic capabilities, economic
• Social Watch Gender Equity Index
opportunities and political power,
(GEI). Social Watch’s GEI combines
with the African Women’s Progress
three composite measures of gender
Scoreboard, which uses 28 indicators to
inequality, the components of which
measure government policy performance
are measured as female-to-male ratios.
in four areas: women’s rights, capabilities,
Thus, it too measures female-to-male
economic opportunities and political
relative performance, not women’s
power (Grown 2008b; UNECA 2009).
25
26
Figure 9: HDI, GDI and GEM by region, 2007
0.6
South Asia
0.2
0.1
0
HDI HDI HDI
Source: Author’s calculations based on data in the 2009 Human Development Report.
Notes: Indices are weighted by population. See Appendix A for a list of countries in each region, and how missing data were managed. There is no GEM observation for Sub-Saharan Africa due to
lack of regional coverage.
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
or men’s absolute achievements. The score equal to one. As with the SIGE,
three areas include education, which weighting takes care of one problem and
is measured the same way as the GDI, introduces another – that comparisons
economy, measured by the relative over time are problematic as the weights
shares of income and total paid jobs, change each year.
and empowerment, measured by relative
To give readers an idea of what one of these
shares in parliament, ministries, and
alternative indices look like, figure 10 presents
higher labor market positions (Grown
2009 data on the WEF’s GGG by region.
2008b; Social Watch 2010). The result is
While not directly comparable to the GDI or
a simple arithmetic average of the three
the GEM, it is still instructive to see an example
dimensions, so high equality in one area
of the different sorts of information portrayed
compensates for low equality in another.
by one of the alternative indicators. The GGG
And there is no standardization of the
can be considered a sort of combination of the
index components, so the indicator with
information represented by the GDI and the
the biggest variation will dominate the
GEM, though the GGG focuses exclusively
index (Grown 2008b).
on female relative to male achievements, so it
• Global Gender Gap Index. The World is more strictly comparable to the GEM. In
Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global terms of ordinal ranking, the GGG ordering
Gender Gap Index (GGG) has been roughly corresponds to the GEM ordering
published annually since 2006, and in figure 9, with the developed region at the
it too captures relative achievements top of the ranking, followed by Central and
rather than women’s absolute levels of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth
empowerment. Its four components Independent States, then East Asia and the
include: (1) economic participation and Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean
opportunity, which in addition to labor (though Latin America ranks slightly above
force participation, estimated income, East Asia in the GEM ordering and slightly
and the proportion of women in higher below in the GGG ordering), and finally by
end jobs, also includes an estimate of South Asia and the Arab States at the bottom
wage equality for similar work taken (note there is no GEM observation for Sub-
from the WEF’s executive opinion Saharan Africa due to limited data). The
survey; (2) educational attainment, variance of the GEM is also higher, with a
which is the same as the GDI; (3) standard deviation (the standard difference
health and survival, which includes between an observation and the entire group’s
both life expectancy and sex ratios average) of 0.16 compared to 0.05 for the
at birth, both adjusted for biological GGG, perhaps because of the standardization
differences between women and men; process applied to the GGG computations.
and (4) political empowerment, which
includes both the proportion of seats in Figure 11 illustrates the components of
higher levels of government and number GGG by region in 2009 to give readers a sense
of years with a female head of state. of the relative performance of the components,
(Hausmann, Tyson and Zaahidi 2009). and how averaging for an index can obscure
Sub-component values are weighted information. Consistent with the MDG3
to correct for the problem of variables findings discussed above, gender equality is
with highest variability having undue greatest in the capabilities of education and
influence on the average, and then the health in all regions. The next highest category
four components are averaged together (though with far lower scores than education
to get the GGG, with the maximum and health) is economic participation and
27
Gender and Economic Development
0.8
0.7
0.704
0.694
0.685 0.678
0.650
0.6 0.612
0.582
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Developed & Central & Eastern East Asia South Asia Arab States Latin America & the Sub-Saharan
EU (non-CIS) Europe & & Pacific Caribbean Africa
Commonwealth
Independent
Source: Author’s calculations based on data from Haussman, Tyson and Zahidi (2009).
Note: Regional grouping scores weighted by population. See Appendix A for a list of countries of in regional groupings, and
further notes on the weighting scheme.
opportunity, with South Asia and the Arab 0.85), with lower rates in the developed
States ranking lowest with scores of 0.41 and Central and Southeastern European
and 0.42 respectively. As with the GEM, all regions (with an average of 0.69). They
regions lag farthest behind in terms of political are, however, everywhere much higher
empowerment, with South Asia ranking than female employment rates. There
highest with a score of 0.25 (largely because of are three categories of female adult
its tradition of female heads of state), followed employment-to-population ratios: low,
by the developed region with a score of 0.19. medium and high. The Middle East and
North Africa have similarly low female
employment rates, with an average of
3.4 Summary 0.25. Medium female employment rates
prevail in the developed economies,
3.4.1 By Indicator Central and South Eastern Europe, and
Latin America and the Caribbean, with
Employment Indicators an average of 0.51. The highest female
employment rates are found in East and
• In terms of adult employment-to- South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa,
population ratios in 2006, men across with an average of 0.64.
the developing world have similarly high
employment rates (with an average of
28
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
Figure 11: Components of the Global Gender Gap Index by Region, 2009
Economic Economic
1
1
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
Political 0 Education
Political 0 Education
Health
Health
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
Political 0 Education
Political 0 Education
Health
Health
Economic Economic
1 1
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
Health
Health
29
Gender and Economic Development
0.2
Political 0 Education
MDG3 Indicators
30
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
lowest ranking region is the Arab States East Asian countries have by far the highest
with a score of 0.29 in 2007, followed female adult employment rates among all
closely by South Asia, with a score the regions, a result that is almost certainly
of 0.34. The highest score is for the determined largely by industrial structure
developed economy region, at 0.73. and the emphasis on labor-intensive exports,
which tends to raise demand for female labor.
• Various scholars and development
At the same time, this region also hosts some
organizations have produced a number
of the widest gender-based wage gaps in the
of alternatives to the GDI and the GEM
world (as evidenced by figure 4), though
in an attempt to address some of the
China should be noted as an exception to this
methodological problems of and limited
rule, a result of its historical commitment to
dimensions covered by the UNDP’s
gender wage parity (Braunstein and Brenner
indices.
2007). At the same time, there is gender parity
• When disaggregating these indices, all in education and health measures, so a portrait
regions score highest on the capability of women being integrated in economic
measures of education and health, development, albeit on unequal terms,
followed by economic opportunity, with emerges. Indeed, a number of scholars have
political participation consistently the argued that women’s high human capital, high
most gender unequal component across labor force participation and low wages has
all regions. been a key aspect of East Asia’s development
successes (Amsden 1989; Seguino 2000a).
3.4.2 By Region
South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
When development economists categorize are sometimes grouped together as regions
the structures of developing economies, they that have historically high female labor force
generally refer to some or all of the following participation and large agricultural sectors,
economic features: income level and size of but the regions are really very different. South-
the economy, physical and human resources, East Asia’s industrial structure has become
industrial structure, ethnic and religious much more service- and industry-intensive
composition, institutional and political relative to Sub-Saharan Africa, though the
structures, and historical background (Todaro vulnerable employment share is still extremely
and Smith 2006). Economies in the same high by developing economy standards (66.2
region often share many of these traits, and so percent for women and 58.9 percent for men),
regional groupings are often used to present suggesting a significant informal sector despite
summary statistics and characterizations, as we a robust decade of real economic growth,
have done in this statistical overview. In this which averaged 6.9 percent between 2000 and
sub-section, we discuss the statistical overview 2008.7Women’s enrollment rates are higher
from a geographical perspective, characterizing than men’s at all levels of education in South-
how the various regions performed with regard East Asia (see figure 5), as well as being high
to women and economic development and in absolute terms.
drawing out some themes that will be further
addressed in the rest of the report.
31
Gender and Economic Development
Conversely, there are substantial gender gaps so high relative to the employment rate. The
in educational enrollments in Sub-Saharan vast majority of women’s employment is in
Africa that increase as one moves up the the services sector, about 75 percent in 2008.
educational hierarchy. The share of vulnerable Latin America and the Caribbean also have
employment is much higher in Sub-Saharan the lowest rates of vulnerable employment in
Africa than in South-East Asia, for both the developing world (a 31.5 percent share of
women and men (83.9 percent for women all employment for women and a 32.1 percent
and 71.3 percent for men), with women’s share for men), and the share of women in
informal and household work responsible for wage employment in the non-agricultural
much of the region’s food production. These sector is on a par with developed regions at
aggregate figures, though suggestive, do not 22.2 percent in 2009.These laudable figures
adequately convey the complexity of women contrast with reports that the informalization
and economic development in Sub-Saharan of employment is on the rise in the region, so
Africa, however, as women are at once essential the ILO’s vulnerable employment data should
economic producers and lack a number not be taken at face value (ELAC 2010).
of the fundamental rights and privileges Education has been an important area of
typically afforded to those with so much success for the region. Women have achieved
responsibility for the family’s well-being. For parity with men in enrollment in primary
instance, women’s property rights, especially school, and surpassed men in secondary and
once married, are weak to non-existent in tertiary enrollments. Despite these aggregate
many Sub-Saharan African countries, and improvements, the increasing incidence of
even where property rights do exist, they are single female household headship, and the
often not enforced in traditional communities poor economic terms upon which women
outside of urban centers (Joireman 2008). entered the labor force in recent decades
These types of gender inequalities have been at are ongoing obstacles to making paid work
the heart of much of the work on obstacles to translate into gender equality (ECLAC 2010).
agricultural productivity in the region, as we
discuss below in the section on gender equality Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
and economic growth. Macro circumstances and South Asia (SA) are sometimes grouped
such as its colonial history, ongoing wars together as the regions with the poorest
and political strife, and the extensive human records on integrating women in economic
costs of the HIV/AIDS crisis must be development, as evidenced by a number
considered as well, as goals of gender equality of indices such as the GEM (figure 8) and
are substantially hampered by the economic the GGG (figure 9). Female labor force
circumstances upon which they are drawn. participation rates are extremely low. The
female adult employment to population ratio
A similar point can be made with regard in 2008 was 37.7 percent for South Asia,
to Latin America and the Caribbean, where 24.0 percent for the Middle East, and 26.3
decades of financial crises, their associated percent for North Africa (compared to 86.7
debt burdens and the structural adjustment percent, 81.6 percent and 81.7 percent for
policies applied in exchange for debt men respectively). Female unemployment
restructuring by the World Bank and the rates are extremely high in the MENA region,
International Monetary Fund have drawn both absolutely and relative to men (about 15
women increasingly into the labor force in a percent compared to about 8 percent for men
region where female labor force participation in 2008), and much lower with less gender
has been historically low. This is one of the disparity in South Asia (6.0 percent for women
reasons why the female unemployment rate is and 5.1 percent for men). The structure of
32
Chapter Three Statistical Overview
33
Gender and Economic Development
The purpose of this section is to provide economics (Rodrik and Rosenweig 2009).
an analytical framework that serves three To draw out the gendered nature and
functions: (1) To illustrate the gendered nature implications of the economy at the micro-
of the micro-, meso- and macro-levels of the level, in this section we develop a conceptual
economy; (2) To show how standard economic intra-household bargaining model that
approaches to development can be improved illustrates how gender shapes an individual’s
by incorporating a gender-aware perspective; opportunities, constraints, priorities, needs,
and (3) To provide an analytical foundation voice, achievements and empowerment – all
for assessing the policy applications in the in the context of a household that functions
remainder of the report. in a spirit of both cooperation and conflict.8
34
Chapter Four An Analytical Framework for Gender and
Economic Development: Micro-Meso-Macro
Women who expect to leave the labor force (Braunstein and Folbre 2001). Not having a
for full-time motherhood may prefer the legal claim on a spouse’s income in the event
structure of easy-access, high-turnover jobs of separation means that a paying job can be
that give them a chance to live away from an insurance policy against loss of that support
home and exercise freedoms they would not (Folbre 1997).
otherwise be able to enjoy.
In the next section, we will develop a
Norms are the traditional structures of gender bargaining framework that illustrates the
and kinship that constitute the meaning and various ways these structures of constraint
social expectations of women and men in the condition the relationship between a
household. They typically change throughout household’s economic decisions and the well-
the course of an individual’s or household’s being, autonomy and empowerment of its
life cycle. Perhaps the most salient factor constituent members.
here - one that underlies many of the other
household-level constraints we discuss - is the 4.1.2 An Intra-Household Bargaining Model
sexual division of labor. Women are primarily
associated with the care and reproduction of The organizing principle behind the model is
the family, and much of their work time is that individuals live in households where one’s
spent outside of the market, whereas men’s input into resource allocation and distribution
work is typically viewed as more directly decisions depends on one’s alternatives to
productive and more fully incorporated into remaining in the household (exit) and one’s
the market sphere. right or ability to try and influence household
decisions (voice or autonomy), including
Household assets, or wealth, structure decisions about one’s own strategic life
household production in two distinctive choices.9Figure 12 illustrates the flows of the
ways:(1) the combined assets of all household model. Starting at the top with the bargaining
members determine the extent of income- dyad, denoted by the symbols for male and
generating activities the household requires female but representative of any combination
to meet its consumption needs; and (2) an of household members (e.g. a parent and child),
individual’s own assets help determine their both individuals begin with a set of priorities
influence over household decisions. In a and needs. These roughly correspond to what
bargaining framework like the one presented economists typically refer to as a person’s
below, an individual’s own wealth (in the form objective or utility function, and include all
of land, housing, financial savings, etc.) can of a person’s desires and responsibilities in the
have different effects on household decisions context of household production and one’s
than wealth controlled by others in the role in that production.10 Priorities and needs
household. are fulfilled by market and non-market goods
and services, including services produced
In terms of rules, property rights and family exclusively by time such as childcare. (Note
law are crucial determinants of the relationship that in this discussion, non-market refers to
between women’s economic decisions and both the absence of a monetary exchange, as
their empowerment because male authority when goods or services are exchanged among
in the household can be buttressed by law. household members, and to movements of
Patriarchal property rights, where eldest money outside the market mechanism, e.g.
men have the right to claim and apportion
the fruits of all household members’ labor 9 This system of voice and exit reflects points made in Katz
(1997), based in turn on the work of economist Albert O.
time, can create incentives for high fertility Hirschman.
10 However, the standard rational actor model, and
and lower female labor force participation the utility functions associated with it, typically presume only
economically self-interested behavior.
35
Gender and Economic Development
donations or public transfers.) Priorities and of stocks of human and nonhuman capital,
needs also tend to be gender specific in that the rates of return on them, prices and non-
there is likely to be a gender-based division of wage income. Examples of GEPs include social
financial or household responsibilities, which norms and laws surrounding the distribution
in turn are determined by factors such as social of the responsibilities and costs of caring for
norms or stage in the life cycle. children, the extent of public transfers (as they
are determined by gender), and the probability
In order to fulfill priorities and needs, of enjoying a share of another person’s income
each person acts on a set of constraints through remarriage.
and opportunities. These include time,
market wages, prices, non-wage income, the Both one’s provisioning capacity and
probability of getting paid employment, and terms of exit are central to intra-household
nonmarket transfers of goods and services bargaining power. The greater one’s priorities
like public housing or time from kin and or needs relative to one’s opportunities and
community. Time captures the notion of labor constraints, or the less attractive one’s options
inputs, and as such overall health and well- outside of household cooperation, the less
being are an essential part of the bargaining bargaining power one will have. From a gender
problem. The combined set of individual perspective, these differences are clearly very
constraints, and priorities and needs, establish significant, as women tend to have greater
an individual’s “provisioning capacity.” needs and constraints, as well as lower terms
Provisioning capacity thus captures each of exit, than men.
person’s ability to fulfill their own wants and
needs, as well as the responsibilities they have One of the main factors in this model is
to others. autonomy in decision making, as denoted
by voice in figure 12. Voice is the socially-
Households are taken to produce in a determined capability women and men have
context of cooperation and conflict. That is, to transmit a given bargaining position into
they combine their capacities to provision power in the family, and it ranges between
as collective households, but in ways that zero for social norms that completely prohibit
reflect their common and differing priorities. (most commonly) women from expressing
This bargaining process is represented by the themselves and their wants and needs,
black rectangle in the middle of the figure. and one, indicating a single adult-headed
The result or outcome depends first on gains household. When there is equality between
to cooperation and then ultimately on voice. men and women in the family, voice is equally
Gains to cooperation are the difference weighted at 0.5 for both women and men. The
between individual provisioning capacity bargaining process is the application of voice
(PC) and terms of exit (E). Exit is captured to the interplay of the two individuals’ gains
by the determinants of what happens, should to cooperation.
cooperation break down: one’s fallback
position. This includes an individual’s own Bargaining outcomes are dependent on all
income, which in turn is determined by of the factors discussed above. These types of
wages, the probability of finding a job, models typically focus on issues of household
unearned income, prices for the market goods income, consumption and distribution, and
included in individual provisioning capacity, how, for instance, income under women’s
and gender-specific environmental parameters control will have a different well-being impact
(GEPs). GEPs (a term borrowed from Folbre than income under men’s control. But they
(1997)) describe how one’s gender determines can also give significant insights into a number
options outside of cooperation, independent of different development outcomes, including
36
Chapter Four An Analytical Framework for Gender and
Economic Development: Micro-Meso-Macro
gains to gains to
PC-E PC-E
cooperation cooperation
Voice
Outcomes
37
Gender and Economic Development
questions about the capacity of wages to prevent women from even negotiating. In the
increase female autonomy and the conditions longer-term, norms do change (sometimes as
under which an expansion of paid work may or the result of legal fiats), and voice becomes
may not contribute to greater health and well- a variable determined by the same sorts of
being. Because outcomes feed back into the parameters as fallback positions.
individual, and by extension the household,
the entire model helps explain the dynamics To see how the model creates a better
of power and production in the household. understanding of the relationship between
economic activities and gender equality,
consider what the model indicates about the
4.1.3 Intra-Household Bargaining and importance of earning one’s own income. In
Gender Equality
extremely patriarchal societies where women
The bargaining model specifies the have no voice, working for a wage contributes
parameters to consider in order to answer only to family income and purchases as
the question of how economic activities, controlled by the male household head. As
such as earning outside income, contribute one moves more towards a gender egalitarian
to gender equality and women’s autonomy distribution of voice, women’s ability to
at the household level. In the short term, the translate earned income into having a say in
malleable elements of an individual’s power household decisions is enhanced.
in the household are given by their gains to
cooperation. These gains are captured by In the longer-term, earning one’s own
women’s individual abilities to fulfill their income may in and of itself enhance voice.
provisioning needs, relative to the parameters In societies where social norms afford men
of exit. So parameters given by time, income, more voice than women, the effect of women
prices, unemployment, and gender-specific entering paid work on intra-household gender
environmental parameters, such as child relations depends on the extent to which
support laws, are all determinants of women’s this work challenges traditional sources of
and men’s bargaining power. Changes in any patriarchal power. In economies where social
of these parameters will yield immediate and norms inhibit women from exercising their
tangible household bargaining effects. An exit options, gender inequalities will persist
increase in the female unemployment rate, an in the household and society at large, despite
exchange rate devaluation that makes the price high levels of female labor force participation.
of consumer imports higher, the expansion or For instance, forms of employment that
contraction of state supports for reproductive do little to challenge traditional gender
labor – all of these factors, by changing the relations in the household, such as industrial
gains to cooperation or terms of exit from homework, may draw women into market
household membership, will shift the balance labor while conferring few of the benefits in
of power. Likewise, an increase in male gains terms of enhanced autonomy (Kabeer 2000).
to cooperation will also tip the balance towards In fact, men’s intra-household bargaining
women. power could result in men getting a greater
share of household resources than what they
The mapping of one’s gains to cooperation bring into the household, suggesting that
into bargaining power is mediated, though, households headed by women alone could
by voice, which is fixed in the short-term. be better off than their married counterparts
Achieving gender equality in property rights (Folbre 1991).
by legal fiat, for instance, may do little in
the short-run to alter the terms of exchange
between women and men when social norms
38
Chapter Four An Analytical Framework for Gender and
Economic Development: Micro-Meso-Macro
39
Gender and Economic Development
Product markets
Spending
Revenue
Goods & Goods &
services sold services bought
Firms Households
Labor land
Production & capital
inputs
Wages, rents Income
& profit Factor markets
40
Chapter Four An Analytical Framework for Gender and
Economic Development: Micro-Meso-Macro
these economic aggregates, are essentially flow approaches rarely even acknowledge the
above the fray of complex social interactions public sector, as the government is not taken
like gender relations. One of the practical as producing anything, but merely acts as a
results of this standpoint, familiar to many conduit for transfers from one sector of society
GAD practitioners, is that the institutions to another (Elson 1998). The financial or
and people tasked with macroeconomic banking sector is not included, partly because
research and management – ministries of the role of money is merely to equilibrate
trade, finance or growth, or their counterparts macroeconomic imbalances (at least in the
in international development organizations – neoclassical model), and thus finance does not
defer gender concerns to other, typically less have any long-term or qualitatively significant
prestigious departments like labor, health, or effects on the “real” economy (i.e. the
microfinance. production of goods and services). Similarly,
the relationship between the global economy
Even within its own ostensibly gender- and macroeconomic flows and balances is
neutral rubric, however, the standard circular not part of the core circular flow model; it is
flow approach leaves much to be desired. It an addendum that often amounts to adding
ignores human capabilities, social or natural exports and subtracting imports from national
assets – the production and maintenance of production figures. Once again, financial
which fall primarily outside the market sphere. flows, this time of the international variety, are
Labor and natural resources ebb and flow more about equilibrating prices like exchange
according to the market prices they fetch; the and interest rates than a potential source of
social norms, relationships and institutions that volatility that has real macroeconomic effects.
organize the functioning of markets, firms and
households are completely invisible. Circular
41
Gender and Economic Development
Figure 14 illustrates an amended circular As in the standard diagram, these six sectors
flow diagram that incorporates these missing are linked via flows of money and goods
factors, forming a basis for drawing out the and services, but these flows are not always
gendered nature of the macroeconomy. There mediated by markets, as is presumed in the
are six sectors instead of two. The private standard approach. They are also mediated
sector corresponds to firms in figure 13, but by nonmarket exchanges of money, goods
explicitly breaks out the formal and informal and services, such as when non-governmental
sectors to underscore important variations organizations provide reproductive health
within the private sector. The domestic sector services to poor women or international
replaces the household sector in figure 13, and migrant workers send money home to their
includes both households and communities. It families in the domestic sector. Sometimes
is where social reproduction, or the production there is a mix between market and nonmarket
of human capabilities via a combination of flows on various sides of the same exchange, as
people and commodities, takes place. When in cases where governments hire personnel in
the flow of income, goods and services, and labor markets, paying their wages by collecting
the supply of time and natural assets are not taxes from the private and domestic sectors.
enough to maintain social reproduction,
human capabilities get depleted. The public To draw out the gendered nature of the
sector includes both governmental and circular flow mechanism, we need to look
nongovernmental organizations. It supplies more closely at its constituent parts, what
salaries, transfers like income supports, and Diane Elson and others have termed meso-
services to the domestic sector in exchange level institutions. Meso refers to institutions
for taxes, fees, donations and labor. A similar that essentially “economize on the cost of [or
relationship exists between the public and organize, not always in economizing ways]
private sectors, though here is added the conducting transactions” (Elson 1994: 34).
purchase of goods and services by the public There are two sorts of meso components: (1)
sector from the private sector. sectors, which refer to the six sectors of the
circular flow diagram, and (2) the institutions
The domestic banking sector supplies that structure and mediate relations between
loans and services to the public, private and sectors. The latter include markets, of course,
domestic sectors in exchange for savings as well as the legal rules and social norms
and interest payments. In the center of the that guide both nonmonetary and monetary
diagram is a representation of natural assets, relationships, including markets. These meso
with the outgoing arrows representative of sectors and institutions are not intrinsically
how the relationship between this and the gendered, but they are bearers of gender in
other sectors is most often a one-way flow: the sense of being structured by a society’s
economic activities tend to draw on natural prevailing gender order.
resource stocks without replenishing them.
If or when these stocks become too low, The structure of production in the domestic
it will constrain productivity in the other sector is perhaps the most obviously gendered,
sectors. The sixth sector is termed “the rest of with women more likely to engage in the
the world,” a naming convention borrowed direct production of human capabilities than
from international economics. Inflows to men, though men’s financial contributions
the domestic economy include imports of to this process are also important. Thus, the
goods and services, people in the form of quantity and quality of labor supplied so often
immigration, and financial inflows, including assumed in macroeconomic models of growth
remittances. Outflows to the rest of the world is an outcome of the gendered relations of
include exports, out-migration, and financial reproduction. That the household is often
outflows. treated as private, indeed sometimes as an
42
Chapter Four An Analytical Framework for Gender and
Economic Development: Micro-Meso-Macro
individual, runs completely counter both to In terms of rules that structure economic
its role in producing human capabilities, and relationships, consider property rights, which
to the fact that family relations are themselves are heavily skewed towards men in much of
a product of gendered rules and norms. For the developing world. In a study of farmland
this reason, Elson argues that the household titles in Latin America, 70-90 percent were
or family should also be categorized as a meso- held exclusively by men, with similar levels
level institution (Elson 1994). of concentration among men in Sub-Saharan
Africa (Deere and Leon 2001; Doss 2005;
Similar gendered divisions of labor Quisumbing, Estudillo and Otsuka 2004).
prevail in the way the natural assets sector is Though many countries have implemented
articulated with the wider economy. Consider legal reforms to ensure that women own and
the importance of forests to the livelihoods of inherit land and property in their own names,
many of the world’s poor. Men and women there remains a marked difference between de
tend to engage in different types of forest- jure (what the law says) and de facto (what
related production, with men more involved happens in practice) property rights. From a
in high value-added activities like cutting macroeconomic standpoint, the possibility
and hauling timber, and women in more that land allocation and investment decisions
traditional small scale activities, such as home are structured and constrained by gendered
gardening or collecting firewood for the norms and rules introduces a wedge between
household (FAO 2009). It also seems to be the aggregate demand and supply that neither
case that forests are more important for rural neoclassical prices nor Keynesian demand
women’s livelihoods than for men’s though management is designed to overcome.
the extent of this difference varies by locality
(Ibid.) Deforestation will thus impact women The gendered pathways that run between
and men differently, with different feedback the micro, meso, and macro (or just the meso
effects on the macroeconomy. and macro, if we treat the family as a meso
institution) can go in either direction. In
Turning to markets, consider the the remainder of this report we will explore
overwhelmingly gendered nature of labor both lines of causality, using the micro-meso-
markets, for instance. The segregation macro framework developed in this section
of industries and occupations by gender to better understand gender and economic
across the world means that women and development, and to consider how these
men experience systematic differences in insights can be transformed into policy and
unemployment as economic contractions and research priorities. Sections 5 and 6 focus on
expansions affect some industries more than the macro to micro direction, reviewing the
others. Speaking of a national unemployment promise of globalization to deliver employment
rate masks these structural differences, and gains and thereby enhance women’s
potentially mis-specifies the relationship empowerment, and evaluating the impact of
between unemployment and other economic central bank policy on women’s versus men’s
sectors. The fact that women typically balance employment. Sections 7 and 8 illustrate
their productive roles in the private and the micro to macro direction, reviewing the
public sectors with their reproductive roles in literature on the impact of gender inequality
the domestic sector means that increases in on economic growth, and discussing the care
demand for women’s market labor will have economy from a macroeconomic perspective.
repercussions for the production of human
capabilities in the domestic sector, with
implications for current and future rates of
economic growth.
43
Gender and Economic Development
44
Chapter Five Globalization, Liberalization, and Women’s Empowerment
45
Gender and Economic Development
the poor. Our definition of social protection Global financial markets can constrain
includes anything that strengthens women’s government spending via the specter of
provisioning capacities, fallback positions, financial outflows and crisis should that
and ultimately, via changes in social norms, spending result in budget deficits that global
empowerment. financial markets or international financial
institutions deem unsustainable. Some of these
Direct supports, such as the provision of budget constraints result from prior financial
reproductive health services, childcare services, crises and current debt servicing; others are due
or increases in the minimum wage all may to conditionalities imposed by international
affect women’s power in the household. In financial institutions like the International
addition, governments and communities can Monetary Fund. In exchange for aid and loans,
provide more indirect supports for women to developing country governments restructure
enhance their negotiating capacities and boost their economies via marketization and
their self-confidence via neighborhood support privatization, and cut government spending,
groups or job training. Whether one refers to despite the persistently high demands of debt
social protections that support the translation servicing to pay for prior crises. In an empirical
of wage work into greater autonomy, or those study of these issues, Rao (1999) shows that
that more directly address women’s health and trade and financial liberalization are indeed
well-being, both types are essentially about positively correlated with what is termed the
the “enabling conditions” of empowerment degree of liberalization-related “fiscal squeeze”
provided by the community and the state. But – changes in the growth of trade taxes and
while the social protection effect plays out in interest expenses as a proportion of GDP.
the household by constraining or enhancing
bargaining power and ultimately voice, the Firms have a role to play in the supply of
provision of social protections happens at the social protections as well. Although firms
level of the community and the state. This is may contribute relatively little to tax revenue
the starting point for the model developed in developing countries (Barnett and Grown
next.11 2004), a number of social protections are
delivered through employment, such as
The model uses as its framework the basic minimum wages, maternity leave, and
idea that as trade and investment liberalization occupational health and safety. Trade and
increase, two opposing tendencies will investment liberalization enhance exit
operate on the policy structures of domestic options available to firms because it is easier
economies. On the one hand, there will for them to move abroad in search of lower
be pressures toward a race to the bottom – production costs. Liberalization also increases
pressures for cutting or restraining the role of the international competition facing domestic
the government and firms in supplying the firms from transnational corporations and
social protections of the welfare state. Trade imports, making the informalization of work
liberalization means cutting trade tariffs, with an increasingly essential component of creating
direct and potentially significant consequences and maintaining global competitiveness. As
for developing country government budgets, such, liberalization may also contribute to a
for which trade taxes can be a significant race-to-the-bottom by suppressing the ability
source of revenue. Investment liberalization or willingness of firms to be a conduit for
(both in terms of long and short-term flows) social protections, even if they do not finance
means that government budgets are beholden the protections themselves. Furthermore, part
to global financial markets. of the logic behind decreasing trade taxes is
11This model is based on Braunstein and Epstein (1999)
that they will increase incomes and change
and Braunstein (2006), and informed by Rodrik (1997).
46
Chapter Five Globalization, Liberalization, and Women’s Empowerment
the structure of the economy, resulting in Risk Management framework) as part of the
greater tax revenues from the domestic private post-Washington consensus, which tries to
sector. Liberalization makes it more difficult combine marketization with social protections
for governments to shift their tax structures in and poverty reduction (Chhachhi 2009;
these ways, as firms can threaten to leave or Razavi 2005).
avoid taxation by shifting production to the
informal sector. From a gender and development perspective,
liberalization may contribute to increases in
On the demand side, trade and investment women’s needs for social services as factors
liberalization may bring increases in the like desire for fewer children and greater
demand for social protections. Globalization sexual activity pursuant to urban or extra-
creates losers as well as winners, and may household employment for young women
generate more insecurity by accelerating the may accompany the take-up of paid work.
pace of change (Rodrik 1997). The most Trade liberalization and increasing integration
recent financial crisis is an unfortunately within the global economy widen the scope of
telling example of the increased exposure to the cash economy, requiring women to earn
external economic shocks and the resultant money to meet their traditional household
volatility of livelihoods that come with responsibilities. Expanding marketization
globalization. In recognition of the increased and commodification may add to women’s
economic risk that globalization brings, a double burden in that they must take on two
plethora of new social protection schemes have jobs – paid and unpaid – to provision their
been proposed by national and international families (Pearson 2004). Traditional sources
institutions (e.g. the World Bank’s Social of subsistence, such as a household garden,
Social
Protection
G0 G1
Demand
SP0 Struggle
Supply
Openness
Demand: Demand for social protections by workers and citizens from firms and the state
Supply: Supply of social protection from the state and firms to citizens
G: Level of globalization
47
Gender and Economic Development
Social
Protection
G0 G1 G2 G3 G4
Demand
SP0
Contract
Curve
Supply
Openness
are less tenable when families move to urban providing it directly to their own employees, or
centers in search of trade-related work. Also, tolerating legislation that strengthens citizens’
to pursue new opportunities offered by abilities to demand greater social protections.
liberalization, children must be educated and
in good health. All of these factors combine to The vertical line G represents the
increase the support that women and families exogenously given level of globalization. A
need from the community and state to carry shift out in G represents an exogenous increase
out their provisioning responsibilities. in the level of globalization. Such a shift may
be the result of a new trade or investment
These conflicting pressures can operate liberalization agreement, which lowers
simultaneously: the demand for more social government revenue (and strains government
protection, and the declining capability of budgets), or opens the domestic market to
the public sector or willingness of private greater import competition (and increases the
capital to supply protection as liberalization competitive pressures facing domestic firms).
increases. Figure 15 illustrates these opposing As G shifts out, a wedge develops between
dynamics in a simple diagram, the supply and the social protection that citizens and workers
demand for social protection. The demand for need, and that which the state or firms can
social protection is upward sloping, reflecting or want to provide. This sets up a power
the fact that as liberalization and openness struggle for institutional change. The outcome
to the global economy increase, women and depends on the relative power of citizens,
men need more social protection from the workers, firms, and the state, the institutional
private and public sectors. The supply of social structures in place, and significantly, the level
protection represents two related dynamics of globalization itself. Figure 16 illustrates this
that depend on the level of development and relationship in the current era of globalization,
economic structure: the decreasing ability where greater liberalization results in increased
of the state to provide social supports, and bargaining power for private firms, both
firms’ willingness to support social protection, domestic and international, and weaker social
either through paying taxes to government, provisioning capabilities on the part of the
48
Chapter Five Globalization, Liberalization, and Women’s Empowerment
public sector. The outcome is illustrated by the responsibility for the health and welfare of
“contract curve,” which represents the locus their families, their ability to assert themselves
of social bargains settled on as liberalization in the household is dampened by their
increases. Even though the demand for social continued need for access to male income.
bargains is actually increasing, the final Furthermore, because women’s employment
outcome – where the contract curve intersects gains are happening in sectors that are the
the vertical globalization line – ends up closer most exposed to international competition
to the preferences of suppliers and far below (i.e. increases in demand for female workers
public need. coming from tradable and/or informal sectors),
and increasingly characterized by informal
The supply of social protection may be employment relations, the bargaining power
upward sloping. Through agglomeration of employers vis-à-vis workers will be higher
effects and economies of scale, more openness in female-dominated industries relative to
may be associated with greater demands other economic sectors. As a result, women
for infrastructure, education, and high are less likely to access job benefits than their
performance work structures on the part of male counterparts, and their intra-household
firms (Milberg 1998).By generating this sort bargaining power is concomitantly lower.
of climb to the top, these effects may moderate
or even eliminate the negative impacts of
liberalization. But as long as the need for social 5.3 Making Globalization Work for
protection increases at a faster rate than the Women’s Empowerment
supply (that is, the demand curve is steeper
than the supply curve), the same dilemma, The relationship between globalization, as it
though quantitatively smaller, will still exist. is currently practiced, women’s employment,
and empowerment is decidedly mixed. The
To the extent that trade and investment positive effects of increases in the demand
liberalization exert downward pressure on for female labor as export sectors expand are
the supply of social protections, it lessens dampened by the extreme competitiveness of
the capacity of the community and state, global product markets and the international
and the willingness of firms, to provide the mobility of production and investment.
social welfare supports necessary for women Global competition and capital mobility act
to translate employment opportunities into as brakes on wage growth even when women’s
greater autonomy. Social services supplied employment increases, as well as contribute
by the state or community are an essential to the informalization of employment. The
part of social protections. They constitute persistence of labor market segregation by
both an input into and an outcome of gender limits women’s alternatives to the most
women’s autonomy, and ultimately women’s labor-intensive sectors where competition
empowerment. Tighter government budgets is based on cost (as opposed to quality or
and lower spending will have direct effects technological innovation), and improvements
on women’s health and well-being. These in value-added are often accompanied by
pressures also make governments less capable declines in the demand for female labor.
of using social services as a tool of women’s
empowerment. For instance, lower social Globalization has also contributed to
spending on healthcare, either as a result of more economic volatility for individuals and
lower government tax revenue or cuts in job communities regardless of gender; economies
benefits offered by firms, will lower women’s are more exposed to external economic shocks
fallback positions. This is because where and more likely to experience sudden reversals
women work for pay, and bear continued in capital flows or aggregate demand. At the
49
Gender and Economic Development
same time, governments are less able, and and compete based on quality rather than
globalized firms less willing, to provide the sorts price.
of social protections that could counterbalance
the negative effects of economic volatility and Microfinancing for women entrepreneurs is
employment informalization. Evaluating an increasingly popular component of gender-
these dynamics from the perspective of gender aware programs to alleviate poverty and should
and economic development provides a sort be considered in this context. In a recent
of roadmap for finding solutions to these review of the literature on microfinance, Naila
problems. Kabeer characterizes the results on women
and microfinance as contested (UNDESA
2009). Studies of microfinance have found a
5.3.1 Labor Market Norms and Human number of positive effects, including increases
Capital
in women’s decision-making power and
At the meso-level of the labor market, assets, less domestic violence, smaller gaps
breaking down the structures of gender in girls’ versus boys’ education, and access
segregation and enhancing women’s human to new social networks (Ibid.: 61). Other
capital would afford women access to better studies are more equivocal, finding that
jobs. On the supply side, as discussed at length microfinance programs can at times increase
in the household model, women’s dual roles domestic conflict and violence, may result
in production and reproduction need to be in husbands simply appropriating the funds,
incorporated in policies designed to better increase indebtedness, induce too much
women’s employment through education supply in women’s commodity markets,
and training. On the demand side, it is more increase women’s workloads, and may even
about the persistence of gender norms and lower financial contributions to households
how employers think of work as “women’s from men (Ibid.). From a macro-development
work” versus “men’s work.” A number of perspective, there is even less consensus as
UN-sponsored projects try to address these to whether microfinance fundamentally
issues, for example by providing incentives challenges or changes the conditions of
to promote women in the information women’s poverty and contributes to economic
technology industry in Ghana, or giving growth.
official recognition to private sector employers
that commit to promoting workplace equality, Applying microfinance and microenterprise
as with the Equality Seal in Central America principles to improving globally-oriented
(UNDP 2008). These sorts of policies need income-generating opportunities for women
to become a regular feature of national labor offers perhaps another avenue for women’s
policies. entrepreneurship that can counter some of
these more mixed results. If women-owned
businesses are to serve as a real alternative to
5.3.2 Localizing Firms and Increasing export-oriented employment, and seriously
Women’s Entrepreneurship compete in the globalized marketplace in ways
Strengthening locally-owned firms with that ultimately contribute to development,
strong community ties, firms that also promote supports for women’s entrepreneurship will
women’s participation and entrepreneurship, have to be “scaled up” and approached as more
will lower some of the volatility and insecurity than a short-term poverty-alleviation strategy.
embedded in the contingent employment This road will have to be explored with caution,
relations introduced by globalization. Firms however. As businesses get bigger and financial
that are integrated with both local and global services more commercialized, women’s
markets, while embedded in the community, representation among owners and borrowers
have strong incentives to increase productivity tends to fall precipitously (UNDESA 2009).
50
Chapter Five Globalization, Liberalization, and Women’s Empowerment
51
Gender and Economic Development
52
Chapter Six The Gendered Terrain of Central Bank Policy
53
Gender and Economic Development
and material contexts in which they live. The As a result of these gender differences in labor
complexity of labor supply decisions are well- demand and supply, changes in macroeconomic
illustrated by the intra-household bargaining structure and policy have differential effects
model of figure 12. Whether and how one on men’s and women’s work (Seguino 2003).
participates in the paid labor force is an From a macroeconomic perspective, some
outcome of a collective household decision- of the most important insights we have on
making process, a process based on both the link between macroeconomic policy and
individual characteristics like the wage one can women’s employment in developing countries
earn, and the preferences, norms, assets, and come from the feminist literature critiquing
rules that inform intra-household bargaining. structural adjustment policies (SAPs) imposed
largely in Latin America and Africa in the
On the demand side, discrimination 1980s. Feminists argued that the interaction
in hiring practices contributes to gender between gender relations and SAPs has
segregation in industries and occupations, a implications both for the distribution of the
clear example being the positive association costs and benefits of structural adjustment
between exports and women’s nonagricultural between different groups of women and men,
employment discussed above. That women and for the achievement of the economic
are segregated into certain sectors and jobs objectives of the SAPs themselves (Benería
underlies the notion of crowding, where and Feldman 1992; Benería and Roldan 1987;
an increased supply of female labor in Elson 1991, 1995; Bakker 1994). Tu r n i n g
certain classes of jobs or industries raises more specifically to issues of gender differences
unemployment and lowers wages in those in employment and unemployment in the
industries (Bergmann 1974). In a study of context of SAPs, Cagatay and Ozler (1995)
gender differentials in unemployment in the use cross country data pooled for 1985 and
Caribbean, Seguino (2003) finds a positive 1990 to show that SAPs have led to increased
correlation between the female share of the feminization of the labor force via worsening
labor force and female unemployment (with income distribution and openness. These
no such correlation for men), suggesting that findings touch on gender differences in both
job segregation by sex has contributed to labor supply and demand.
higher rates of unemployment for women.
Economic downturns may affect labor
Overt and more subtle forms of gender supply in one of two ways, by either
discrimination can result in gender differences discouraging workers and pushing them out
in unemployment. In terms of direct of the labor market completely, or by inducing
discrimination, the male breadwinner ideal households to add more workers to the labor
– the presumption that men should and do market as protection against lower or more
bear the primary financial responsibility for volatile household incomes, new labor market
provisioning families – has been linked to entrants that may or may not leave the labor
higher unemployment for women relative to force once the economy turns around. It is
men in OECD countries (Algan and Cahuc widely argued that the added worker effect
2004). Women get laid off first because is dominant in explanations of crisis-related
employers presume that it is more important increases in labor force participation in Latin
for men to be able to fulfill their traditional America, much of it by women (Cerrutti
breadwinning responsibilities. The same 2000). Increasing labor force participation by
link has been made between gender gaps in women was also accompanied by an increase
unemployment and gender-biased attitudes in the number of hours they devoted to paid
in general among OECD countries (Azmat, work (Arriagada 1994). These supply effects
Güell and Manning 2006).
54
Chapter Six The Gendered Terrain of Central Bank Policy
underlie Cagatay and Ozler’s results that the 1999). In Korea, women lost jobs at twice
worsening income distribution associated the rate of men, despite the fact that before
with SAPs lead to an increase in women’s the crisis, their unemployment was half that
share of the labor force. Such dynamics are not of men’s (UN 1999). According to a World
limited to SAPs. For example, research into the Bank report in 2000, women constituted
determinants of women’s labor supply in post- 75 percent of discouraged workers and 85
apartheid South Africa shows that female labor percent of retrenched workers in the banking
force participation rises in response to growing and financial service sectors (Aslanbeigui
unemployment, thereby further increasing the and Summerfield 2000). Immediately after
country’s average unemployment rate (Casale the crisis in Indonesia, 46 percent of the
2003). unemployed were women, although they
made up only one-third of the workforce.
On the demand side, Cagatay and Ozler’s And as more men became unemployed, the
finding that SAPs interacted with openness percentage of women engaged in paid and
are positively correlated with feminization of unpaid work increased (Ibid.). Similarly, in
the labor force reflects the shift away from Thailand women constituted between 50 and
import substitution and towards export- 60 percent of the unemployed (Ibid.).
orientation associated with SAPs. But
women’s traditional industries have also been A slightly different pattern was found by
subject to contractionary effects. SAPs linked Lim (2000) in the Philippines, where the post-
with deflationary stabilization that lowers crisis decline increased male unemployment
domestic consumption can have adverse more than female unemployment despite
effects on women who produce traditional a rapid displacement of women from the
consumption goods (Standing 1999). In manufacturing sector (especially in traded
emerging economies, labor-intensive export- goods). The reason was the relative resilience
oriented industries that tend to employ of the service and trade sectors, which employ
women are more cyclically volatile than men’s a high proportion of women. Women did,
industries, resulting in higher overall rates of however, increase their labor force participation
unemployment (Howes and Singh 1995). to deal with male unemployment, and their
Emphasis on export-oriented industrialization total work hours relative to men increased
has also been associated with increases in as well. Similar to the case of structural
informalization as firms continue to minimize adjustment, the combination of increasing
wage and nonwage costs (Standing 1999). female unemployment and labor force
So as female labor force participation and participation is partly absorbed by increases
unemployment rose in the context of crisis in informalization. Women are increasingly
and structural adjustment, the increasing pushed out of the formal sector and into
dominance of informal work became a key the informal sector, and those that are new
feature of new labor markets for women labor market entrants trying to preserve their
(Arriagada 1994; Benería 2001b; Patnaik household income are increasingly drawn into
2003). the informal sector as well (UN 1999).
Similar work was done on the gendered In terms of the employment effects of the
employment effects of the Asian financial crisis 2008 crisis, gender-disaggregated research is
in 1997-1998. Women were typically the first still sparse and merely suggestive. We do know
to be laid off both because they worked in more that a substantial decline in export markets
cyclically volatile firms, such as small export- beginning in late 2008 lowered employment
oriented enterprises, and because of efforts to demand among developing country exporters.
protect the jobs of “male breadwinners” (UN Compared to the first quarter of 2008, in
55
Gender and Economic Development
the first quarter of 2009 world merchandise Vera 2004). Similarly, short-term gender-
trade was down more than 30 percent (WTO specific shocks can have long-run effects for a
2009). Initial reports link women’s and country’s human and economic development,
men’s unemployment post-crisis with the as illustrated by the depletion of human
industries in which they work, not with any capacities in the alternative circular flow of
discriminatory or male breadwinner bias as in figure 14.
the Asian financial crisis (Corner 2009; Hirway
and Prabhu 2009). However, to the extent A number of empirical studies suggest that
that this crisis has lasting effects on growth, gender-based inequities in employment and
the availability of credit, and foreign aid, we unemployment have implications for long-
are likely to see a repeat of the informalization term development. For example, this body
and intensification of work that followed the of research shows that a positive relationship
Asian financial crisis. exists between gender equality (measured
most commonly as educational equality) and
There are significant structural differences economic growth in developing countries
between women’s and men’s labor markets (Hill and King 1995; Dollar and Gatti 1999;
on both the supply and demand sides that Klasen 1999). Some of the effects are quite
are differently affected by macroeconomic large: Klasen (1999), in a panel data study
structure and policy. The literature reviewed between 1960 and 1992, finds that had South
above on development and unemployment Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa had more gender
suggests that economic contractions often equity in education, growth would have been
have a larger negative effect on women’s 0.9 percent per year faster. (More will be said
employment than men’s, though women tend about this relationship between growth and
to increase their labor force participation at gender equality in Section 7.) Investing in girls
the same time to protect household income, makes for a higher productivity workforce,
often entering the informal sector. but higher rates of unemployment and cyclical
volatility in women’s jobs will discourage these
types of investments at both the individual
6.2 The Gendered Political Economy and community levels.
of Central Bank Policy
In a related sense, lower incomes and higher
In terms of the economic implications income volatility for women could lead to
of the Braunstein and Heintz finding that lower investments in human capital overall,
inflation reduction disproportionately affects thereby lowering long-term growth. Theory
women’s employment, it is important to note and evidence have aptly demonstrated a higher
that their study only addresses the short-run co-incidence between a mother’s income and
gender-specific impacts on employment. The the family’s basic needs than a father’s income
results say little about the long-run impact of (Benería and Roldan 1987; Blumberg 1991;
different policy responses to inflation, such Chant 1991), a finding underlying what has
as raising interest rates versus contracting been termed the “good mother hypothesis.”
the money supply. Supporters of inflation- Income that is controlled by women is
targeting frequently acknowledge that short- more likely to be spent on children’s health
run trade-offs might exist, but the long- and nutrition (Dwyer and Bruce 1988;
run benefits of low inflation for growth Hoddinott, Alderman, and Haddad 1998).
and development are more significant. This In many countries, a large proportion of
argument is problematic when transitory fathers provide little or no economic support
policy shocks have long-run consequences for for their children (Folbre 1994). But faced
real economic variables (Fontana and Palacio- with cyclically higher rates of unemployment
56
Chapter Six The Gendered Terrain of Central Bank Policy
during disinflation, “good mothers” will have indebted poor countries (HIPC) – must
fewer opportunities to invest in their children, still craft their policies under the auspices
compromising future labor force quality. of IMF conditionalities. Monetary policies
enshrined in ‘poverty reduction strategy
Moving beyond instrumental arguments, papers’ reflect these biases (UNRISD 2010).
the finding that women as a group shoulder Ironically, many of these ‘post-Washington
a disproportionate share of the costs of consensus’ development strategies claim to
contractionary inflation reduction introduces have incorporated a gendered analysis into
an important political economy question into their poverty reduction program. However,
the discussion: what do the distribution of this gender-sensitive analysis does not spill
the costs and benefits of inflation reduction over into the macroeconomic realm.
indicate about the contested terrain of
monetary policy? One might simply respond A different sort of insight comes from
“not much,” with an argument going thinking about what would happen if gender
something like the following. It is true that the equality concerns were indeed incorporated
empirical evidence indicates gender differences into monetary policy. Such a shift would most
in labor supply and demand – the “gender likely necessitate a move away from inflation
orders” of the labor market – result in women’s targeting as it is currently practiced and could
jobs being more cyclically volatile (at least on harm those invested in a low inflation, high
the economic downturn) than men’s jobs in interest rate environment – largely finance
the economies studied. While macroeconomic capital. Even the most brief perusal of central
policies (e.g. trying to reduce inflation by bank leaders and managers around the world
raising interest rates) and structures (e.g. will show that they are largely drawn from
export-oriented industrialization) may have finance and banking, a pool that is also
gender-differentiated impacts, these impacts primarily male. Taken from this standpoint,
reflect gender dynamics in the labor market, one that acknowledges how gender, class and
not in the central bank. Monetary policymakers nation shape our opinions of the appropriate
should not be tasked with addressing gender or feasible reach of macroeconomic policy,
inequality; such issues are, and should resistance to seeing, much less incorporating,
properly remain, outside the purview of the social content of inflation targeting is
monetary management. Ultimately, the clearly a political matter. It is not just that
best thing (indeed perhaps the only thing) a central bank policy has gender differentiated
central banker can do for gender equality is to effects; it is also that the very structures of
keep inflation low and stable, as these policies central banks and global financial markets
provide the sort of macroeconomic stability and institutions, the permissible discourses
essential for growth and income generation. on monetary policy, and the technical models
Gender is only a matter of concern for social used to illustrate them are themselves “bearers
policy, the argument concludes. of gender” (Elson 1998).
The reach of this argument is also global Another aspect of the gendered political
in scope. Most central banks in developing economy of these empirical findings is the
countries are constrained by the reactions of point that if women’s labor force participation
international financial markets to their policy keeps unit labor costs and inflation lower than
choices. This is particularly likely to be the case it would otherwise be, then a focus on gender
when capital markets have been liberalized equality within the context of sustainable levels
and prudential capital controls have been of inflation could require other mechanisms
eliminated. In addition, central banks in many for price control that are more consistent
low-income countries – including the heavily with long-run growth and development.
57
Gender and Economic Development
Such a move might be resisted by those that mean that this sort of labor force information
benefit (perhaps only in the short-run) from is not available in a timely enough fashion to
women’s more precarious employment – for use in formulating and monitoring central
example, their employers and employed men. bank policy. If indeed that is the case, it is
Gender biased central bank policy may help important to research and formulate next-
solve the political problems introduced by best options for tracking gender-specific
neoliberal central bank policy in that gender employment effects.
bias concentrates the costs of these policies on
a less powerful segment of society – women. From a gender and development
Inflation targeting should be considered in perspective, it is important to remember that
terms of its social content (e.g., what are the employment is not an end in and of itself.
social structures that underlie this policy) as While employment has some direct human
well as its social impact (Elson and Cagatay development implications (e.g. personal
2000). development, self-esteem, etc.), it is primarily
a means to an end, a source of income that
partly determines one’s provisioning capacities
6.3 Gender-Sensitive Employment and ultimately human development. So
Targeting it is important to also consider human
development outcomes as actual targets as
A number of progressive alternatives to well. Timely, detailed information that could
the current dominant policy position among serve as the basis for formulating central bank
central banks of maintaining very low inflation policies might be too costly to collect relative
rates – to the exclusion of other policy concerns to other indicators such as employment.
–call for supplementing inflation targeting Still, gender-specific indicators of human
with other types of targets. These include but development could be used to monitor the
are not limited to exchange rate targets, capital broader impact of employment or other
controls, output or employment targets, central bank targets.
incomes policies to directly limit inflation,
and targeted credit programs to encourage One issue here, which will be more
employment-creating (rather than inflation- completely discussed in section 5.4 on
generating) investments (Epstein and Yeldan care work, is the often implicit assumption
2009). All of these proposals would benefit that the reproductive or care economy will
from gender-aware construction and analysis. seamlessly follow shifts in the paid economy.
This is reflected in the notion that standard
Targeting employment generation alone, macroeconomic theory does not treat the
whether it be directly through employment labor force or human capabilities as produced.
targets or indirectly through exchange rate Even though we have yet to see some measure
targets or credit programs, will not guarantee of care, paid or unpaid, regularly used as
more gender egalitarian outcomes if they fail indicators of development, it would be
to take into account the gender dynamics of essential to construct one for use as a human
employment. If and where employment or development target in the analysis of central
other targets are used to assess central bank bank policies.
policy, these indicators must be disaggregated
by gender. In light of the tremendous growth
of informal employment in developing
countries, these figures should include some
measure of employment quality as well as
quantity. Of course, data constraints may
58
Chapter Seven Gender Equality and Economic Growth
One of the most compelling policy period also estimated the combined growth
arguments proffered by development costs of these education and employment
professionals these days is that gender gaps, finding that relative to East Asia, annual
inequality is bad for economic growth. The average growth rates in the Middle East and
World Bank’s Gender Action Plan’s assertion North Africa were 0.9 to 1.7 percentage points
that “Gender equality is smart economics” is a lower, and in South Asia 0.1 to 1.6 percentage
good example of this perspective (World Bank points lower due to gender gaps in education
2006). The economic logic for this argument and employment (Klasen and Lamanna 2009:
is straightforward: excluding women from 91).In a simulation exercise of the economic
education, employment and other economic costs of male-female gaps among a number of
opportunities limits the pool of potential Asian countries, it was estimated that gender
workers and innovators and robs economies gaps in labor force participation cost the
of a key productive asset. Discrimination region between $42 billion to $47 billion per
against women and gender inequality also year, and gender gaps in education cost $16
tend to raise fertility, lower investments in the billion to $30 billion per year (UN-ESCAP
next generation of human capital, and restrict 2007).
household productivity growth, all of which
have been linked to lower rates of per capita Empirical studies of the household aim to
income growth. capture how gender discrimination limits
household productivity and, by extension,
A number of empirical studies have tried to macroeconomic growth. In a review of this
estimate just how much gender discrimination literature for Sub-Saharan Africa, Blackden
costs in terms of sacrificed growth. Estimating and Bhanu (1998) report on a number of
the growth costs of employment and education these studies, and the results are compelling.
discrimination is the most common empirical For instance, in Kenya it was found that
methodology, primarily because of the wide giving the same amount of agricultural inputs
availability of macro-level data on gendered and education to women as that received by
employment and education gaps. The resulting men would increase women’s agricultural
estimates of sacrificed growth are substantial. yields by more than 20 percent; if women
For instance, Blackden and Bhanu (1998), in Zambia enjoyed the same level of capital
in a study comparing Sub-Saharan Africa investment in agricultural inputs (including
with East Asia, find that gender inequality in land) as men, output could increase by up
education and employment cost Sub-Saharan to 15 percent; and in Tanzania reducing the
Africa 0.8 percentage points a year in per time burdens of women in smallholder coffee
capita growth between 1960 and 1992; these and banana grower households would increase
inequalities account for up to 20 percent of the household’s cash income by 10 percent,
the difference in growth rates between East labor productivity by 15 percent, and capital
Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa during the same productivity by 44 percent (Blackden and
period. A more recent study of the 1960-2000 Bhanu 1998: xii).
59
Gender and Economic Development
INCOME
A Factor endowments
K, H, L
productivity
C geography
Note: This figure is based on figure 1.3 from Rodrik (2003: 5).
In this section we will critically explore 7.1 Gender and Growth Theory
how gender equality contributes to economic
Open up a textbook on economic growth and
growth, beginning with a brief overview of
you are immediately ushered into the standard
how most economists think about economic
core of neoclassical growth models, Robert
growth, and the role of gender in these
Solow’s model of long-run growth (Solow
models.13 We then detail the hypothesized
1956). As the basis of modern neoclassical
pathways from gender equality to economic
growth models, Solow’s is still a pretty good
growth, covering both macroeconomic and
representation of how most economists think
microeconomic studies of the direct effects that
about economic growth, although human
gender equality has on economic growth and
capital has since been added to Solow’s original
productivity, as well as research on the indirect
model, which only included physical capital
mechanisms of fertility decline, investments
and labor supply. Solow’s model is illustrated
in children, and less political corruption. We
by panel A of figure 17. Panel A represents
close the section with a discussion of recent
the standard neoclassical model, where
research which argues that, under certain
income levels and growth are outcomes of
circumstances, gender inequality may actually
two factors: (1) factor endowments and their
contribute to economic growth.
accumulation, including physical ( K ) and
human ( H ) capital, and population growth
or labor supply ( L ); and (2) productivity.
Productivity is both the main driver of long-
run growth rates and exogenous to the system.
Note that this growth story is confined to the
supply side of the economy; there is never
deficient aggregate demand, involuntary
13Note that in this section we focus on the impact of gender on
growth, but there is also an extensive neoclassical literature that unemployment or underemployment.
argues that growth is good for women (Dollar and Gatti 1999;
Forsythe, Korzeniewicz and Durrant 2000; Tzannatos 1999;
World Bank 2001; 2005).
60
Chapter Seven Gender Equality and Economic Growth
Women have a unique place in these and global integration garner most of the
supply-side models, as women have long been attention in these treatments. The only truly
acknowledged as a potential untapped labor exogenous factor is geography, which may
supply for market growth, with little thought directly affect growth via natural resource
given to the implications of this transfer of labor endowments such as land productivity or
for nonmarket production. A good example public health (as in the case of the prevalence
of this is the oft-cited work of Alwyn Young of malaria). Geography also affects growth
(1995), whose contribution to an ongoing indirectly via its effects on global integration,
debate about the relative importance of factor as when a country is land-locked or endowed
accumulation versus total factor productivity with significant shipping lanes, and via its
growth in the East Asian miracle comes down effects on institutional development when the
squarely on the side of accumulation – and latter for instance bears the traces of colonial
women are a significant source of it. Changing occupiers or the corruption often linked with
gender roles also factor into the East Asian an abundance of natural resources.
accumulation story via the rapid postwar
decline in fertility rates in the region, which in As indicated by the arrows in figure 17,
turn lowered dependency ratios and increased global integration and institutions shape one
savings and investment. It is estimated that another in addition to the proximate processes
this “demographic gift” contributed between of factor accumulation and productivity. One
1.4 and 1.9 percentage points to East Asian can see how developmentalist states shaped
per capita GDP growth between 1965 and global integration in the case of the so-called
1990, about one-third of growth over the East Asian miracle, a type of integration
period (Bloom and Williamson 1997). Like that in turn partly determined the pace and
changes in productivity though, rising female structure of technical progress and factor
labor force participation and the demographic accumulation in these countries. Of course,
gift are largely treated as exogenous shocks, the seemingly spare square that represents
existing outside and independent of economic institutions is actually a large and complicated
processes. For instance, in the case of declining amalgam of factors, coinciding with the meso-
fertility, which is so centrally linked to female level sectors and institutions that appear in the
education and employment, the causal amended circular flow of figure 14. However,
mechanism is still presented as exogenous – a for all intents and purposes most new growth
combination of declining infant mortality and theorists simplify this complexity in empirical
the increased availability of family planning work by measuring institutional quality as
services, the results of imported health the rule of law and property rights (Rodrik,
technologies and government policy (Bloom Subramanian and Trebbi 2004).
and Williamson 1997). Income inequality is a significant aspect of
The fact that Solow’s model lacked an this research, as lower inequality is associated
explanation of its main driver – productivity with institutional quality and consequent
growth – spurred what came to be known growth (Alesina and Rodrik 1994; Perotti
as “new growth theory,” which models the 1996; Persson and Tabellini 1994). The
innovation process as endogenous. Referring (mainstream) political economy explanation
back to figure 17, new growth theorists see of the causal mechanisms from equality
growth as a combination of panels A, B, and to growth is embedded in the neoclassical
C, where factor endowments and productivity reasoning of markets and incentives. Perhaps
are themselves products of socioeconomic and the most familiar line of logic employs the
natural structures and processes. Institutions median voter model to argue that higher levels
of inequality result in the median voter being
61
Gender and Economic Development
62
Chapter Seven Gender Equality and Economic Growth
women is symmetrical; that is both have the Similar issues come up in markets for
same ability to translate a particular fallback capital, credit and insurance. Women have
position into bargaining power (Katz 1997). systematically weaker access to credit markets
Objective functions that differ systematically than men, partly because they command
by sex are taken as exogenous rather than fewer resources to begin with and hence have
focused on as a dynamic product of social and little to offer in collateral, and partly because
economic interactions. The same applies to there is direct discrimination against women
the gendered nature of institutional structures in credit markets. Particularly in agrarian or
– how things like property rights and divorce petty trader contexts, these types of credit
law are also themselves the result of social market imperfections bar women from
and economic processes. To the extent that making production- or profit-maximizing
there are inefficiencies that result from gender choices. Many of the studies that deal with
inequality, when they are theorized (and not these issues, particularly in Sub-Saharan
just taken as a given) they are the result of Africa, look at the resulting deficiencies in
market imperfections, not the result of the women’s access to inputs and conclude that
exercise of power itself. there are significant sacrifices in productivity
that occur as a result of asymmetrical access
Let us consider this literature to see what to factors of production (Blackden and Bhanu
we mean. Limiting ourselves to work that is 1999; Klasen 2005; Quisumbing 2003; Saito,
germane to the question of gender equality Mekonnen and Spurling 1994; Udry 1996;
and growth, we get a variety of microeconomic Udry, Hoddinott, Alderman and Haddad
approaches to the implications of imperfect 1995; World Bank 2001).
property rights and capital, credit and
insurance markets. Weak or nonexistent All of these studies soundly reject the notion
property rights for women, especially in that households are always harmonious and
Africa, are identified as creating production unitary sites of production. The result is that
inefficiencies (Duflo 2005). For instance, in gender inequality is a significant and direct
Burkina-Faso, more fertilizer is typically used factor in the determination of productivity
on a husband’s plot than on his wife’s because and output. But it is the market that is
he can afford more fertilizer. Concentrating most centrally featured as both the source of
fertilizer on the husband’s plot occurs despite inequality’s persistence (imperfect/incomplete
decreasing marginal returns to fertilizer use. markets), and its preferred solution (realigning
Even though a more equal distribution of market incentives), a point that is central to
fertilizer between the husband’s and wife’s the literature on externalities as well.
plots would raise household production,
this never happens because each worker 7.3 Externalities
prefers a “bigger slice of a smaller pie” – the
bargaining problem. Duflo argues that weak The term externality refers to something
property rights prevent women from renting akin to indirect effects, but with a precise
land to their husbands (in which case he relationship to the market mechanism. An
would use more fertilizer on it and maximize externality is a sort of spin-off of an activity
production), because if the husband works or transaction that affects the wider society
the land long enough, the wife may lose her – those who do not directly participate in
property rights. The emphasis in this story the activity or transaction. Even if the prices
is not on self-interest or the possibilities for or incentives produced by markets are well-
coercion, but about property rights and their functioning for individuals, the added social
role in the persistence of inefficiencies. value or social cost of individual activities are
not, and hence activities that generate positive
63
Gender and Economic Development
externalities will tend to be undersupplied by The familiar logic is that as the opportunity
markets relative to their social benefit, and costs (the costs of forgone opportunities) of
activities that generate negative externalities women’s time increases, parents opt for more
will tend to be oversupplied relative to their child quality over quantity. With women
social cost. Gender equality is argued to have a doing most of the childcare, it is essential that
number of positive externalities for economic the opportunity costs of women’s time increase
growth. relative to men’s, as increases in male incomes
will only raise the demand for children and
7.3.1 Fertility increase fertility.
64
Chapter Seven Gender Equality and Economic Growth
This perspective is reflected in Duflo’s externalities for growth. Thus gender equality
critiques of the good mother literature (Duflo bears instrumental relevance and international
2005), though hers are largely econometric institutions and development agencies have a
criticisms and do not challenge underlying sound empirical basis for promoting gender-
theories of gendered preferences. aware approaches to growth and development
– the efficiency argument. However, as argued
7.3.3 Corruption in the discussion of the amended circular
flow, markets and other economic institutions
The prospect of altruistic mothers touches are themselves products of the prevailing
on the positive externalities of social norms social order, including the gender order, and
– if girls are conditioned to act benevolently can be used in ways that benefit some over
towards their future children, fulfilling the others. Institutions are slow to change because
role of good mother will raise investments in individuals and societies often resist that
children and long-term growth. The positive change, at least partly because it is to their
externalities of gender norms also come up in economic benefit to do so.
studies of corruption and growth. Behavioral
studies show that women tend to be more For instance, consider the work of economist
trustworthy and public-spirited than men, Stephanie Seguino, who argues that gender-
with one of the results being that higher based wage gaps have actually contributed to
proportions of women in government or growth among semi-industrialized countries
the labor force are negatively correlated with (Blecker and Seguino 2002; Seguino 2000a,
corruption (Dollar, Fisman and Gatti 2001; 2000b, 2000c, 2008). Seguino posits that the
Swamy, Knack, Lee and Azfar 2003). Here development of many economies is limited
the logic is more about how prevailing social by the small size of their domestic markets
norms may be efficient in some ways, a process (they are demand-constrained), and by a lack
that is almost certainly at work in creating the of foreign exchange to purchase technology-
positive externalities of good mothers as well. enhancing imports (balance of payments
constraints). Where women are segregated
into export sectors, as is common among semi-
7.4 When Inequality Contributes to industrialized countries with labor-intensive
Growth export-oriented manufacturing sectors, lower
female wages enhance competitiveness and
From the perspective of the early
profitability, raising investment and growth.
Solow-type growth models, neoclassical
In addition, there is a “feminization of
institutionalists have made some headway
exchange earnings” effect, where lower export
towards making the theoretical and empirical
sector wages and consequent competitiveness
argument that gender relations matter for
increase a country’s foreign exchange earnings.
growth and that there is a positive link between
This affords greater access to global markets in
gender equality and economic efficiency.
capital and technology, which also enhances
Market imperfections and ‘sticky’ institutions
growth.
can lead to gender inequality, which in turn
may have direct effects on growth via selection Seguino’s findings contradict the neoclassical
distortion-type effects in education and literature’s take on gender equality and growth.
labor markets, and create growth-inhibiting Furthermore, Seguino’s work indicates that
incentives in investments in human and the type of inequality is what matters for
physical capital. Fertility decline, investments growth. When gender discrimination is
in children and decreased corruption are manifested in ways that do not compromise
consequences of gender equality with positive the overall quality of the labor force but
65
Gender and Economic Development
merely lower the cost of labor for employers, argument. Standard appeals to “reason” and
systematically discriminating against women “efficiency” in neoclassical work on gender
can have positive effects on growth. Gender equality will hardly prove compelling when we
differences in education will lower growth understand that if equality means the loss of
because it lowers the productivity of labor. East gendered advantage or economic rents, it will
Asian governments in newly industrializing be resisted regardless of how seemingly socially
economies helped ensure wide access to basic efficient the attendant economic prescriptions
education and health during the export- appear. To the extent that we depend on
led boom years, as well as implemented and the instrumental value of gender equality
maintained policies to ensure high levels of to further gender-aware economic policies,
household income equality (Birdsall, Ross and we will be consistently discouraged and
Sabot 1995). These are the key factors linking somewhat mystified by continued resistance.
equality and growth within the neoclassical This is not to say there are no benefits to
institutionalist paradigm. However, gendered instrumental arguments. That women’s rights
hierarchies were also maintained via the and empowerment have gotten some attention
incorporation of women into the paid labor is certainly an improvement that is partly due
market in ways that did not unduly challenge to these types of arguments. But given that
traditional gender norms. gender equality is costly to some in terms
of the loss of power or economic advantage,
In the case of Taiwan, strong patriarchal resistance will remain ongoing, especially in
traditions and inter-generational obligations cases where gender inequality is strongest and
created high degrees of intra-family maintains advantage for the privileged.
stratification based on gender and age, with
unmarried daughters the lowest class in the
family hierarchy. The early years of Taiwan’s
export-led boom were fueled by the entry of
these women into export factories. Rather than
threaten traditional family structures, paid
work actually increased sexual stratification
because it enabled parents to extract more
from filial daughters (Greenhalgh 1985). In
the 1970s when Taiwan faced labor shortages,
the state-sponsored satellite factory system
made industrial work more consistent with
traditional female roles, enabling increases in
the labor supply of wives and mothers (Hsiung
1996). Similarly, South Korea was able to
maintain a competitive labor-intensive sector
along with a highly paid male labor aristocracy
by keeping wages in female-dominated export
industries low (Amsden 1989: 204).
66
Chapter Eight A Macroeconomic Perspective on Development and Care
The United Nation’s System of National domestic sector, drawing on goods and services
Accounts (SNA) specifies global accounting purchased or transferred from the other sectors
standards for recording GDP and measuring of the economy. Businesses, governments
economic growth. The SNA’s “production and non-governmental organizations are all
boundary” for GDP includes all goods and involved in providing paid care services. Flows
services that enter the market, as well as of remittances and labor underlie “global
just about any other activity that one could care chains” when women migrate to work
theoretically pay someone else to do. Examples as nannies, maids or nurses and send money
of the latter include working as an unpaid home to provide for their own children (Folbre
worker in a family business, growing food 2006). Care work, whether paid or unpaid,
for own consumption, making clothing, or direct or indirect, is an essential component of
collecting water or firewood for fuel. Though maintaining the flow of human capital to the
these unpaid activities are technically included rest of the macroeconomy, and transforming
in GDP figures, there is a lot of variation in the products of monetary production into
the extent to which countries systematically human well-being.
survey and estimate them. It is far from
an overstatement to say that unpaid work Over the past couple of decades, care work
within the SNA production boundary tends has garnered increasing academic and policy
to be undercounted in GDP, particularly in attention, creating the emerging fields of the
developing countries where data collection is economics of unpaid work and the study of
relatively limited and expensive, and the size the “care economy,” a term coined by Diane
of the unpaid and informal sectors is large. Elson. Most of this work, particularly that
in the field of economic development, is
The one category of unpaid work that falls microeconomically-oriented, focusing on
outside the SNA production boundary, even issues like the household division of labor,
though one could pay someone else to do it, subsistence production, and the substitution
is unpaid care work. Unpaid care work refers between nonmarket and market goods and
both to direct care activities that involve close services in households. Empirical work
personal or emotional interaction with those parallels these theoretical efforts. Examples
being cared for, such as caring for a child, include measuring unpaid work via small-
the elderly or the disabled, and indirect care scale time-use surveys, estimating the
activities that provide support for direct care, monetary value of unpaid household work,
such as cleaning house or preparing a meal and linking care with the gender wage gap
(Folbre 2006). Referring back to the standard and gendered job segregation. Less work has
macroeconomic circular flow in figure 13, been done on the macroeconomic aspects of
it is perhaps not surprising that unpaid care care, particularly in a development context (an
work is left out of GDP as there is no notion important exception being UNRISD’s recent
of production or reproduction of labor in project The Political and Social Economy of
mainstream macroeconomic theory. In figure Care).
14, unpaid care work is provided in the
67
Gender and Economic Development
8.1 Estimates of Unpaid Care Work in Table 3 combines the results of two recent
Developing Countries reviews of nationally-representative time use
studies in developing countries (with the
The main instrument used for collecting exception of the Argentinean study which
data on unpaid care work is the time use covered only Buenos Aires). Budlender (2008)
survey. As with a lot of other types of economic reports on an analysis of time use surveys
data, advanced industrialized countries have a sponsored by UNRISD, reporting results for
longer history of collecting systematic time use working age adults only; Charmes (2006)
data on even a semi-regular basis for nationally evaluates the few nationally representative
representative samples than developing time use surveys available for Sub-Saharan
countries.15 A number of UN agencies are Africa, and includes children as young as six
involved in the creation, support and analysis for Benin and Madagascar, and as young as
of time use surveys across the developing 10 for South Africa and Mauritius. Both sets
world [e.g. UNIFEM (2005); UNRISD as give population averages. That is, they report
reported in Budlender (2008)]. In this section average time spent at work in a day across
we present a representative sample of these the entire population, so individuals who do
studies, discussing how much time women not do any work in a particular category are
and men spend at work, both paid and unpaid, included in the sample average with a score
the value of unpaid care work, and the relative of zero. There are methodological, coverage,
sizes of the paid and unpaid care sectors in a and a variety of other differences among the
selection of developing countries. various time use surveys included in Table 3,
In considering the data, it is important to though they seem close enough to usefully
make note of how time use surveys deal with compare. Note that time use survey results
simultaneous activities. Supervisory or on- were reported in both the Charmes (2006) and
call activities are most often largely invisible, Budlender (2008) studies; the same time use
since survey questions tend to ask respondents survey, conducted by Statistics South Africa
only about “primary activities” (Folbre 2006). in 2000, is the basis for both sets of results,
Childcare is often categorized as a secondary though Budlender’s includes only adults. The
activity because it is commonly combined SNA rows in Table 3 refer to the number of
with other activities such as preparing food hours women and men spend on activities that
or even working. The UNDESA’s guide to fall within the SNA production boundary,
producing time use statistics makes this point regardless of whether the activities are paid or
(UNDESA 2004), but there has been little unpaid. Unpaid care work refers to time spent
work done on how exactly to ask the right providing unpaid care, a category that is not
questions in different cultural and economic within the SNA production boundary and
contexts. One telling example from an therefore not included in GDP. Total work
advanced industrialized country: Australian equals the addition of SNA and unpaid care
time use surveys in 1992 and 1997 found work time. The columns delineate work time
three hours of childcare as a secondary activity for women, men, and the ratio of female-to-
for every one hour of childcare provided as a male work time in the various categories by
primary activity (Folbre 2006). country.
68
Chapter Eight A Macroeconomic Perspective on Development and Care
The survey results reported in Table 3 show counted) (Ironmonger 1996; Pyatt 1993).
a number of common time use patterns This perceived advantage is also a weakness.
across countries by gender. First, with the Activities without close market substitutes are
exception of Benin, men spend longer work difficult to include, or production for which
hours engaged in SNA activities than women. markets have not yet developed (such as paid
The high is in India, where men work a eldercare in developing countries) are not
daily average of 7.2 hours in SNA activities assessed any value (Pyatt 1993). Additionally,
compared to 3.0 hours for women; and the data requirements are high, necessitating
low is in South Africa, with men working information not only about the time devoted
between 3.2 and 3.9 hours in SNA activities to unpaid care work in households, but also
versus between 1.9 and 2.4 hours for women. about the use of purchased goods and services
Second, women spend more time in unpaid in the provision of unpaid care.
care work than men, with a high of 5.9 hours
in India compared to only 0.6 hours for men, Perhaps as a result of these challenges, most
and a low of 2.9 hours in Tanzania compared studies use input-based methods, which value
to 1.3 hours for men. Third, again with the the labor time devoted to unpaid production
exception of Benin, most of women’s work using one of two options. The first is the
time is spent in unpaid care work. Most of opportunity cost method, where the going wage
men’s work time is spent in SNA activities. rate for an individual of similar characteristics
And lastly, when we add together time spent is multiplied by the time devoted to unpaid
in SNA and unpaid care work, women in all care work. A key drawback of this method is
the surveys have a longer average work day that wage rates are separated from the type of
than men. The female-to-male ratio of total output produced, so identical products are
hours worked in a day ranges from a high of valued differently according to who produces
147 percent in Benin, where women work an them. Another problem is that systematic wage
average of 7.4 hours a day compared to 5.0 differentials between women and men get
hours for men, to a low of 103 percent in transferred to valuations of unpaid care work.
Argentina/Buenos Aires, where women work The second input-based method uses the price
an average of 7.3 hours compared to 7.0 hours of hiring a market substitute, either specialized
for men. (as in using the going wage for the variety of
services provided by family members doing
How significant is unpaid care work relative unpaid care work), or generalized (as in using
to national income? A number of economists the wage for a general housekeeper). Using the
and others have tried to answer this question wage rate for a general substitute is sometimes
by assigning a monetary value to unpaid care cited as a second-best solution (Goldschmidt-
work and then comparing it to GDP. There Clermont 1993), because it provides the most
are two main approaches to appraising unpaid conservative estimate and seems closest to the
care work, output- and input-based. Output- supposed first-best output methodology. Its
based approaches value the products of unpaid biggest weakness seems to be the improbable
care work using the price of close market assumption that the tremendous variety of
substitutes, often subtracting the cost of raw tasks involved in unpaid care work could be
materials to get at net value added. Statisticians performed by an unqualified housekeeper.
seem to prefer this method because it is the But reverting to the specialist method brings
same basic principle as that applied to valuing with it the problem of assessing value for time
subsistence production in agriculture, and when engaged in simultaneous tasks, such
because production boundaries are clear (only as looking after children while preparing the
those activities with market substitutes get evening meal.
69
70
Table 3: Work Time in SNA and Unpaid Care in Various Countries by Gender
Estimates based on Budlender (2008)
SNA 3.0 hrs 5.6 hrs 54% 3.0 hrs 7.2 hrs 42% 3.5 hrs 6.0 hrs 58%
Unpaid Care Work 4.3 hrs 1.5 hrs 288% 5.9 hrs 0.6 hrs 983% 3.8 hrs 0.7 hrs 528%
Total work 7.3 hrs 7.0 hrs 103% 8.9 hrs 7.8 hrs 114% 7.3 hrs 6.8 hrs 108%
Gender and Economic Development
SNA 2.6 hrs 6.4 hrs 41% 2.4 hrs 3.9 hrs 61% 5.1 hrs 6.0 hrs 85%
Unpaid Care Work 5.7 hrs 1.5 hrs 380% 4.1 hrs 1.5 hrs 276% 2.9 hrs 1.3 hrs 229%
Total work 8.3 hrs 7.9 hrs 105% 6.5 hrs 5.4 hrs 120% 8.0 hrs 7.2 hrs 111%
Table 3: Work Time in SNA and Unpaid Care in Various Countries by Gender
Madagascar Mauritius
Source: Author’s calculations based on data presented in Budlender (2008) and Charmes (2006).
Chapter Eight A Macroeconomic Perspective on Development and Care
71
Gender and Economic Development
63 63
60
54
50
Percent of GDP
40
39
35
30 31
29 29 30
28
27
20
19
18
15
10 12 12 10
11
0
Argentina India Republic of Nicaragua South Africa Tanzania
Korea
72
Chapter Eight A Macroeconomic Perspective on Development and Care
Figure 19: The value of unpaid care work as a percentage of paid care work
5,000
4,407
4,359
Percent of value of paid care work
4,000
3,000
2,836
2,703
2,000
788 788
680
644 596
480 483 115 115
287 321
0
Argentina India Republic of Tanzania
South Africa
Korea
Argentina All employees Generalist Domestic worker
neither teachers nor any health care sector of average incomes, education levels and
workers. This exclusion probably explains childcare policies, indicates that whether there
why the estimates for Republic of Korea are is a decline in unpaid work time depends on
so high, with the value of unpaid care work the type of work. Folbre and Yoon find that
ranging between 4,407 and 2,703 percent of time spent on housework, collecting fuel
the value of paid care work, depending on the and firewood, and as unpaid family workers
wages used to value unpaid caring labor time. declines with GDP. But, time spent on the
We generally anticipate that the ratio of the care of family members, especially children,
value of unpaid to paid care work declines as increases. Both the total unpaid time spent
income increases, a question to which we now on childcare increases, and the share of
turn. childcare time as a proportion of total unpaid
work time also increases. In keeping with the
terminology of this section, Folbre and Yoon’s
8.2 Economic Development and study indicates that direct care work – that
Unpaid Care Work which involves direct emotional or physical
contact with others – increases, while time
The conventional wisdom is that unpaid
spent in indirect care work – housework or
work time generally declines with economic
cooking – declines.
development as the private and public sectors
extend the reach of the monetary economy, Folbre and Yoon go on to discuss a number
and labor-saving technologies and expanded of aspects of economic development and
public infrastructure raise the productivity structural change that are likely to underlie the
of household work. Some recent empirical results of this study. Fertility decline typically
work by economists Nancy Folbre and accompanies economic development, as well
Jayoung Yoon (2008) of the Harmonized as increases in life expectancy. This changes
European Time Use Survey, which covers the structure of dependents and the resultant
a diverse set of European countries in terms
73
Gender and Economic Development
demands on unpaid care, partly reflecting care crises disproportionately affect women,
the shift from child quantity to quality maintaining the supply of care is still treated
discussed in the context of the demographic as a microeconomic or private issue, and there
gift to growth. Smaller households and fewer is often an unstated resistance to devising truly
extended family members living together public supports for unpaid care work.
means that households must be more self-
reliant. At the same time, to the extent that For instance, consider the research and
development is accompanied by an expansion policy discussions around the burden of
in social welfare supports for the elderly (e.g. care in the HIV/AIDS crisis in Sub-Saharan
pensions), the relative demands of children Africa. Studies in a number of countries show
on unpaid care time grow. The expansion of that women shoulder the vast majority of the
wage employment makes it more difficult to increased care burden brought about by HIV/
combine unpaid direct care with paid work. AIDS (Kes and Swaminathan 2006; Razavi
And finally, increases in the opportunity cost 2005; UNAIDS 2008). In terms of time use,
of women’s time may increase their bargaining much of the albeit limited research focuses
power in the household, enabling women to on the loss of women’s productive time as
bargain for a shift in their work time from caregiving responsibilities mount (see Kes
indirect care like housework to direct care of and Swminathan (2006) for a review). These
children. The increased marketization of care, insights have led to policy discussions that
both domestically and internationally, also focus on the unequal gender distribution of
facilitates the fulfillment of these preferences. care, such as the UNDESA project on the equal
sharing of responsibilities between women and
men. But the limits that care responsibilities
8.3 Gender Inequality and the impose on women is not a new issue, and
Macroeconomic Relevance of extends far beyond the unequal distribution
Care of unpaid care work in households.
In a paper for a recent UNDESA project on As early as the late 1980s, feminist
the equal sharing of responsibilities between economists and others argued that the
women and men, Shahra Razavi and Silke economic models underlying the logic of
Staab argue that care has yet to be seen as a truly structural adjustment presumed virtually
macroeconomic issue (Razavi and Staab 2008). unlimited supplies of unpaid labor, much of it
They contend that care issues only garner from women and girls and to the detriment of
attention when care crises seem to threaten their families and communities (Bakker 1994;
the smooth functioning of the economy, as for Benería and Feldman 1992; Benería and
instance when fertility decline in the advanced Roldan 1987; Elson 1991, 1995; Gladwin
industrialized countries threatens the financial 1991; Sen and Grown 1987; Sparr 1994).
viability of the social welfare system, or the The implicit presumption was that women
HIV/AIDS crisis makes such tremendous providing unpaid care in the household sector
demands on the care resources of developing would be able to compensate for cuts in
countries. Still, the fact that crises of care have public services while also increasing their paid
become a policy issue because of how they work in expanding export sectors. Evidence
weaken the social relations of production has from the various waves of global economic
brought a key aspect of gender inequality – the crisis since the debt crisis of the early 1980s
sexual division of labor and responsibility for indicates that women and girls do in fact take
care – to the forefront in a new and promising on the majority of the social costs of crisis,
manner. But Razavi and Staab’s basic point with women and girls shouldering greater
still stands: although it is recognized that overall workloads as men’s productive time
74
Chapter Eight A Macroeconomic Perspective on Development and Care
declines (Elson 2009; Holmes, Jones and often time-consuming conditions, including
Marsden 2009; Knowles, Pernai and Racelis attending meetings and volunteering in the
1999). The social and economic consequences community (Razavi 2005). The program
of these inequalities have contributed to has been quite successful in raising school
efforts to better incorporate the “social” in attendance and improving nutrition, but it
structural adjustment policies, and to also has also raised women’s workloads in ways
be more careful about the sequencing and that solidify the unpaid responsibilities of
social content of economic reform in what motherhood (Ibid.). Razavi (2005) cites South
is now commonly called a “post-Washington Africa’s Old Age Pension as an example of a
consensus.” Still, even though some of the social welfare program that avoids stereotypes
rhetoric of structural adjustment has changed, about unpaid care work while recognizing
standard approaches to accounting for the its value. South Africa’s Old Age Pension
social are often blind when it comes to the system is also a means-tested program, but it
provisioning of care. provides income supports for elders (women
at age 60 and men at age 65) regardless of
Social welfare and employment policies have their paid employment history, and has been
long been characterized by what Diane Elson an important way of supporting the many
and Nilufer Cagatay call “male breadwinner grandmothers caring for grandchildren
bias,” the assumption that the reproductive orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
sector is linked with the productive sector
through a full-time breadwinner without One way to draw these issues into the
significant family responsibilities (Elson and macroeconomic realm is to think in terms of the
Cagatay 2000). “ ‘Male breadwinner’ bias aggregate distribution of care responsibilities.
constructs the ownership of rights to make There are different but complementary ways to
claims on the state for social benefits (access get at this. Economist Nancy Folbre suggests
to services, cash transfers) around a norm of a set of new indices aimed at measuring the
full-time, life-long working-age participation gender distribution of care along lines similar
in the market-based labor force.” (Ibid.: 1355) to UNDP’s GDI or GEM (Folbre 2006).
The result is that standard models of social The gender care spending parity index would
welfare benefits and delivery systematically measure private male spending on dependent
afford women fewer entitlements because care as a proportion of all private spending
of their unpaid care work responsibilities. (male plus female), multiplied by two; a value
Whereas investments in education and of one would indicate gender equality in
health are seen as direct producers of human shouldering the private monetary costs of care.
capital and therefore directly contributing The gender direct care parity index would use
to productive capacity, income supports for the same formula only that it would reflect time
unpaid care work are often seen as wasteful rather than financial contributions to care.
welfare, and presume or reinforce unpaid An overall care parity index would combine
care work as primarily women’s responsibility financial and time contributions, assigning a
(Razavi 2005). monetary value to unpaid care time. If we had
good systematic, cross-country indices along
For example, Mexico’s Opportunidades the lines Folbre suggests, we could gain a
is a means-tested program that gives poor better understanding of the role of the gender
mothers cash transfers for sending children distribution of care in the macroeconomy,
to school, with girls getting a bigger stipend and the impact of economic development and
to counterbalance gender discrimination in crisis on that distribution.
education. To receive the stipend, mothers
are required to meet a number of different
75
Gender and Economic Development
76
Chapter nine Concluding Remarks
This report surveyed the gender and the choice of monetary policy instrument
economic development literature, with may attenuate this effect. The second two
particular emphasis on drawing out the policy questions, the relationship between
gendered nature of micro/meso/macro gender equality and economic growth and
linkages in economic relationships. In this the macroeconomics of care, underscored
section, we briefly review the issues covered how micro- and meso- relationships structure
from three vantage points: a summary macroeconomic outcomes. In the case of
overview of the main gender differences in gender equality and economic growth,
economic development, a review of the key discrimination against women in the social
causal pathways of these differences discussed and economic arenas exacts quantifiable
in the report, and some concluding remarks on costs for economic growth, though gender-
the importance of promoting gender equality based wage inequality that does not detract
in economic development. from human capital development has been
associated with higher rates of growth when it
enhances global competitiveness. Considering
9.1 Gender Differences in Economic care from a macroeconomic perspective
Development illustrates how gendered social norms render
the production of human capabilities invisible
The latter half of this report focused on
at the macroeconomic level, severely limiting
four key policy areas in gender and economic
the potential for economic analyses and
development. The first two, on globalization
policy to adequately address issues of human
and women’s employment and the gendered
development and well-being. All four of these
terrain of central bank policy, emphasized
policy areas share a number of themes:
how macroeconomic policies have gender-
differentiated effects at the meso- and micro- The gendered care gap. Regardless of the
levels. In both cases, labor market segregation level of economic development, women around
by gender, and the unequal terms upon the world are still primarily responsible for the
which women participate in labor markets, vast majority of household work and unpaid
shaped how macroeconomic policy plays care. This sexual division of labor constrains
out at both the individual and community women’s abilities to participate in economic
levels. Liberalization constrains the ability of life, both in terms of practical time availability
states and communities to provide the types and the perpetuation of norms that devalue
of social protections necessary for women to women’s economic potential. These norms also
benefit from the empowerment effects of the give rise to economic models and policy that
increased employment that can accompany wrongly presume unlimited supplies of caring
globalization. Gender-blind deflationary labor, with negative consequences for women
monetary policy not only dampens economic and macroeconomic policy effectiveness.
growth, but it does so in ways that exacts
higher costs from women’s employment
than men’s in developing countries, though
77
Gender and Economic Development
Inequality in rights and resources. Women women’s absence in the public policy-making
typically enter the economic arena at a arena.
disadvantage relative to men not just because of
their work roles in the family, but also because
of systematic marginalization from the types 9.2 Causal Mechanisms
of rights and resources that are essential for To understand the causal mechanisms
economic participation and empowerment. of these gender differences in economic
Legal inequalities in de jure and de facto development, we refer back to the analytical
property rights and family law pose significant micro-, meso- and macro-models presented
obstacles for many women in the developing in section 4. At the microeconomic level,
world. And widespread discrimination against gendered structures of constraint – the gender-
women in the allocation of resources, whether specific norms, preferences, assets and rules
it be a family system that prioritizes the that define what is both possible and desirable
education of sons over daughters, or exclusion for women and men – combine with an
from markets for credit, land, or labor, limit individual’s priorities and needs to determine
women’s economic participation in ways that provisioning capacity. Because collective
perpetuate gender inequality. households exhibit varying degrees of conflict
Inequality at work. Partly as a result of the and cooperation, intra-household bargaining,
gender care gap, women are incorporated into a process mediated by an individual’s terms
labor markets on unequal terms relative to men, of household exit and their very ability to
across all development paths (UNRISD 2010). bargain (voice), determines the extent to
Women have lower labor force participation which family decisions reflect the priorities
rates than men; there is extensive gender and needs of particular household members.
segregation by occupation and industry, a type Gender, of course, is key to every component
of segregation that tends to restrict women to in this process, from the gendered norms
the lowest-paid and otherwise less desirable and preferences that shape which options are
sectors of the labor market; women earn less considered possible, to the gendered property
money than men, even when they engage in rights and family law that determine how
similar work; and women work fewer hours in women and men fare should they decide to
the market than men, largely because of their leave the family.
household responsibilities (Ibid. 2010). These gendered dynamics are reflected and
Inequality in economic decision-making. reconstituted in the meso- and macro-levels
Women’s interests and experiences are not well- of the economy, both of which are “bearers
represented in economic decision-making, of gender” in the sense of being structured
whether it be at the microeconomic level of by institutions and systems of advantage and
the family farm or household labor supply disadvantage that themselves are gendered
decisions, the meso-level of credit markets (Elson 1994). The macroeconomy is an
or development institutions, or the macro- emergent result of interactions between meso-
level of monetary and fiscal policies. Though level sectors and institutions, which are in turn
most research and policy interventions have built on the foundation of microeconomic
focused on intra-household bargaining and relations – though the pathways run both
its effect on household resource allocation ways. For instance, the structure of production
and production decisions, leading to a pretty in the domestic sector, which includes both
solid understanding of the microeconomic households and communities, is where social
dynamics of gender and decision-making, reproduction, or the production of human
much less is known about the effects of capabilities via a combination of people and
78
Chapter nine Concluding Remarks
commodities, takes place. When the flow of family policy, and the lack of social security
income, goods and services, and the supply for the elderly have contributed to sex selective
of time and natural assets are not enough abortions and neglect for infant girls (Ibid.).
to maintain social reproduction, human Gender-based inequality in wages and time
capabilities get depleted, which in turn use persist in industrialized countries, and in
will detract from macroeconomic growth, the developing world, women are taking on an
putting further pressure on the care economy. increasing share of informal work even where
Labor market and education discrimination industrialization and growth have been robust.
against women, a result of gender norms and Integrating women into labor markets and the
stereotypes, manifests not only in lower rates modern economy does not address some of
of economic participation and incomes for the main sources of women’s inequality, such
women, but also as lower rates of economic as the gender division of care work. Growth
growth. must be accompanied by the types of structural
and social changes that truly transform the
The macro- and meso-levels also display socioeconomic relations of gender inequality.
their own characteristics, existing differently Changes in economic structure, such as
and independently of the micro-social infrastructural supports (e.g. transportation
relations that undergird them. For instance, and sanitation) and social services that make it
gender bias within development institutions easier for women to combine their productive
charged with creating and administering and reproductive roles, as well as the creation
development programs is being addressed by of high-quality employment opportunities
a variety of gender-mainstreaming efforts, that do not limit women to the lower reaches
but these efforts are themselves hampered by of the labor market, and changes in social
a lack of understanding of the institutional relations such as the equal sharing of care
(or meso-level) dynamics of that bias, as responsibilities between women and men at
discussed in section 2.3. Economic models the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels, must
of the inflation-employment tradeoff used by accompany growth to witness fundamental
central bank analysts are consistently gender- changes in gender inequality (DAW 2008;
blind but not gender-neutral, with potentially UNRISD 2010).
deleterious effects on long-term economic
growth, an effect that echoes the points made Taken from another perspective, there
by Diane Elson and others about the short- is the argument that gender equality has
sightedness of structural adjustment programs instrumental – and compelling – salutary
(Elson 1995). effects on poverty and economic growth.
However, that is not why gender equality
should be prioritized. The point of economic
9.3 On the Importance of Promoting development is not merely to raise growth
Gender Equality rates or to speed up industrialization and
modernization. The point of economic
It is essential to promote gender equality as
development is human development, as long
a goal of development on its own merits. Part
emphasized by the UN and others. At best,
of the reason is that economic growth itself
economic growth is a somewhat vulgar proxy
does not ensure gender equality. For instance,
for human development. Gender equality is
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Appendix A
Developed & EU (non-CIS) Central & Eastern Europe & East Asia & Pacific
Commonwealth Independent
Norway Singapore
States
Australia Hong Kong, China (SAR)
Kazakhstan
Iceland Korea (Republic of)
Slovenia
Canada Brunei Darussalam
Czech Republic
Ireland
Estonia Malaysia
Netherlands
Poland Thailand
Sweden
Slovakia China
France
Hungary Samoa
Switzerland
Croatia Tonga
Japan
Lithuania Philippines
Finland
Latvia Fiji
United States
Bulgaria Indonesia
Austria
Romania
Spain
Mongolia
Montenegro
Denmark Viet Nam
Serbia
Belgium Vanuatu
Belarus
Italy Solomon Islands
Albania
New Zealand Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Russian Federation
United Kingdom Cambodia
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Germany Myanmar
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Greece Papua New Guinea
Armenia
Israel Timor-Leste
Ukraine
Cyprus Taiwan
Azerbaijan
Portugal
Georgia
Malta
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Moldova
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
92
appendix
93
The Global Urban Economic Dialogue Series
This report surveys research and policy in the field of gender and
economic development, with particular emphasis on economic
literature and practice. The begins with a history of gender
and economic development thought, and includes a statistical
overview of women and men in developing economies, covering
data on employment, Millennium Development Goals, and
composite indices of gender equality. The report is mainly based
on an analytical framework for applying gender and economic
development concepts to policy by linking production relations
in the household to macroeconomy. In the household model, it
emphasizes how gender structures the conditions of provisioning,
and the consequences for women’s empowerment and human
capabilities. It contrasts standard economic approaches to
macroeconomy with one that reflects how meso-level institutions
like markets or the public sector are themselves “bearers of
gender,” explicitly incorporating the production of human
capabilities in the domestic sector. It applies this framework
to a survey of current gender and economic development
issues, including globalization, liberalization and women’s
empowerment, the gendered terrain of central bank policy, the
relationship between gender equality and economic growth, and
the macroeconomics of economic development and care.
HS/033/11E
ISBN(Series): 978-92-1-132027-5
ISBN(Volume): 978-92-1-132335-1