Social Institutions and Gender Discrimination in Employment: Why do so many women end up in “bad jobs”? Christopher Garroway, Statistician OECD Development Centre UNECE Work Session on Gender Statistics April 26 th 2010, Geneva, Switzerland

2 Outline 1Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs 2Social Institutions as Root Causes of Gender Equality Outcomes 3 4 The Impact of Social Instituions on the Feminisation of Bad Jobs Ideas for future research

3 MeanStd. Dev.MinMax Female Labour Force (% of total labour force) Female Labour Participation (% of female pop. Age 15+) Ratio of Female Labour Participation/Male Labour Participation Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs Female Labour Market Participation (44 countries)

4 Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs Gender Segregation by Sectors

5 Measuring the Feminization of Bad Jobs Gender Segregation by Working Status

6 2. Social Institutions as root causes of gender equality outcomes

7 The Importance of Social Institutions Social Institutions are evolved practices with stable rules of behaviour that are outside the formal system and that deprive women from their basic freedoms. (cf. Sen, 2007) CRITICAL determinants of development outcomes (e.g., health & well-being, educational attainment, political empowerment, economic participation) 7

8 5 key areas of discrimination Social Institutions Variables Early marriage Polygamy Parental authority Inheritance Freedom of movement Freedom of dress Female genital mutilation Violence against women Access to land Access to bank loans Access to property Ownership Rights Civil LibertiesPhysical Integrity Family Code Missing women Son Preference The Importance of Social Institutions Social institutions are root causes of gender inequality – Traditions inducing inequalities (e.g. inheritance practices) – Social norms impacting on gender equality (e.g. son preference) – Cultural practices limiting the freedom of women (e.g. obligations to be accompanied by male guardian)

9 SIGI Composite Indicator = ⅕ (Family Code) 2 + ⅕ (Civil Liberties) 2 + ⅕ (Physical Integrity) 2 + ⅕ (Son Preference) 2 + ⅕ (Ownership Rights) 2 SIGI: The Social Institutions and Gender Index SIGI Value between 1 (highest discrimination) and 0 (least discrimination) 124 country notes=> 102 SIGI scores

10 SIGI: The Social Institutions and Gender Index Composition of SIGI Scores by Region

11 3. Impact of Social Institutions on the Feminization of Bad Jobs

12 The higher the discrimination in social institutions, the lower female labour participation SIGI and Labour Market Outcomes Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs

13 Highest Levels of Discriminatory Social Institutions : Sierra Leone, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq Lowest Levels of Discriminatory Social Institutions: Paraguay, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Costa Rica Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs 44 country sub-sample

14 Why do so many women end up in “ bad jobs” ? Outcome (dependent) variables (Female Labor Force Participation measures, ratios of women to men in each sector, ratios of women to men in each working status category) Explanatory (independent) variables (SIGI and 5 Sub- indices: Family Code, Civil Liberties, Physical Integrity, Son Preference and Ownership rights Controls: GDP per capita, (GDP per capita)^2, Women’s Educational attainment Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs

15 KEY FINDINGS Social institutions hinder women joining the labour force outside the home by limiting freedom of movement Social Institutions impact on women’s upward job mobility by limiting opportunity outside agriculture Social Institutions leave women stuck in jobs as contributing family workers, without income or social protection Impact of SIGI on the Feminization of Bad Jobs

16 4. Ideas for Future Research/Conclusions

17 Ideas for further research Need for better, more detailed measures of job quality Need for sub-national data (e.g. Indian States) Need for further study of link between social institutions and policy/ aid effectiveness

18 Food for thought…Other possible linkages! Son Preference and Savings Rates The more important the degree of son preference the higher the savings rate Discriminatory social institutions impact the entire society, limiting economic growth and threatening financial stability.

Thank you!!!