Manal Sweidan Department of Statistics Jordan Main Messages
Not enough opportunities for the women in the middle, either by education or by social class. Job creation efforts too much focused on the micro/poor/uneducated and the educated/upper class. Middle class married women with secondary education are the forgotten middle.
A major barrier to women’s work inside or outside the home are social norms and conservative attitudes. A high share of men are still opposed to women’s work. Being married is a higher barrier to women’s work than child and elderly care.
The perception is that if women don’t work in formal jobs, they are economically active from home or in the informal sector. Not so. Home‐based and informality far less prevalent than expected –no substitute for formal opportunities. Ratio of actual to predicted FLFP
Ratio of actual to potential FLFP
Countries below the line underutilize Countries above the line over-utilize investments in female capacity female capacity relative to relative to actual FLFP actual FLFP
2.00 1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 1980 0.20 2000 0.00 2005 Male & Female Labor Force Participation Rates within the Survey Across Three MENA Capitals (15‐64, Excl. Students)
100
90
80
70
60 MLFP
% 50 90 84 82 FLFP 40
30
20
10 25 23 14 0
Amman Cairo Sana'a
Source: “Behind the Barriers: Women in Informal Work and Home-Based Entrepreneurship in Selected Cities in MENA”. World Bank Survey, 2008 A. What are the factors behind persistently low FLFP?
• Hypothesis: Education positively impacts female labor supply, but gender‐based social norms and conservative attitudes have a negative impact.
B. Are Home‐Based economic activities an option?
• Hypothesis: FLFP may be low, but women are economically active through informal home‐based work, self‐employment, and entrepreneurship. Average
average years of schooling average years of schooling 0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
0 0 15-19 15-19
20-24 20-24 Years
25-29 25-29
30- 30- 3 3 4 4
Men 35 Men 35 of -39 -39 40-44 40-44 Amman Sana'a
Schooling
age 45-49 age 45-49
50-54 50-54
55- 55- 5 5 9 9 60 60
Women -64 Women -64 65-69 65-69
70-74 70-74 by
7 75+ 5+ Sex
average years of schooling and 0 5 10 15
0 15-19 Age
20-24
2 5- 2 9 30 -34
Men 35-39
40-44 Cairo
age 45-49
6 5 0- 5 4 55 -59 60-64 Women 65-69
70- 7 4 75+ Employment status by sex and income groups
Female Employed 30 Female Unemployed 25 Female OLF 20
15 Male Employed sample Male Unemployed 10 total
Male OLF of 5 %
0
Amman Cairo Sana'a Attitudes and Empowerment, by Gender and Marital Status
Amman ‐ Attitudes towards women working outside, by gender and marital status 100 80 total
60 the 40 89 83 78 72 79 75 69 70 70 75 72 74 69 of 65 62 64
% 20 0 single single children children children children divorced divorced
no no
with with
married married married married widowed,separated, widowed,separated,
Accepting idea of women working outside Thinking that people are empowered by earning their own money
star denotes statistical significance men women Reasons for concern with female outside work,
(by capital and sex)
8 7 11 11 13 women
19
of 100% Non acceptance of theidea of women working outside (15‐64) 49
17 idea
27 40 52 56 80% 79 53
35 the
22 26 11 30 60% 13 25 15 outside
5 20 40% 12 10 15 accepting 8 15 56 4 56 19 not 20% 41 10 working 35 35 32 13 13 9 9 5 7 0% 0 individuals
total MFMFMF
of
% Ammansocial norms andCairo traditions Sana'a potential sexual harrassment MFMFMFnot good for quality of family life no economic need Yes but with conditionsUnder no circumstances
Amman Cairo Sana'a differences arestatistically significant for Amman & Sana'a differences arestatistically significant FLFP in household accepting/not accepting the idea
30 of women working outside
25
20
15
10
5
0 Amman Cairo Sana'a Not accepting Accepting differences arestatistically significant Descriptive Statistics, cont’d: Attitudes Towards Women Working Outside, by Gender, Age and Income
Amman: Non acceptance of the idea of women working
outside, by income, age, and gender
25 50 15 45 18 24 40 11 35 13 30 7 5 25 5 5 20 3 6 22 24 15 19 10 18 17 16 16 15 14 12 12 13 5 0 Sana'a: Non acceptance of the idea of women working 29 44 29 44 50 outside, by income, age, and gender low low
45+ 45+ 45 high high 40
15‐ 30‐ 15‐ 30‐ 35 30 medium medium 25 26 22 20 22 18 17 15 25 4 4 10 6 4 3 9 5 13 13 12 11 8 15 14 10 MFMF0 7 7 7 6 low low 45+ 45+ high high 15‐29 30‐44 15‐29 30‐44 medium income groups age groups medium MFMF income groups age groups Yes but with conditionsUnder no circumstances Yes but with conditions Under no circumstances Descriptive Statistics, cont’d.: Attitudes Towards Women Working Outside, by Gender and
Education 50 Cairo: Non acceptance of the idea of women working outside, by Amman: Non acceptance of the idea of women working outside, by 45 education and gender 40 education and gender 35 30 25 20 36 31 28 15 16 19 16 13 10 5 8 8 10 11 8 6 9 9 0 4 28 19 50 45 Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education
40 No 17 No Low Low High 35 High 8 9 Medium 30 Medium 25 73 20 MF 15 23 20 1 10 15 17 16 16 14 Yes but with conditions Under no circumstances 9 5 0 50 Sana'a: Non acceptance of the idea of women working outside, by 45 education and gender 40 35 30 Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education
25 24 20 No No 29 Low Low 17 High High 15 18 9 10 3 Medium Medium 2 5 16 13 10 6 10 9 8 0 1
MF Education Education Education Education Education Education Education Education
No No Low Low High High Medium Medium
MF Yes but with conditionsUnder no circumstances Yes but with conditions Under no circumstances Female participation by characteristics of mother‐in‐law
Female participation (15‐64) by education of mother‐in‐law Female participation (1564)‐ by whether mother‐in‐law worked or used
to work outside home 2 3 6 5 2 7 2 8 2 6 9 5 5 7
100 %
100 % 91 96 95 96 93 95 90 90 80 80 95 70 92 70 89 60 86 87 50 60 81 40 30 50 20 10 40 4 5 4 5 9 7 30 0 20
10
0
Participating Participating Not Participating Not Not
participating participating participating
Mother in law not worked or usedto work outside home Participating Participating Not Participating Not Not AmmanMother in law worked or usedCairoto work outside home Sana'a Basic educationLow educationMedium educationHigh education participating participating participating
Amman Cairo Sana'a 40 Characteristics of Married & Non‐married Women
Amman: Married & Non‐Married Women (15‐64years old), by Age, Education & Wealth Quintiles
women 100
12 80 41 married ‐ 60 non
22 23 40 73 26 & 30
22 17 19 20 20 29 47 29 11 27 26 18 21 18 18 19 20 7 2 married 5
0 of
24 34 44 64 % 15‐ 25‐ 35‐ 45‐ quintile Quintile Quintile Quintile Quintile
Education Education Education Education
5th 1st 4th 3rd 2nd No Low High Medium
Age Group Education Wealth Quintiles
Married Non‐Married
41 Intra‐Household Analysis
Amman: Educational pattern in the couple, number of children, female labor force participation, and attitudes
W Living in HH with W>H at least 1 person against women W=H working outside W Average number of W>H children W=H W FLFP W>H W=H 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Does Home‐Based Work Provide an Option to Women’s Economic Empowerment? Occupational choices of employed Distribution of males and females by employment status 20 23 22 32 35 5 1 100% 44 6 6 90% 80 8 2 80% employed 70 70% 51 62 60 60% 44 64 totale 64 43 ‐ 50 50% 35 the 15 40 64 63 40% of 55 2 % 30 2 30% 3 total 2 6 20% 20 4 7 18 3 14 17 17 the 10% 10 5 10 16 2 15 4 3 of 7 1 8 8 3 5 2 0 0% 1 % male female male female male female male female male female male female Amman Cairo Sana'a Amman Cairo Sana'a employer self‐employed working home‐based employee in the private sector working outside unemployedhome‐based employee in the public sector Characteristics of Home‐Based Workers Distribution of male & female H ‐B workers, by age groups 100 Distribution of male & female H‐B workers , by marital status 90 3 80 1 3 2 2 1 3 3 8 11 70 24 22 100 26 60 38 90 31 workers 80 B ‐ 50 H 78 70 workers 87 of 60 81 % 40 B 57 62 ‐ 50 H 64 30 40 47 51 of 30 20 % 20 MFMF 10 16 10 21 12 8 7 12 12 9 0 Amman Cairo 0 MFMF Amman Cairo Never married Married Wid/Div/Sep 15 ‐24 25 ‐44 45 ‐64 65‐ 74 75+ Distribution of male & female H‐B workers, by children<6 years old Distribution of male & female H‐B workers, by income groups 11 100 22 22 22 100 90 50 90 29 80 63 58 63 80 34 30 70 70 41 workers workers 60 60 B ‐ ‐B 50 50 H H 40 40 of of 30 60 48 % 30 % 44 20 37 50 20 42 10 37 37 10 0 0 MFMF MFMF Amman Cairo Amman Cairo Low Medium High Living in presence of children<6 Not living in presence of children<6 Educational levelof the individuals involved in Distribution of home‐based activities by sector home‐based activities, by gender 1 5 6 10 8 26 33 29 25 100% 56 4 2 90% 48 100 16 80% 25 90 70% 30 80 60% 70 50% 16 60 67 12 40% 7 50 13 47 40 30% 40 39 17 30 15 20% 4 3 27 20 10 10% 29 26 10 17 11 11 14 13 0% 3 0 male female male female male female male female male female male female manufacturingconstructionretail trade services other MediumHigh Amman Cairo Sana'a AMMAN CAIRO SANAA 18 Amman Cairo sole proprietor* sole proprietor started him/herself (vs inherit.)* started him/herself (vs inherit.)* learned from family/friends learned from family/friends no business registration no business registration no social security no social security* not paying taxes not paying taxes* not keeping regular accounts not keeping regular accounts* principal buyer individuals* principal buyer individuals receiving payment only in cash receiving payment only in cash no checking/savings account* no checking/savings account business will be larger in 5 years* business will be larger in 5 years no advertising no advertising 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 Men Women Men Women * differences are significant 19 Home‐Based Activities: Main Characteristics Years in operation Earning from the HB activity as a percentage of the Number of weeks per year spent on H‐B activity, by gender total monthly HH expenditure, by gender 32 7 100% 38 100% 28 51 24 9 21 36 90% 58 61 90% 69 56 55 52 80% 10 100 65 51 females firms 80% 70% 90 17 24 & 70% 60% 80 the 12 60% 36 70 50% 60 of 13 72 40% 16 50% 50 64 % 58 84 males 30% 12 40 45 40% 21 30 44 45 48 of 20% 36 20 35 29 30% 55 10% 22 19 % 10 20% 40 0% 28 0 10% 0% male female male female male female male female male female male female male female male female AMMAN CAIRO SANAA AMMAN CAIRO <=2 3‐5 6+ <30% 30%‐60% >60% Amman<=6 months>6 monthsCairo Sana'a Average working hours per week spent onH ‐B activity, by gender Average monthly HH expenditure covered by income from H‐B activity, by gender 100 100 15 22 80 32 27 31 47 80 females & 60 females 60 & 6 85 78 40 73 males 68 69 40 of 53 20 % males 6 5 12 of 48 4 6 % 0 20 28 32 25 23 23 male female male female male female 0 male female male female male female Amman Cairo Sana'a Amman Cairo Sana'a <30 hours >=30 hours <=50% >50% but less than 100% Amman Cairo possible harassment in outside jobs spouse/husband's wish better conditions of employment possible harassment in outside jobs * transportation problems * spouse/husband's wish * care of other family taking care of children * better conditions of employment * flexible time distribution lower cost of operations transportation problems * 0 10203040506070 % of total H ‐B care of other family members * female male * differences are statistically significant taking care of children * flexible time distribution Sana'a possible harassment in outside jobs * lower cost of operations * spouse/husband's wish better conditions of employment * transportation problems 0 1020304050607080 care of other family members * taking care of children % of total H‐B flexible time distribution lower cost of operations female male 010203040506070 % of total H ‐B * differences are statistically significant female male * differences are statistically significant 21 Main factors affecting female labor force participation (FLFP)