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Persistent Gender Inequality
in the World of Work
Jeni Klugman, Henriette Kolb,
and Matthew Morton
THE PERSISTENT PUZZLE OF GENDER EQUALITY
Today, many more girls are going to school and living longer, healthier
lives than thirty, or even ten, years ago.1 Yet this has not translated sufficiently into broader gains in economic opportunities. Too many women
still lack basic freedoms and opportunities and face huge inequalities in the
world of work. Globally, fewer than half of women have jobs, compared
with almost four-fifths of men. Girls and women still learn less, earn less,
and have far fewer assets and opportunities. When women do work, they
Jeni Klugman is the Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank Group.
She serves on several advisory boards, including that of the World Economic Forum’s
on Sustainability and Competitiveness. She was the director and lead author of three
global Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development
Programme. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Australian National University,
as well as postgraduate degrees in both Law and Development Economics from Oxford
University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. Matthew Morton is an economist at the
World Bank, where he works on social protection, jobs, and gender and development
issues. Before joining the Bank, He received a B.A. in Political Science from Stetson
University and a M.Sc. and D.Phil. in evidence-based social intervention from the
University of Oxford. Henriette Kolb is Head of the Gender Secretariat at the
International Finance Corporation. Prior to joining IFC, Henriette was the Chief
Executive of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. She also served as a sub-committee
member of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s International Council on Women’s Business
Leadership. Henriette previously served as the UN Representative advising Quartet
Representative Tony Blair in Jerusalem. She holds an M.S.c. in Development Studies
from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and received her M.A.
from Freiburg University, Germany. The views expressed in this article are those of the
authors and do not reflect the views of the World Bank Group.
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farm smaller plots, work in less profitable sectors, and face discriminatory
laws and norms that constrain their time and choices. They are also limited
in their ability to own or inherit property, open a bank account, access
technology, or take out a loan—to buy fertilizer, for example, which would
boost food production. To close these gaps, we need to examine existing
constraints and understand the policies and practices that can bring about
gender equality in the world of work.
Gender equality in the world of work does not suggest that all women
should participate in the workforce instead of staying home to take care of
the house, children, or elderly family members. Rather, it signifies that
women and men should have an equal
range of choices. It also means that
Gender equality in the world they should have the ability to make
of work does not suggest that choices and act upon them—in other
all women should participate words, they should have ‘agency.’2
Jobs are an essential part of agency, as
in the workforce instead of
they can expand women’s life choices,
staying home to take care of
these might include leaving an abusive
the house, children, or elderly relationship, better supporting their
family members. Rather, it
families and facilitating more active
participation in their communities and
signifies that women and
wider societies. But what do we mean
men should have an equal
by ‘jobs’? This is broadly defined to
range of choices.
include various forms of wage and nonwage work in both formal and informal
3
settings. Jobs can range from running a small, unregistered household
enterprise in Dhaka to working in subsistence farming in northern Kenya.
In developing countries, these types of jobs account for the vast majority of
economic activities, particularly for women.
So where do we stand? A new World Bank publication, “Gender at
Work,” finds sizeable, persistent gender gaps at work around the world, and
advances our understanding of key trends, patterns, and constraints that
underlie these inequities. Some of the report’s findings may be surprising.
In the last two decades, female labor force participation has, fallen slightly,
from 57 to 55 percent.4 Regional patterns vary; for example, sub-Saharan
Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean have witnessed increased
female participation, while, it has declined in South Asia, especially in
India, since 2005. Some of the recent decline in female labor force participation in India may reflect urbanization, as women in rural communities
often participate in subsistence farming.
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These trends may also be attributable to the U-shaped curve in
women’s labor force participation identified by Goldin and others.5 At very
low levels of development, women tend to be highly active in low-skilled
work as secondary earners; as GDP increases, they may withdraw from
the labor force given high stigma and barriers to work and less necessity
for women’s subsistence-based jobs; and as societies develop further, with
women’s higher levels of education and more complex, urbanized economies, women’s economic activity may again rise. But this pattern is characterized by significant variation, suggesting that broader social, cultural,
and political barriers can continue to thwart women’s labor supply despite
increased levels of education and development. In Qatar, for example, a
high-income country, there are more than five women enrolled in higher
education for every man, yet there are twice as many men as women in
the labor force.6 Indeed, in India, from 2005 to 2011, female labor force
participation (among those aged 15 to 64) declined by nine percentage
points.7 During the same period, gross female school enrollment increased
by sixteen percentage points for secondary education and eleven percentage
points for tertiary education. Participation gains in school may also be
somewhat misleading, as significant education segregation persists in
many countries. As “Gender at Work” underscored, women are frequently
concentrated in disciplines such as arts, humanities, and human services,
which are often associated with less pay and fewer jobs than science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related disciplines, which are more
typically dominated by men. Some forecasts suggest that women’s labor
force participation in India will rebound once the country begins to reap
the dividends of increased education, but this is yet to be seen.8
Gender gaps in labor force participation exist across all regions and
age groups. In all regions (except Europe and Central Asia), the largest
widening in gaps took place in the 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 age groups, with
the onset of childcare responsibilities. Additionally, in most regions, the
largest gender gaps are found between men and women over fifty-five years,
suggesting that women leave the workforce earlier, probably due to care
commitments in societies with ageing populations. In China, for example,
age differentiations in retirement and pension laws result in women leaving
the workforce earlier.9
The report notes two paradoxes that surround equality at work.
First, economic growth does not guarantee gender equality. Jobs tend to
improve with development and gender inequality is sometimes viewed as
a symptom of low development. Consequently, it is often assumed that if
policymakers focus on economic growth, gender equality will inevitably
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follow. Showing wide heterogeneity in the relationship between economic
development and equality, Figure 1 plots GDP per capita against the
World Economic Forum’s Gender Gaps in Economic Participation and
Opportunity sub-index, a composite measure of inequality in outcomes
related to labor force participation, wages, earned income, and presence
in high-level professional jobs (with zero representing total inequality).
Several high-income countries, including Japan, Kuwait, and Qatar, have
high levels of gender inequality; among countries with low GDP per capita,
the size of the gender gaps vary considerably. Both Lesotho and Pakistan,
for example, have a per capita GDP of approximately USD 1,200, yet,
Pakistan fares much worse on equality of economic opportunities. Duflo
(2011) investigates the relationship between women’s empowerment and
economic growth and found that, while these factors are closely correlated,
the connections between them are too weak to expect that changes in one
will bring about shifts in the other.10 Kabeer and Natali (2013) found that
improvements in gender equality, especially in education and employment
status, contribute substantially to economic growth, but evidence regarding
the effects of economic growth on gender equality was less consistent.11
Figure 1: Countries range widely in the extent of gender gaps in economic
opportunities despite levels of per capita GDP
log of per capita GDP
Source: Hausmann et al. 2013 (y-axis data) and World Development Indicators
(x-axis, latest year available {2011-12}).
The relationship between education and gender equality presents
another paradox. Advances in education for females do not automativol.38:2 summer 2014
persistent gender inequality in the world of work
cally translate into comparably better economic opportunities for them.
Gender stereotypes and streaming in education can reinforce occupational
segregation, and, in a range of countries, including Japan, Mexico and
Saudi Arabia, extensive achievements
in education have failed to close large
gender gaps in the workforce.12 In Advances in education for
general, the Middle East and North females do not automatically
Africa illustrate this paradox with low translate into comparably
levels of female participation despite better economic opportunities
sizable gains in girls’ education, as seen
for them.
in Figure 2. Some have argued that
political commitments to girls’ education were not complemented by pushes for women’s economic empowerment.13 Norms in some cultures may see education as a valuable resource,
but not necessarily as a pathway to individual economic empowerment.14
Furthermore, as girls transition to adulthood, additional constraints materialize, including pressures to marry and limitations on time and mobility.15
Figure 2: In the Middle East and North Africa, little improvement in female
labor force participation, despite gains in schooling
Source: World Development Indicators
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MULTIDIMENSIONAL GAPS IN THE WORLD OF WORK
It is important to underscore that labor force participation is but one
dimension of gender inequality in the world of work. Other gaps, such
as differences in earnings and job quality, also affect well-being, agency,
and further economic opportunities. In some cases, a narrow focus on
labor force participation can even be misleading. In Tanzania and Rwanda,
for example, women participate in the labor force at a rate of almost 90
percent. Much of this work, however, is subsistence-based and lacks basic
protections for those dependent upon this type of activity.16 Figure 3 illustrates the importance of a multidimensional perspective. It captures the
ten most populous countries for which we have data, representing onethird of the world’s population. In these countries, women are less likely to
participate in the labor force and they earn less than men. In all but Brazil,
working women are less likely than working men to be employed in wage
jobs. Notably, in Turkey, gender wage gaps appear small; however, there
are large inequalities in labor force participation and employment in wage
jobs, thus, underscoring the importance of a multidimensional approach.17
Figure 3: A multidimensional perspective of gender equality in the world of
work is needed
Source: World Development Indicators and WDR 2013 statistical annex (for
wage gaps, except for Mexico, which comes from UN Statistics).
Gender gaps at work arise in multiple forms and for multiple reasons;
sorting is one of these determinants. Women and men sort into different
types of economic activities, including varying occupations, sectors, industries, and types of firms. In wage labor, men tend to dominate manufacvol.38:2 summer 2014
persistent gender inequality in the world of work
turing, construction, transport, and communications, while women are
concentrated in education, health, and social work. Differences in education, training, preferences for job security, and the need for flexible working
hours help to explain this segregation. Gender stereotyping also plays a role.
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), as compared to
men, women’s employment is more heavily concentrated in occupations such
as clerks, service workers, and retail sales employees in both developed and
developing countries. Meanwhile, men dominate jobs in plant and machine
operations, crafts, as well as managerial and legislative occupations.18
It is well known that women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Of the eighty-four countries
with available data, men constitute the majority of graduates in engineering, construction, and manufacturing in almost all of them. Mongolia,
Uruguay, and Brunei Darussalam are the closest to gender parity, which
refers to having equal participation for males and females in education.19
Gender inequality also persists in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). In Jordan, women’s share of the ICT workforce stands at less than one-third, and in South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the
United Kingdom, this share is only 20 percent.20
Women consistently earn less than men for doing the same jobs,
with no country achieving gender parity on this issue.21 Evidence from
eighty-three countries shows that, on average, women in paid work earn 10
to 30 percent less than men.22 Further, most of the pay gap in wage work
is due to differing jobs and hours. For
example, the ILO documents substantial differences in earnings between Unfortunately, earlier progress
male- and female-dominated sectors.23 in reducing gender pay gaps
Even when controlling for industry and
on average appears to have
occupation, women earn less than men.
In Chile, for example, women earned stagnated over the last decade
86 percent of what men earned, and in across forty-three countries for
Pakistan, this share stood at 36 percent which data exists.
(2010 figures).24 Unfortunately, earlier
progress in reducing gender pay gaps
on average appears to have stagnated over the last decade across forty-three
countries for which data exists.25 The reasons for this change of trend are
unclear.
Gender wage gaps are, in large part, traced to gender sorting into
different types of jobs and industries as previously mentioned. Women’s
jobs are more likely to be part-time when compared to men as seen in
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Figure 4.26 While this form of work can increase flexibility and help to bring
women into the workforce, it also provides fewer benefits and protections,
limits career mobility, and involves lower earnings.27 These disparities are
also evident in the informal sector,28 where the gender wage gap is actually
larger.29 Women are largely concentrated in “invisible” activities,30 such as
unpaid care work, which includes domestic work, such as meal preparation, cleaning and water collection, as well as the direct care of children,
the elderly, and persons with disabilities.31 Recent data indicate that 27
percent of all female wageworkers in Latin America and the Caribbean, and
14 percent in Africa, are domestic workers.32 Many of these workers33 are
not covered by labor laws, including those guaranteeing maximum weekly
working hours, minimum wages, and maternity leave. Furthermore, it is
estimated that women account for 58 percent of all unpaid contributing
family work.34 South Asia exhibits the largest unpaid contributing family
worker gap, with 51 percent of women doing unpaid work in the home,
compared to 14 percent of men. It is essential to note, however, that despite
more pronounced inequalities, the informal sector also serves as an engine
for job creation in many economies, for both women and men. This reality
necessitates a nuanced approach that can address vulnerabilities without
restricting access to this channel of livelihoods.
Figure 4: Women’s employment is more likely to be part-time
Source: UN Statistics Division. Accessed on September 7, 2013; statistics reflect
most recent year available. Available from: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/indwm/.
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UNDERLYING CONSTRAINTS TO INEQUALITY
Social norms and overlapping disadvantages throughout the lifecycle contribute to the persistence and prevalence of gender gaps in the
world of work. “Social norms,” defined as widely held beliefs by a group
or society concerning what people should and should not do, can be held
at multiple levels, including the individual, community, school, workplace
and society.35 These norms interact with attitudes and behaviors at the individual and household levels, and they are a key factor underlying deprivations and constraints throughout the lifecycle. “Biased gender norms”
set different expectations of what women and men or girls and boys can
and should do. They can dictate time use, limit aspirations, and influence
behavior due to the social exclusion that can occur because of deviations.36
Some norms, especially those related to gender roles, are rooted in cultural
heritage and are particularly “sticky.”37 This “stickiness” helps to explain the
pervasiveness of gender inequality at work. Yet, despite their “stickiness,”
norms are not static. Dramatic changes are possible. For example, in the
1930s in the United States, fewer than 20 percent of people supported the
idea of wives working if their husbands could support them; by the late
1990s, this figure increased to over 80 percent.38
Market and institutional failures can also limit women’s opportunities in the world of work. When employers have imperfect information
about workers’ skills and abilities, they make inferences based on observable
characteristics, such as gender or race.39 Women are often on the losing end
of these inferences. People have been shown to have a higher propensity to
negatively evaluate women in several settings, including a well-known case
of auditions for orchestras. Previously, the musical director handpicked the
members of orchestras in the United States. Despite all candidates auditioning, most of the contenders were male students. In the 1970s and
1980s, major orchestras tried to overcome this bias by advertising positions more widely, and although this helped to democratize the process, it
did not eliminate the bias. Among other measures, some orchestras used
physical screens designed to hide the identity of the candidate. Researchers
found that these increased the probability that a woman would advance
from preliminary rounds by 50 percent, and substantially increased the
probability that the winner in the final round would be a woman.40
Overlapping disadvantages throughout the lifecycle contribute to
the persistence of gender inequality in the world of work. Overlapping
disadvantages refer to the systematic exclusion that many people face as a
result of multiple inequalities that limit their life chances.41 These are often
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associated with compounding factors such as gender, age, income, sexual
orientation, ethnicity and race. Women often face multiple constraints to
their agency at once, and this affects both women who are and are not in
the labor force. The Venn diagram depicted in Figure 5 highlights the challenges visually, using Demographic and Health Surveys Program (DHS)
data from fifty-four countries. When looking at whether women tolerate
domestic violence, their ability to control household spending, and early
marriage—all indicators of agency—45 percent of women experience
two constraints or more, and 13 percent experience all three. These are all
manifestations of gender inequality and the adverse repercussions associated with constrained agency. In the case of gender-based violence, the
repercussions are manifold. In addition to damages to health, violence also
reduces women’s economic opportunities. In Nagpur, India, for example,
women had to forgo seven days of paid work, on average, as a result of a
violent episode.42
Figure 5: Overlapping constraints in fifty-four countries
Source: DHS data for 54 developing countries
These deprivations are compounded by marginalized identities.
Another World Bank report, “Inclusion Matters,” illustrates these intersecting
axes of exclusion. An individual who is female, lives in poverty, and belongs
to an indigenous community is likely to face a greater burden of overlapping
disadvantages than an individual who only has one of these characteristics. In
Guatemala, the gender gap in illiteracy is four times higher among the indigenous population than for the “ladino” population.43 A recent multi-country
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analysis of census data in Latin American and African countries shows that
the interaction between being female and belonging to a minority group
(defined as native speakers of a minority language within the country) has
a compounding effect on educational attainment.44 Poverty is perhaps one
of the most pervasive axes of exclusion that compounds gender disadvantage. Research in rural India has found
that parents express a desire to educate
their sons and daughters equally, but A recent multi-country
favor sons when resource constraints analysis of census data in
require choices.45 In other words, while Latin American and African
norms may favor boys’ education in
countries shows that the
many settings, a family’s circumstances
determine whether the norm translates interaction between being
to outcomes. When households can female and belonging to a
afford for male and female children to minority group (defined as
receive equal education, pro-male biases native speakers of a minority
may exist without causing differential
language within the country)
access to education. When economic
stress or shocks influence household’s has a compounding effect on
decision making, however, families are educational attainment.
more likely to act on male prioritization by withholding girls from school or
reserving resources for boys to attend fee-based private schools, while girls
attend public schools often associated with lower educational quality. In
other words, the interactions between economic and social-cultural factors
can be important.
Legal restrictions also frequently limit women’s access to economic
opportunities. The extent of legal discrimination varies across regions
and is most common in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia,
and sub-Saharan Africa (as shown in Figure 6). As the World Bank and
International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) 2014 study, Women, Business
and the Law (WBL), demonstrates, formal barriers can restrict a woman’s
ability to access institutions, own or use property, build credit, or get a job.
Of the 143 economies studied in 2013, 128 had at least one legal difference, and the number of differences exceeds ten in twenty-seven of these
economies. When exploring restrictions on women’s work, women who are
not pregnant or nursing are prohibited working in several occupations. For
example, in the Russian Federation, women are barred from 456 types of
jobs, including freight train conductor, bulldozer machinist, and mining rig
operator.46 In economies with higher numbers of legal gender differences,
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women are less likely to participate in the labor force, own businesses, or
serve in management.47
Figure 6: Percentage of countries with different numbers of sex-based legal
differentiations by regions, and regional average numbers of legal differences
Source: Women, Business and the Law team analyses of WBL 2014 data.
Multi-Sectoral Solutions to Address Jobs Challenges
Given the sizeable and multiple challenges to gender equality in the
world of work, how can we surmount them? While there are no ‘magic
formulas,’ effectively tackling gender inequality at work is likely to be an
integral part of addressing a country’s jobs challenges. Overcoming gender
inequality involves understanding local contexts and developing bold,
coordinated actions to address multiple
constraints. It requires investments
In economies with higher
in people’s skills and capabilities and
numbers of legal gender
support for their abilities to contribute
differences, women are less
to higher productivity activities and
economy-wide competitiveness over
likely to participate in the
labor force, own businesses, or their lifecycles.
Leveling the playing field through
serve in management
government policies is one important
element needed to address gender
inequality at work. Here in particular, a lifecycle approach is required.
Biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, and early
biases can start trajectories of inequality that become increasingly difficult
and costly to resolve. Policy actions across the lifecycle to advance gender
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equality in the world of work will typically include broad-based actions that
both impact women’s economic opportunities and deliver public benefits,
as well as targeted actions to remove or offset gender-specific constraints.
During childhood and youth, policy actions can tackle inequalities
through education and training. A growing body of evidence demonstrates
the value of conditional cash transfers, with special incentives around
girls’ educational outcomes as a demand-side tool for boosting equality
in schooling. Examples of supply-side strategies that have shown positive
results by addressing gender-specific constraints include increasing the proximity of schools to homes in Afghanistan and building “girl-friendly” schools
in Burkina Faso that improve facilities and incentives for girls’ education
Overcoming gender
while engaging parents and teachers.48
Education systems can also challenge inequality involves
stereotypes through curricula. Tanzania’s understanding local contexts
education system, for instance, includes and developing bold,
substantial gender-related material in coordinated actions to address
its secondary school civics curriculum.49
multiple constraints.
Multi-component skills development
programs can also make a difference. In
Liberia, a World Bank-supported youth employment program with gendersensitive features that provided vocational and life skills training and job
placement support boosted young women’s employment by 47 percent and
average weekly earnings by 80 percent.50
For women of working age, actions can focus on removing legal and
formal barriers to getting paid work. Reforms should focus on removing restrictions to women’s work in labor and employment; removing unequal status
provisions, such as head-of-household provisions, in family law; allowing and
encouraging women’s ownership and joint-titling of land; enforcing equitable
inheritance laws; and applying nondiscrimination principles to customary
laws. Most countries have made significant progress toward more equitable
laws over recent decades, but there has been less progress in some regions,
notably in the Middle East and North Africa and in South Asia.
Targeted policies can address less visible constraints. Time is a critical one. The appropriate policy approach depends on the extent to which
women’s work is concentrated in formal versus informal employment and
the specific demands that consume women’s time in a particular country
context. Strategies can include establishing family-friendly leave and flexibility policies, extending affordable childcare and early child development
programs, and promoting technology and infrastructure developments
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to reduce burdens on women’s time for household chores and care work.
The World Bank estimates that adding one year of preschool education in
Turkey, for example, could increase female labor force participation by nine
percent.51 Father-friendly leave policies in the UK and Nordic countries have
also strengthened opportunities and incentives for men to share in domestic
responsibilities. A World Bank-supported program in Cambodia reduced
women’s time devoted to collecting firewood and increased their incomes
by selling low-cost, fuel-efficient cook stoves through local female vendors.52
During elderly years, governments can support equitable old-age
labor regulations combined with appropriate social protection. The importance of this demographic cannot be ignored. In developing countries, the
old age dependency ratio is expected to increase by 144 percent between
2010 and 2050, whereas the child dependency ratio is projected to fall by
20 percent during the same period. This translates to increased elderly care
responsibilities, most of which will likely fall on working aged women, as
well as potential challenges for elderly people themselves. Many governments have removed gender differences in retirement and pension ages,
but gaps remain in forty-nine countries. World Bank analysis showed that
mandatory earlier retirement causes early labor force withdrawal of urban
women in China. Women in the formal sector face mandatory retirement
at age fifty in blue-collar occupations and at age fifty-five in white-collar
jobs.53 In developing countries, many
elderly women are outside the scope
Government actions alone,
of formal social protection, although
studies in Brazil and South Africa have
however, will not be
sufficient. The private sector shown that pensions received by elderly
women significantly increased grandaccounts for nine out of ten
daughters’ education and health.54
jobs in the developing world, More policy experimentation is needed
primarily as self-employment; on interventions for updating older
therefore promoting proactive women’s and men’s skills and increasing
private sector leadership is a connections to the labor market.
Government
actions
alone,
critical part of addressing the
however, will not be sufficient. The
jobs challenge.
private sector accounts for nine out
of ten jobs in the developing world,
primarily as self-employment; therefore promoting proactive private sector
leadership is a critical part of addressing the jobs challenge. It can help remove
constraints faced by women employees and entrepreneurs in two ways: by
improving working conditions and access to job opportunities within firms
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and by helping women entrepreneurs’ grow their business and gain access to
financial services. In fact, forward-looking companies increasingly recognize
that this is not only the right thing to do, it is also good for the bottom
line. A recent IFC report highlights how investing in women’s employment
can bring dramatic benefits to both women and businesses.55 Programs that
improve work-life balance for women and men, such as childcare support,
health services, and alternative work arrangements, can ameliorate the time
constraints women face due to domestic and childcare responsibilities. These
relatively low-cost measures can dramatically reduce staff turnover and absenteeism through increased employee satisfaction. Nalt Enterprise, a Vietnamese
garment factory, reduced staff turnover by one third by offering an on-site
kindergarten and health services for its primarily female workforce.56
Companies can also do more to counteract the occupational segregation that occurs, in part, due to different educational streams and variations
in aspirations. Increasing women’s access to traditionally male-dominated
sectors—such as chemicals, construction, and mining—which tend to be
more productive and higher paying, is one such example. Some examples
of successful interventions include: publicizing training and job opportunities for women through active community outreach, ensuring that job
advertisements make it clear that women and men can apply, installing
female restrooms and other women-only facilities, and setting numerical
targets for the inclusion of women in recruitment and selection.
Private sector actors can also reduce barriers to women’s entry into
management and non-traditional roles by providing targeted training and
skills development. This, in turn, gives businesses a competitive advantage
by expanding the pool of job candidates and ensuring that women are
part of the “talent pipeline.” Inclusive recruitment policies have helped
Odebrecht, a global construction and engineering firm, to expand its pool
of job candidates and increase the quality of its workforce. It has achieved
this by strongly encouraging local men and women to apply for its prehire skills training program, even though construction is often considered
a “man’s job.” As a consequence, women represent up to 10 percent of
workers on Odebrecht’s sites, compared to a national industry average of 3
to 5 percent. Site managers attest that new women recruits have improved
productivity and teamwork, while for women in the local community; it is
a welcome opportunity to learn new skills and earn higher salaries.
Improving women’s access to financial services is a central part of
improving gender equality in the world of work. In this regard, commercial
banks have an important role to play, particularly in banking women entrepreneurs. Worldwide, women own one third of small and medium entervol.38:2 summer 2014
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prises (SMEs), which are top drivers of job creation in emerging markets,
although evidence suggests that only 6 percent of the SME banking portfolio is allocated to women. Overall, women face a global credit gap of
between USD 260 and 320 billion.57 And according to the World Bank
Group’s “Global Financial Development Report 2014: Financial Inclusion,”
women in developing economies are 20 percent less likely than men to
have a bank account, even though they make 80 percent of consumer
goods purchasing decisions.58 Without financial access, women are at a
disadvantage when it comes to growing their businesses, which in turn
denies economies jobs and tax revenue.
The World Bank Group is helping to make headway in addressing
women’s access-to-finance needs by producing evidence-based policy advice
for governments, working with regulators, engaging directly with banks to
better serve women, and providing capacity-building training to women
entrepreneurs. In addition, the IFC recently started the first women’s bond
program, raising around USD 165 million to increase access to finance
for women-owned businesses. The program is part of the IFC’s Banking
on Women initiative, which was created in 2010 to encourage development partners and financial institutions to profitably and sustainably serve
women-owned businesses.59
These types of programs help increase the number of women with
financial power and raise awareness about the challenges women entrepreneurs face. Financial service providers can improve access for women
business owners by changing or reducing the burden of collateral requirements, developing adequate products, linking women to mentorship and
networking opportunities, providing business training and financial education, and expanding financial service delivery through mobile phones.
Global action is needed to help fill knowledge gaps about the
problems of, and solutions to, gender inequality in the world of work.
This involves addressing data gaps in such areas as earnings disparities,
control over assets, and gender-based violence in homes and workplaces.
But it also means contributing to stronger evidence on what works for
increasing gender equality in the world of work. The World Bank recently
launched enGENDER IMPACT, a gateway to its gender-related impact
evaluations.60 This effort complements gender innovation and evaluation
initiatives taking place in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the
Caribbean, and efforts by the IFC to highlight good business practices.
To address constraints to gender equality at work over the lifecycle, a multipronged approach that engages a range of actors is needed.
Eliminating legal discrimination and improving public service delivery to
vol.38:2 summer 2014
persistent gender inequality in the world of work
meet gender-specific needs are key starting points. Moreover, as the largest
source of jobs, the private sector must be engaged in order to improve
gender equality in the world of work. The agenda is challenging but the
costs of inaction are too great to ignore. f
The authors gratefully acknowledge Alicia Hammond for her excellent support
on this article.
ENDNOTES
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5 C. Goldin, “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and
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6 World Development Indicators, 2011 data.
7 Jeni Klugman and Matthew Morton, “Gender at Work, A companion to the World Development
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8 S. Bhalla and R. Kaur, “Labour Force Participation of Women in India: Some Facts, Some
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9 Jeni Klugman and Matthew Morton, “Gender at Work, A companion to the World Development
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10 Esther Duflo, “Women’s Empowerment and Economic Development,” Working Paper No.
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11 Naila Kabeer and Luisa Natali, “Gender Equality and Economic Growth: Is there a Win-Win?”
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13 World Bank, “The Economic Advancement of Women in Jordan: a Country Gender Assessment”
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18 International Labour Organization, “Global Employment Trends for Women,” 2012.
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33 “Unpaid family worker: usually a person who works without pay in an economic enterprise
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vol.38:2 summer 2014
persistent gender inequality in the world of work
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42 Ibid.
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51 World Bank, “Programmatic Concept Note: Turkey: Women’s Access to Economic
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