Promoting women s participation in economic activity: A global picture Ana Revenga Senior Director Poverty and Equity Global Practice, The World Bank Lima, June 27, 2016
Presentation Outline 1. Why should we care about gender equality?: Smart economics 2. Observed changes: What drove changes? Why does it matter? 3. A proposed theory of change: Where does action matter? 4. Policies and interventions: What works to increase women s participation in economic activity? 5. New and upcoming challenges: What to prepare for? 2
Gender equality matters in its own right The Empowerment Case Gender equality is a development goal in its own right. Access to economic opportunities is intrinsically and instrumentally empowering. Women and men should be equally able to define their desired goals, take advantage of opportunities related to them, and act on their goals- to have and use agency. 3
Gender equality is smart economics: gender equality can support growth The Development Case Women s income can contribute to household wellbeing (including declines in poverty and resilience to shocks) Women s labor force participation has positive impacts for the next generation Gender inequality has productivity costs: Today Human resources are underused or misallocated Tomorrow Disincentives to invest in the next generation 4
The average income loss due to gender gaps in economic activity is 16% Peru: 13.6% Thailand: 10.6% Australia: 12.3% Source: Cuberes and Teignier (2015). Aggregate effects of Gender gaps in the labor market: A quantitative estimate
but growth can promote gender equality (to an extent) Economic development: Generates more and better economic opportunities for women. Thailand: Structural transformation (1980-2000s) led to a rising employment share in the industrial and service sectors. Education: Growing economies create a higher demand for educated workers, and as education increases, more women go into paid work. Latin America: This increase in human capital explains 42% of the increase in female labor force participation in the 1975-2010 period. Fertility: Education expansions has been accompanied with a later age of marriage and a smaller number of children. Japan: Birth rates went from 2.2 in the 1970s to 1.3 in 2014. In the same period female tertiary enrollment went from 16%-58%. 6
Observed changes 7
Female labor force participation rate (modeled ILO estimate 15+) Labor force participation 80 Female labor force participation has increased in most APEC participating economies since the 1990s 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 Vietnam Peru China APEC OECD High Income Chile Malaysia 40 35 30 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Staff calculations based on World Development Indicators 8
but not always changes in labor force participation of women correspond to GDP levels Latin American Economies East Asia and the Pacific Economies 40 50 60 70 80 Female Labor Force Participation Rate 2013 Peru 2005 1995 Chile Mexico 40 50 60 70 80 2013 2005 Japan 1995 Indonesia Malaysia 4 6 8 10 12 Log. GDP per capita (constant 2005 US$) 1995 2005 2013 Chile 1995 Chile 2005 Chile 2013 Mexico 1995 Mexico 2005 Mexico 2013 Peru 1995 Peru 2005 Peru 2013 4 6 8 10 12 Log. GDP per capita (constant 2005 US$) 1995 2005 2013 Indonesia 1995 Indonesia 2005 Indonesia 2013 Japan 1995 Japan 2005 Japan 2013 Malaysia 1995 Malaysia 2005 Malaysia 2013 Source: Staff calculations based on World Development Indicators 9
Female labor force with secondary education (% of FLF) APEC economies reduced gender gaps in education while increasing educated female labor force Changes in FLFP and gender gaps in education in APEC economies 70 Philippines 2013 60 50 40 Peru 1995 Chile 2013 Peru 2013 Peru 1995 Mexico 2013 30 20 Indonesia 2013 Mexico 1995 Philippines 2004 10 Indonesia 1996 0 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1 1.05 1.1 1.15 Gender Parity Index, secondary gross school enrollment Source: WDI 2015 10
But gaps persist in terms of learning outcomes Gender gap in Math by economy and average PISA math score, 2012 Honk Kong, China Chinese Taipei Source: WDI 2015 11
But women are still under-represented in STEM fields The share of women graduating from STEM sectors is well below the one of women graduating in the education sector, across all income levels. 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Philippines Mexico United States New Zealand Rep. Korea Australia Japan Chile Education Science Social science, business and law Source: Genderstats, The World Bank 2015 12
When it comes to business and entrepreneurship, gender inequalities persist Women lead only 1/3 of firms (on average), and they are over represented on small size firms 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 29.3 18.7 14.7 21.1 5.1 10.9 15.3 0.0 EAP ECA OECD LAC MNA SA SSA Firmas Firms with con female participacion participation de mujeres in ownership en la propiedad Firmas Firms with lideradas female por top mujeres manager Firmas Firms with con majority mayoria female de propiedad ownership femenina Source: Genderstats, The World Bank 2015 13
A gender and income gap in access to financial services limits access to credit Only 58% of women worldwide have a bank account for savings, manage of income, or access to credit Source: FINDEX. The World Bank. 2015 14
In sum: Women and men work in different parts of the economic sphere, with different productivity and earnings As wage workers women are concentrated in low productivity and low value-added sectors and/or jobs as entrepreneurs, women s firms are smaller, are concentrated in low productivity or low return sectors, and female entrepreneurs have lower access to credit. as farmers, women work smaller land plots, produce lower value crops, have lower access to inputs, and get lower returns to their investment 9
A proposed theory of change: Where do action matters? 16
Many factors interact to determine gender outcomes Analytical framework of the World Development Report 2012 policies Gender Equality INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES MARKETS HOUSEHOLDS AGENCY ENDOWMENTS FORMAL INSTITUTIONS
Progress in economic opportunities is limited by several barriers MARKETS Differential access to labor/credit/land markets, MARKETS and networks INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS INFORMAL Social norms on INSTITUTIONS care/market work FORMAL INSTITUTIONS FORMAL Biased INSTITUTIONS law/regulations, and limited infrastructure HOUSEHOLDS Differential allocation time/resources ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AGENCY ENDOWMENTS
Formal institutions: there are laws that prevent women from accessing certain jobs Percentage of economies per region with restrictions on the types of jobs women can do Source: Women, Business and the Law database, World Development Indicators database 19
Informal institutions: Social norms favor men in many places When jobs are scarce, men should have more rights to a job than women Malaysia
Informal institutions: Social norms favor men in many places If a woman earns more money than her husband, it s almost certain to cause problems Malaysia
Markets: Different access to jobs, credit, land Credit: + gender bias economies - credit for firms owned by women compared with similar male-owned firms female entrepreneurs are more likely to opt out of the formal credit granting process because they believe their loan application will be denied. Jobs: Experiments done sending comparable CVs to job ads show women receive fewer call backs than men when applying to jobs with equal qualifications and profile, especially in high-status or male-dominated jobs.
In sum: Change for change to happen address the underlying factors of observed gender inequalities Focus as much on increasing women s ability to use opportunities as into the structure of opportunities itself. Focus on women and men Focus on gaps that do not disappear with growth Target determinants of gender inequality Focus on information gaps Focus on productivity traps Focus on norms and beliefs
Policies and interventions 24
Policies and actions are needed to tackle gender inequality But we need to know more about policies: Policies that work: Policies with documented effects (intentional or not). Promising policies: Policies that need to be tested in developing contexts or scaled-up. Inefficient policies: Policies that are costly and have not been tested, policies that are not working but are still in place. 25
Policies that work (some of them) Demand-driven job services (skills training with internships, wage subsidies, job search support, public works) Savings and credit schemes combined (instead of microcredit alone) Childcare and early childhood education expansion (but not in all cases) Land titling and land rights (formalization, ownership rights, inheritance) 26
Example: Childcare The estimated effects of childcare programs on women s employment are positive and significant in most cases, particularly in developing economies 40 30 20 10 0-10 -20 27
Promising policies and activities (some) Mentoring programs (for female entrepreneurs and to help women getting into new sectors): promising results when combined with training, with a focus on or specific/tailored advice Information: providing the right information, and information women need, access to information devices (mobile phones) for farmers and microentrepreneurs to better learn about price and demand information. Associations and networks: such as group grants, cooperatives, networks of producers and national buyers and supply chains Maternity and Parental leave: mandatory and at least partially funded by the state seems to work as it formalizes the sharing of care duties (and shifts employers biases) 28
Example: Maternity leave The estimated effects of maternity leave on women s employment and earnings are positive, but very limited to certain economies and the conditions under which leave is offered (funding, duration) 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0-0.05 Europe (17 countries) US (California) OECD (parental leave) Canada 29
Inefficient policies (some tested, some not evaluated) Vocational skills training or on-the-job training (on their own) few skills training programs on their own have shown positive effects on employability, and only partially in activation, with effects disappearing fast Microloans results in areas such as household consumption or women s reported autonomy and agency, but minimum to null increase in economic activity. Firms remain at subsistence level or die within the short/medium term. Demand-side interventions awards to employers, enforced regulations on equal pay, enforced regulations to not discriminate at hiring. 30
Entrepreneurship promotion: microcredit and training Microloans without training and training without financing or other elements have negative effects on profits. Programs combining them all are more successful in terms of revenues. 0.15 Business training (with or without credit) has almost no impact on business survival. 60% 0.1 40% 0.05 0 20% -0.05 0% -0.1-20% -40% -60% -80% -0.15-0.2-0.25-0.3-0.35 Source: Own calculations. 31
New and upcoming challenges 32
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055 2060 2065 2070 2075 2080 2085 2090 2095 2100 Axis Child dependency ratio (ratio of population aged 0-14 per 100 population 15-64) Old-age dependency ratio (ratio of population aged 65+ per 100 population 15-64) Rapid aging and declining fertility The shifting from the child/old age dependency ratio will represent a burden on the demand for care, and a shortage of care providers (projection for selected APEC Economies 1950-2010) 100 90 Philippines Malaysia Mexico 80 70 60 50 Peru Indonesia China Chile New Zealand Mexico Japan Chile China New Zealand Peru Malaysia 40 Russian Federation Russian Federation Indonesia 30 Philippines 20 10 0 Source: UN Population Projections, latest revision medium fertility scenario. 33
The most effective policy mix will vary by country, but there are common areas to consider Providing accessible, affordable and quality formal care services Continuing efforts to make work-life balance a reality Creating leave policies that support the family as care providers (paid, unpaid) Promoting flexible work arrangements Recognizing, supporting, and improving family-provided care Considering allowances and tax incentives for caregivers and/or recipients Improving pension credits for caregivers systems (coverage, targeting, and generosity) Promotion of participation in the labor market of the young old as caregivers of the oldest old 34
E-literacy and access to digital dividends 80% of the population in developing economies. Women are 14% less likely to own a mobile phone than men, on average. In developing economies, men are 2.7 times more likely than women to work in the ICT sector and 7.6 times more likely to be in ICT occupations. Of online shop owners using Alibaba in China, 4/10 shop owners are women, 19% were previously unemployed, 7% were farmers. Alibaba is estimated to support an additional 2 million jobs, and each shop owners employs another 2 people. 35
E-literacy and access to digital dividends Digital technologies help to make work arrangements more flexible, connecting women to work, and generating new opportunities in online work, e-commerce, and the sharing economy. Technology can help improve women s access to and accumulation and recognition of ownership of productive assets. Mobile money and online learning can be beneficial for women with limited physical mobility and lack of agency over resources Technology-driven shifts in skills demand can reduce wage gaps, especially among the better educated. But it requires focus on: Women s lack of functional literacy and e-literacy Lack of access to the means to access digital dividends (phone, computer, time) Necessary reforms to make tele-work and IT work as good as regular office work. 36
Thank you.