Journal Special Issue
Women’s Work

Routes to social and economic empowerment

In recent decades, trends in female labour force participation rates have been very heterogeneous across developing countries, despite widespread economic growth, fertility decline, and narrowing gender gaps in education.

However, globally, gender gaps in wages and labour force participation are persistent regardless of specific country context. Women often occupy the worst-paid jobs with the least protection, while gender-related social norms often hinder women’s access to better opportunities.

How do the processes of economic development and social change affect women’s labour market outcomes? What forces can bring about opportunities for women’s work that truly enhance their economic empowerment?

Journal Special Issue
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Editor

Ashwini Deshpande

Janneke Pieters

Kunal Sen

Maria C. Lo Bue

Details

February 2024

World Development, Elsevier,

© 2024 UNU-WIDER

Region

Developing Countries

Table of contents
  1. 1. Women’s Work – Routes to Social and Economic Empowerment: Introduction to the Special Issue
    Ashwini Deshpande, Maria C. Lo Bue, Janneke Pieters, Kunal Sen
  2. 2. Maternity benefits mandate and women’s choice of work in Vietnam
    Khoa Vu, Paul Glewwe
    More Working Paper | Maternity benefits mandate and women’s choice of work in Viet Nam
  3. 3. A macro analysis of gender segregation and job quality in Latin America
    Diksha Arora, Elissa Braunstein, Stephanie Seguino
    More Working Paper | A macro–micro analysis of gender segregation and job quality in Latin America
  4. 4. Heterogeneous impact of internet availability on female labor market outcomes in an emerging economy: Evidence from Indonesia
    Niken Kusumawardhani, Rezanti Pramana, Nurmala Selly Saputri, Daniel Suryadarma
    More Working Paper | Heterogeneous impact of internet availability on female labour market outcomes in an emerging economy
  5. 5. Motherhood and flexible jobs: Evidence from Latin American countries
    Inés Berniell, Lucila Berniell, Dolores de la Mata, María Edo, Mariana Marchionni
    More Working Paper | Motherhood and flexible jobs
  6. 6. Female education and marriage in Pakistan: The role of financial shocks and marital customs
    Sarah Khan
    More Working Paper | Female education and marriage in Pakistan
  7. 7. Norms that matter: Exploring the distribution of women's work between income generation, expenditure-saving, and unpaid domestic responsibilities in India
    Ashwini Deshpande, Naila Kabeer
    More Working Paper | Norms that matter
Show all

Context

Project

Women's work – routes to economic and social empowerment

Corresponding publications
Policy Brief
| How to create decent work for women
Keywords