atisha kumar research director, justjobsnetwork june … · atisha kumar research director,...

www.justjobsnetwork.org

Atisha KumarResearch Director, JustJobs Network

June 25, 2016


• High economic and social benefits of women in the workforce

• Yet women remain underrepresented in the workforce and in leadership positions

• Several challenges prevent women from working

• A gender wage gap exists across regions and sectors

• Women have fared worse in the global economic crisis

• How can we overcome these challenges


• Advancing women’s equality à Increase in Global GDP by $12 trillion or 11% by 2025

• Giving women economic power shifts spending toward children, education and health

• Increasing the share of household income controlled by women• Changes spending in ways that benefit children and improves social

outcomes

• Business profits increase with women’s economic equality • Leadership opportunities for women à organizational effectiveness• Companies with three or more women in senior management functions

are more effective


• Women account for half the world’s working age population, but only 40% of the labor force

• Globally, 72% of working-age men worked while only 50% of working-age women work

• Female labor force participation has improved over time in some regions, but there is still a long way to go to close the gap


Source: UN Women


Source: Knowledge Center, catalyst.org


• Women remain underrepresented in trade unions• Membership• Leadership positions

• Globally, women make up 20% of the BWI’s membership

• In the U.S., women comprised 45.5 percent of all union members in 2015

• Women occupy a small share of union leadership positions worldwide

• Even in unions where women make up the majority of the membership, representation in union leadership is still disproportionately low


• 90% of countries have some kind of legal restriction on women’s economic activity

• Women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work. • More hours spent in housework and care for children, elderly, and the sick• Less time for market activities

• Women continue to face a higher risk of informal employment than men, as they often have less legal and social protection

• Women’s interests are not represented adequately in the workplace• Example: lack of childcare facilities may prevent women from working


• Women in most countries earn on average only 60 to 75 per cent of men’s wages

• Potential reasons for the gender wage gap include: • Women are more likely to be wage workers and unpaid family workers• Higher likelihood of engaging in low-productivity activities• Increased chanced of working in the informal sector, with less mobility to the

formal sector than men• In some cultures, women may be perceived as economic dependents; • Higher likelihood that women are in unorganized sectors or not represented in

unions

• Even in the apparel sector, where women make up nearly 80% of the workforce, there is gender wage gap

• In India, the share of females in informal apparel and textile firms exceeds those in formal apparel and textile firms


Even in the apparel sector, where women make up nearly 80% of the workforce, there is gender wage gap

In India, the share of females in informal apparel and textile firms exceeds those in formal apparel and textile firms


Industrialized Economies Transition Economies Least Developed Economies

Construction and

Manufacturing

Public Sector

Small-scalemanufacturing sectors Informal sectors

Initial wave of job losses targeted women

disproportionately

Women in Asia have witnesses job losses

Women work longer hours, engage in

dangerous activities


• Easing restrictions on women’s work

• Providing more social and legal protection for women to encourage formal employment

• Increased workplace policies that are targeted toward women

• More emphasis on education and skilling for women

-à Increased leadership at all levels of government, in business and especially in unions

atisha kumar research director, justjobsnetwork june … · atisha kumar research director,...

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