i

Report No 37

Employment and sustainablelivelihoods: A gender perspective

Report prepared at the request of the Gender Officeof the Swedish International DevelopmentCooperation Agency (Sida)

by Rachel Masika with Susan Joekes

September 1996(revised December 1996)

The authors gratefully acknowledge support for the preparation of this report from the SwedishInternational Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). However, the views expressed and any errors oromissions are those of the authors and not of Sida.

BRIDGE (development - gender)Institute of Development Studies

University of SussexBrighton BN1 9RE, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 606261Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202/691647

Email: bridge@ids.ac.ukWebsite: http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge

ISBN: 1 85864 172 1© Institute of Development Studies, Brighton

CONTENTS

Acronyms ................................................................................................................ ii

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................1

1.1 Background to the report ...........................................................................................1

1.2 Structure of report......................................................................................................1

2 Gender, Economic Activity and Equality........................................................2

2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................2

2.2 Why economic activity is important for gender equality...........................................2

2.3 Economic empowerment and gender equality...........................................................3

3 Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods: a Review of Approaches ...8

3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................8

3.2 Employment...............................................................................................................8

3.3 Sustainable livelihoods ..............................................................................................12

4 Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods: Trends and Implications ...17

4.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................17

4.2 Key trends in employment .........................................................................................17

4.3 Changes in livelihood and gender patterns ................................................................20

5 Strategies and Policy Recommendations......................................................23

5.1 Policy lessons from the review of approaches...........................................................23

5.2 Priorities for employment ..........................................................................................23

5.3 Enhancing livelihoods ...............................................................................................25

Bibliography...........................................................................................................26

Appendices.............................................................................................................30

A1 Table showing male/female labour force participation ......................................30

A2 Survey of empirical findings on sources of earnings differentials by sex ..........31

A3 Production and employment in the informal sector - selected countries ............32

A4 Production and employment in the informal sector - selected countries ............33

A5 World Bank strategy: enhancing women's participation in economic

development...............................................................................................................34

A6 ILO strategy: gender, poverty and employment.................................................35

A7 Equal remuneration convention, 1951 (No. 100) ...............................................36

Acronyms

BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee

CIGPs conventional income generation programmes

EPZ Export Processing Zones

FAO Food Agricultural Organisation

FLFP female labour force participation

GAD Gender and Development

IDB International Development Board

ILO International Labour Office

NGO non-governmental organisation

NRM natural resources management

SEWA Self-Employed Women's Association

SEZ Special Economic Zones

Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

UN United Nations

WID Women in Development

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1 Introduction

1.1 Background to the Report

This briefing was commissioned by the Gender Office of the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Co-operation Agency (Sida), to initiate discussion within Sida about thesignificance of gender for strategies aimed at promoting employment and sustainable livelihoodsfor the poor in developing countries. Sida recognises that employment as conventionallyunderstood accounts for only a 'small fraction' of work in the poor countries and that attention tolivelihoods is preferable, encompassing all forms of activities which ensure survival and enhanceliving conditions (Sida, 1995). Sida acknowledges that there is a need for comprehensivemultidimensional strategies to address poverty issues in developing countries.

The relaxation of a focus on employment derives from a body of research which has argued thatthe concept of 'sustainable livelihoods' is more useful in understanding the realities of life facingthe poor. Attention is drawn to activities that do not normally fall within the standard definitionsof 'work' or 'employment', but nevertheless enhance the well being of the poor in developingcountries and enable them to survive and cope with economic stress and crisis. The need tosupport the diverse coping and survival strategies of the poor and promote sustainablelivelihoods is increasingly emphasised in development interventions.

In the general debates about employment and sustainable livelihoods there is little analysis ofgender issues. The Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference for Women identifiedequality of opportunity and treatment of women in employment as a critical area of concern. Italso highlighted the inequalities in women's access to and participation in the creation ofeconomic structures and policies.

1.2 Structure of Report

This paper looks at the gender dimensions of both employment and livelihood focusedapproaches. Section 2 provides an overview of key debates and shifts in thinking about therelationship between the economic activities of women and gender equality. Section 3 reviewsthe conceptual approaches to employment and sustainable livelihoods by giving a brief history ofhow these terms developed and how they have intersected with gender analysis. Section 4highlights the major trends in employment and in the ability and capability of the poor to securesustainable livelihoods in the context of economic restructuring and globalisation, drawing outthe gender consequences of these trends. Section 5 discusses the strategies adopted by specificagencies to increase employment and enhance sustainable livelihoods for women, and suggestslessons from these experiences. The report concludes by setting out ways in which genderanalysis could be brought more forcefully into strategies to promote employment and sustainablelivelihoods.

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2 Gender, Economic Activity and Equality

2.1 Overview

The relationship between economic empowerment, often discussed in relation to employmentand income, and gender equality is not straightforward. Increased access to employment andincome for women does not readily translate into an improved status or bargaining power forwomen. Although involvement in economic activity is a necessary condition for the attainmentof gender equality in the economic sphere, it is in itself not sufficient, partly because not alleconomic activity is empowering, and partly because additional measures are required topromote gender equality in other spheres (legal, political etc.). The pursuit of gender equality isbound to be a complex process since inequality is multi-causal phenomenon, linked to the intra-household decision-making processes and influenced by both market signals and institutionalnorms. Whilst access to economic activity is important in this pursuit, the key concern whichdrives this review is to identify what forms of economic activity most enhance women's positionand under what terms and conditions.

2.2 Why Economic Activity is Important for Gender Equality

Gender equality is a multi-faceted concept which implies equality of opportunities in the legal,political, social and economic dimensions as well as equality in personal relationships betweenmen and women. Economic equality can be defined as the ability of men and women tosupport the same standard of living for themselves over their lifetime. Men and women can onlyhave equal chances for achieving the same standard of living if they have the same distributionof opportunity and outcomes throughout their life (see eg. Folbre, 1985). More precisely,economic equality will exist only when employment opportunities and outcomes, earnings andreturns to labour are equal by gender, whether in the formal or informal sector and all acrosstypes of economic activity. Gender equality in an economic sense requires equal access toresources (credit, market opportunities, education etc.) and equal engagement in all aspects ofthe economic activity. It is only when the conditions and terms of the economic activity are thesame for both men and women that the returns generated are equal. Moreover, whateverdifferences exist in market and transaction costs as between the genders must not bias netreturns.

The economic dimension is central to achieving gender equality overall. Without economicequality women will always have an incentive to buy into the 'patriarchal bargain'. As long aswomen are relatively disadvantaged in economic terms they will continue to be drawn intopartnerships with men who earn more and have more resources in exchange for the provision ofservices within the household. As a result, women are often perceived as secondary members ofthe household with consequences for women's bargaining power in wider political and legalcontexts.

Patriarchal partnerships also limit women's opportunities to secure employment and a livelihoodin the short and long term, creating a vicious circle. There are repercussions in terms of theinvestments made for boys and girls which carry through into social ranking and politicalparticipation in later life and determine the life chances of individuals, particularly in terms ofearning capacities and access to resources. For instance, families often prefer to invest ineducation for boys because the perceived returns from their market activity are higher than thosefor girls.

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2.3 Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality

Economic empowerment based on economic activity is a step towards gender equality, but it isnot synonymous with it. Nevertheless, the underlying assumption of many interventionstargeting women is that engagement in economic activity will translate into economicempowerment (Safilios-Rothschild, 1990; Goetz and Sen Gupta, 1996). Such assumptions reston the belief that women secure the benefits of their involvement in an economic activity.However, research has shown that outcomes vary according to both the type of activity (see box1) and women's household circumstances.

Box 1: Who Controls Revenues from Women's Labour?

In Bangladesh, rural women are not accepted in the market place. Though they work to contribute tofamily well-being in the baari (homestead or family compound), they rely on men to conduct most markettransactions. Thus income generation is normally attributed to men regardless of the degree of women'slabour contribution. For example, a traditional rural activity commonly funded by credit is paddyprocessing. For this activity a woman takes credit and gives the money to her husband to purchaseunprocessed paddy at the market. The woman, sometimes with the help of other family membersincluding her husband, processes the paddy into rice or muri (puffed rice). The husband then takes theprocessed paddy to market for sale. Although the activity is funded by the woman's credit and shecontributes labour to the product sold, the economic control of the activity rests with the man by virtue ofhis access to the market.� Ackerly, 1995

With respect to type of activity, the literature indicates that contractual, steady, regular, well paidwork or occupations are most empowering for women while irregular, low or non-paid work isless empowering (Acharya and Bennett, 1982; Beneria and Roldan, 1987). Work of the latterkind is also less likely to be regarded as productive work by men and women alike. Theconcentration of women in informal sector activities and in unpaid family labour and otherinferior forms of employment suggests that their engagement in economic activity may often notbe empowering. Research on agricultural activity has paid little attention to empowermentissues, but has focused on women's relative lack of property and land rights, with similarconsequences in terms of women's relative lack of control of the returns to their labour.

Less research has been done into the effects of household structures and composition on thepossibilities of empowerment from work. Female heads of households seem likely to be ableto control the returns to their labour, according to research in the Caribbean (Joekes, 1987).Yet the rate of return to their labour, i.e. the level of income over which female heads ofhousehold have control, is likely to be less than that of other women. An econometric study inMorocco shows unequivocally that female heads of households earn lower wages than women inmale-headed households with equal education and qualifications. National level data shows thatfemale headed households dependent on women's earnings have low incomes (Belghazi, 1996)even though overall female headed households are not in aggregate economically disadvantaged.In many other countries the evidence is that female headed households are on average poorerthan others (BRIDGE, 1995). A further disadvantage in terms of livelihood relates to reciprocitywithin social networks. Because female heads may be less able to participate in social networksthere is limited reciprocity in terms of material resources. There is some evidence, for example,that social networks are breaking down with the rise of female household headship in India(Lingham, 1994, cited by Davies, 1996). Women in consensual relationships are also morelikely to have control of the benefits of their labour than women in a legal marriage.

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The evidence on the effects of other household circumstances on the empowerment of womenespecially the economic status of the women's partner, are mixed. Some research notes thatwives obliged to support the household because of men's inability to contribute economicallymay have a relatively high degree of decision-making power (Beneria and Roldan, 1987). Bycontrast, other research drawing on evidence from Greece, Honduras and Kenya has found that 'awife's earned income does not become a valuable and powerful resource that wins her decision-making power and equality in the division of labour' unless her husband feels secure in hissuperior position and fulfils his breadwinning role (Safilios-Rothschild, 1990). A study ofworking women in a low income community in Korea found that men in relatively steady jobsput pressure on their wives not to take out steady employment but to opt for subsidiary, insecure,less empowering work (Kim, 1994). This seems consistent with the latter findings in suggestingthat men who are economically secure may resist their wives empowerment throughemployment. In Asia (and also to a lesser extent in Latin America and the Caribbean), themajority of women workers in the sectors which are the source of most formal job opportunitiesfor women tend to be young and unmarried, and are often required by social norms to turn over alarge part of their earnings to their parents. In this case, the woman's socially dependent statusundermines the potentially empowering character of a well paid, contractual employmentposition. In order for women to achieve economic equality, they have to be engaged in aneconomic activity that is of an empowering kind. As the above examples show, an economicactivity is not empowering if the benefits are diverted from women, or the returns are not equalfor men and women.

The concept of empowerment in terms of control over benefits of employment and livelihoodhas been widely applied to credit programmes. Research has moved away from the simplisticview that all credit is empowering to an understanding that credit is not always under the controlof women. The extension of credit to women may not bring the same returns to women as formen because they have a different profile of activities (Box 1). Goetz and Sen Gupta (1996)show that, in South Asia, a high proportion of individual loans targeted at women are co-optedby men. Access to credit is nevertheless empowering to some women. On balance, it has apositive effect on female income earning activities and on ownership of non-land assets (WorldBank, 1995b: see Table 1).

Table 1:Welfare effects of Grameen Bank loans (percentage increase)

Welfare Change Effect of maleborrowing

Effect of femaleborrowing

Increase in boys schoolingIncrease in girls schoolingIncrease in per capita expenditureReduction in recent fertilityIncrease in women's labour supply to cash-income earning activitiesIncrease in women's non land assets

7.23.01.87.4

00

6.14.74.33.5

10.419.9

Source: Pitt and Khandker, 1995 (cited by World Bank, 1995b)

Despite its very wide use in the literature in recent years the term empowerment is rarelydefined. Kabeer (1994) presents a useful discussion of the concept of empowerment (based onan analysis by Lukes), distinguishing between 'power to' and 'power over'. 'Power to' refers todecision-making abilities at the household level. This type of definition is the most commonlyused in the women in development (WID) literature. It is evident in attempts to measure the

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frequency with which women and men make decisions in different areas of household activityand to demonstrate that women are likely to exercise greater decision-making power inhouseholds where they have access to income. A number of studies have demonstrated theselinks between access to income and decision-making power. A study of rural women in Nepaldemonstrated a correlation between cash earning activities and greater decision-making abilitiesof women within the household (Acharya and Bennett, 1982). Similarly, a study of womeninvolved in an array of different economic activities in Mexico City concluded that women'sdecision-making capacities were most enhanced when they were in steady, relatively well-paidactivities (Beneria and Roldan,1987).

Both WID approaches in the 1970/1980s and current gender and development (GAD)approaches recognise the importance of access to income and employment as key to achievinggender equality. Consistent with the 'power to' definition noted above, WID inspired projectsaimed at empowerment focused on individual status. Such approaches translated into supportfor income-generation and did not analyse the implications for empowerment of the terms ofengagement in economic activity. The sustainability or commercial viability of suchprogrammes was not carefully thought out. Income-generating projects for women came to beseen as welfare programmes. Heavily subsidised by governments and development agencies,these programmes were commercially unsustainable and in effect perpetuated women'sdependence on men (Buvinic, 1986; Razavi and Miller, 1995; Mayoux, 1995). Box 2 presents acritique of income-generation projects with reference to their desired 'empowering'characteristics, from a feminist perspective.

Box 2: Feminist Critique of Conventional Income Generation Programmes(Cigps) in the 1980s

Type of work� CIGPs provided supplementary, part-time work in or near the home which could be combined withwomen's domestic work.� Feminist critique: sought provision of full-time high-income employment outside the home.

Types of skills� CIGPs built on women's traditional skills.� Feminist critique: sought introduction of new skills or preparation for women to enter previously 'male'preserves.

Organisational frameworkCIGPs were carried out through separate women's projects.� Feminist critique: sought a combination of separate women's production groups and collectives whichalso addressed gender issues and integration of women into 'malestream projects'.

Evaluation Criteria� CIGPs were evaluated in vague 'social welfare' terms.� Feminist critique: urged a more rigorous assessment in terms of both income earned and effects ongender inequality.from Mayoux (1995)

The 'power over' aspect of empowerment relates less to individual status and decision-makingauthority and more to collective actions and power over social structures and institutions.Shifting the focus from the interpersonal exercise of power to its institutionalised basis comescloser to the way power has been conceptualised in gender analysis. Most studies ofempowerment from a 'power over' perspective refer mainly to its political dimensions. They

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tend to use conscientisation and women's improved understanding of the structural causes ofsubordination as a measure of empowerment. This is a highly subjective measure. It relies onanecdotal evidence and personal testimonies of empowerment, which have limited operationalvalue for donor agencies.

An exception to this is an evaluation of different micro-credit schemes in Bangladesh by Ackerly(1995). She used a novel measure of economic empowerment taking women's marketknowledge (assumed to be based on market involvement) as a proxy. In a study of 826 loans to613 borrowers of credit programmes run by the Grameen Bank, Save the Children Fund (USA)and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) in Bangladesh, she found that labour,selling and accounting activities all contributed significantly to borrower's knowledge and henceprovided some degree of empowerment. But the most effective 'empowerment promoting'aspects of the programmes were women's personal involvement in selling and in accounting forthe use of the loan activity. This shifts the assessment of empowerment away from women'shousehold status and women's access to complementary productive sources (eg. skills,capital) and on to women's demonstrated capabilities in terms of market options.

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3. Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods: a Review of Approaches

3.1 Overview

Until recently, mainstream development literature and data collection efforts tended to conceiveof economic activity as limited to agricultural activity for rural areas and employment for urbanareas, and to view income from employment or involvement in agricultural production as themain source of well-being. Whilst employment can provide a livelihood, most livelihoods of thepoor are based on multiple activities and sources of food, income and security. In both rural andurban contexts the vast majority of the poor have individual, household and community survivalstrategies that may include employment, but go beyond this to a range of other economicactivities that include informal sector work, exploitation of common property resources, share-rearing of livestock and reliance on social networks for mutual support as well as a number ofother mechanisms for coping in times of crisis (Chambers, 1995; Sida, 1995; Chambers andConway, 1992; Davies, 1996a; Grown and Sebstad, 1989). 'For many of the poor, livelihoodseems to fit better than employment as a concept to capture how poor people live, their realisticpriorities, and what can help them' (Chambers, 1995). 'A livelihood comprises the capabilities,assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities required for a means of living: alivelihood is sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain orenhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the nextgeneration: and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levelsand in the short and long term' (Chambers and Conway, 1992).

The rest of section 3 distinguishes between and gives a brief history of approaches toemployment and sustainable livelihoods. It also indicates how gender has been viewed by thesedifferent approaches.

3.2 Employment

The concept of employment1 applies to productive activity, but precise definition has beenlinked to data collection standards which have changed over time2. In recent years the tendencyhas been to broaden the definition spreading out from paid work in an occupation that takes upmost of a person's time to cover other types of economic activity. Over time, the focus ofgovernments and agencies has shifted from direct measures for employment creationinterventions to indirect measures by way of the orientation of macro-economic policies towardslabour absorption. Employment is losing currency as a policy objective and is being subsumedwithin broader development goals. The exception is that in some countries in Asia , particularlyIndia, extensive employment guarantee schemes are in operation and thought to be generallysuccessful as an income support measure for the poor. Instead a sharper analytical focus on thelabour market has developed, with attention being paid to the supply and demand factors thatinfluence access to labour markets and emphasis on their regulatory aspects (World Bank,1995a; ILO, 1995a).

As far as gender issues are concerned two main developments can be identified. First, thewidening of the term employment had the side effect of capturing some of the economic

1Employment refers to the exchange of labour services for payment in cash or in kind (Grown and Sebstad, 1989).2Similarly the linked concept of 'unemployment' has been subject to periodic review and redefinition. We deal onlyglancingly with this matter in this paper.

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activities women are engaged in that were previously ignored (Grown and Sebstad, 1989; ILO,1994). Second, in accordance with the broadening of the term employment and the inclusion ofmore of women's work, there has been a greater interest in the identification and analysis of thenature of women's participation in employment.

Box 3: Common Explanations for Women's Disadvantage in the Labour Market.

Economic analyses of labour markets explain women's disadvantage and gender discrimination in termsof:•••• supply factors, which determine the quantity and quality of women workers in the labour market

(family responsibilities and constraints3; and inequalities in education, training and access toproductive resources);

•••• demand factors (labour market segregation, discrimination in pay differentials and quality ofemployment, higher risks of unemployment) which are conditioned by specific structures of theeconomy;

•••• implicit policies that include or exclude women (discriminatory legislation and regulations,employment discrimination, unequal hiring standards and lower pay for equal work), and govern theirtreatment in the economy and labour market (World Bank, 1994, ILO, 1994).

Other analyses have distinguished market and production factors from household factors such ashousehold structure, income, resources and decision-making. Neo-classical economists have arguedthat reproductive labour is a cause of female disadvantage in the labour market. This has beendismissed by feminists who have argued that female specialisation in child rearing and domestic labour isnot 'natural but socially constructed and hence susceptible to change' (Stichter, 1990).

Feminist perspectives have pointed out that not only do definitions of work tend to exclude andunderestimate much of women's work but that within a patriarchal family structure, women may notcontrol the proceeds of their labour. They may be obliged, coerced or predisposed to allocate their ownincomes towards household or family, rather than personal needs (Baden with Milward, 1995).

A number of factors4 are understood to determine the different profiles of employment amongwomen and men, and the lower returns to women's work. Commonly cited factors includegender-differentiated levels of education, training and skills, and various types of genderdiscrimination in the labour market (occupational segregation; earnings differentials by genderand unemployment) (see Box 3).

Women's relative lack of education and training contributes to their lower earnings. Lowerreturns to female labour force participation also act as a disincentive to future investment infemale education, perpetuating a vicious circle. In addition, employers use lack of education andexperience as a screening device to exclude women (and other disadvantaged groups) fromemployment. Relatively low educational levels also limit women's access to information sourcesabout employment (Baden and Milward, 1995) and reduce training opportunities (Arriagada,1989).

3Family responsibilities and constraints operate at two levels. First, attitudinal obstacles may inhibit women'sparticipation in 'work' or restrict girls' or women's access to education and training. Second, women's employmentopportunities may be limited due to their reproductive role that dictates that they have look after young children andcare for the sick and elderly.4These factors apply to both the formal and informal sectors. The informal sector has particular relevance foremployment and gender concerns because women tend to be concentrated in the informal sector. However, 'thedivide between formal and informal sectors, conceptually and empirically unclear at the best of times, is increasinglyblurred as formal sector labour markets have become deregulated and casualised' (Baden with Milward, 1995).

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Occupational segregation5 between men and women is widely documented in both developedand developing societies (Baden and Milward, 1995; Sayeed and Tzannatos, 1995). Womenhave narrower occupational choices compared to men. 'Female' jobs are often related toperceived female characteristics - such as patience, dexterity, caring, docility - or totraditionally 'female' activities within the household such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, tendingthe sick and personal services of various kinds. In general, 'female' jobs tend to be lower paid,less 'skilled' (at least as conventionally defined), less secure and lacking in opportunities forupward mobility, compared to male jobs. There are thought to be both institutional constraintsand ideological factors which operate to exclude women from certain jobs. Employers may bereluctant to hire women because of their perceived higher rates of absenteeism, higher turnover,lesser human capital endowments and higher costs as well as for certain kinds of jobs deemed'inappropriate' for women. On the other hand, certain occupations may be considered 'female'and employers specifically select women to do these jobs, as in garments and electronicsmanufacturing. Precise problems of segregation by gender differ from country to country(Baden with Milward, 1995).

Discriminatory attitudes are reflected in labour market regulations (World Bank, 1995).Legislation exists in many countries to prevent women from working in certain kinds ofoccupation (e.g. mining; occupations requiring shift or night work).6 Employers often selectbetween female workers using criteria not applied to men, with age, marital status, number ofchildren and appearance being major factors affecting employers' attitudes towards employingwomen workers. Men's and women's career histories accordingly tend to diverge at certain lifecycle events; marriage, age and children may lessen women's access to employmentopportunities whilst they tend to increase men's. Women are constrained by the demands ofdomestic labour and child care, which inhibit them from participating in forms of employmentinvolving inflexible hours, overtime, extensive travel or shift work, given the cost and difficultyof making child care arrangements and the difficiulties of leaving children unattended (the mostcommon outcome among the poor). Women themselves may 'choose' typically femaleoccupations, influenced by strong socio-cultural norms and gender stereotypes inculcatedthrough the education system (Baden with Milward, 1995).

In both developed and developing countries a number of studies have confirmed that womenearn on average less than men (ILO, 1994; Standing, 1989; Baden with Milward, 1995;Tzannatos, 1994; and Appendix 1). Women's wages in developing countries range between 50and 80 percent of men's (ILO, 1995b).7 Appendix 2 shows relative female earnings as apercentage of men's in selected countries. Furthermore, recording of gender differentials inearnings may underestimate the difference in that fringe benefits may accrue disproportionatelyto men (Baden and Milward, 1995). Gender differentials in wages and earnings vary 5Gender divisions in the labour force are apparent by sector (e.g. female concentration in services; male inmanufacturing), sub-sector (e.g. in manufacturing, female concentration in electronics and garments; maleconcentration in the car industry), as well as by occupational category (e.g. female concentration in unskilledmanual, or clerical work; male concentration in skilled manual positions and in management) and by work status(e.g. female concentration in unpaid family labour; male concentration in self-employment) (Baden with Milward,1995). 5Sex segregation is difficult to measure, and existing statistics do not represent adequately the complexeconomic and social processes that generate it (Sayeed and Tzannatos, 1995).6Much of this legislation has been introduced in accordance with ILO Convention Number 48. However, Standing(1989) notes that in recent years there has been a slowdown in the numbers of ratifications of this Convention andsome reversals.7Comprehensive data are not available on this. Because occupational segregation is so pervasive and data coveragevaries so much among countries and over time, it is often difficult to compare 'like with like' when looking at maleand female wages.

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considerably between sectors and industries, between countries, by season (in agriculture), andover time, as well as with size of enterprise, skill level and occupational category.

Gender differentiated entry barriers for women and occupational segregation exists even in theinformal sector in terms of lack of access to capital and to markets and in different activityprofiles by gender. The informal sector has particular relevance to discussions aboutemployment because it provides significant income earning opportunities for both men andwomen in developing countries. 'Although fewer women men than women are in the labourforce, in some countries - Zambia, Honduras and Jamaica (see Appendices 3 and 4) - morewomen than men make up the informal labour force' (UN, 1995).

There is often a failure to recognise that workers face gendered conditions of access to labourmarkets, which discriminate against women specifically. Generally, women have less powerthan men, receive less for their work, have less control over household resources, receive lesseducation, have less access to better paying jobs in the formal sector and are disproportionatelyrepresented among unpaid family workers and in the informal sector (Baden with Milward,1995; World Bank, 1995).

3.3 Sustainable Livelihoods

In contrast to prevailing approaches on employment, the sustainable livelihoods framework8

incorporates several dimensions of work that reveal the dynamics of poverty (Grown andSebstad, 1989). The concept of sustainable livelihoods is based normatively on ideas ofcapability, equity and sustainability. However, these are not always mutually supporting in thatequity in access to a resource does not assure sustainable resource use without appropriateinstitutions (Chambers and Conway, 1992). Capability refers to ability to perform certain basicfunctionings such as coping with stress and shock, making use of livelihood opportunities, andresponding to adverse changes in conditions. Equity is usually measured in terms of incomedistribution, but it also implies an equal distribution of assets, capabilities and opportunities.Sustainability has two main interpretations. Environmental sustainability refers to globalconcerns with pollution, global warming, deforestation, the overexploitation of non-renewableresources and physical degradation. Social sustainability implies an ability to maintain andimprove livelihoods while maintaining and enhancing local and global assets and capabilities onwhich livelihoods depend (ibid.).

The literature on sustainable livelihoods has evolved mainly within three domains: agriculturecentred perspectives, environmental analysis and natural resources management perspectives,and food security and coping strategies perspectives.

Agriculture Centred Perspectives

Concerns about increasing levels of poverty in rural areas and interest in the diverse survivalstrategies which the poor use to get by have paved the way for a shift from a focus on particularagricultural employment, cultivation or livestock production activities to the idea of 'farmingsystems'. Rural livelihoods are increasingly understood to comprise diverse activities such ascultivation, herding, hunting, gathering and trading, which go beyond agricultural production perse. 8This framework has the potential to link labour market analyses (formal and informal sector) and the ability tocapture underlying relationships between and within households (Grown and Sebstad, 1989).

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With respect to gender issues, the literature has focused on the gender division of labour and thefact that women are in 'secondary' positions relative to men in agricultural production with lesserrights over land and lesser powers of mobilisation of labour (their own as well as others), as wellas in consequence lesser control of income and access to markets and services. For a review offive African countries (see Table 2) found that in all cases extension agents are more likely tovisit male farmers than female own account farmers (World Bank, 1995b).

Table 2: Visits By Agricultural Extension Agents (percentage of households visited)

Country and Year Households with male head Households with femaleheads

Kenya, 1989Malawi, 1989Nigeria, 1989Tanzania, 1984Zambia, 1986

1270374060

958222019

Source: Quisumbing, 1994, cited by World Bank (1995b)

Provision of services to women members of male headed households, even women carrying outsame activities autonomously, is usually presumed to be even less than this, especially givenwomen's concentration in subsistence production.

There are also suggestions that labour force participation for women in agriculture may beseverely under reported because of the methods. In Bangladesh, participation of women was 10per cent according to the Labour Force Survey of 1985/86. Then, in 1989 when the LabourForce Survey included in the questionnaire specific activities such as threshing, food processingand poultry rearing the female economic activity rate went up to 63%(UN, 1995).

Environment and Natural Resources Perspectives

Another part of the sustainable livelihoods literature has its roots in environmental analysis andnatural resources management studies. The literature breaks down into concerns withsustainability (ie. preservation or enhancement of the productive natural resource base) at localand global levels. With respect to the local level, questions are raised about whether livelihoodactivities maintain and enhance resources (through activities that improve the productivity ofrenewable resources like air, water, soil) or deplete resources (through activities that contributeto desertification, deforestation, soil erosion etc.). At a global level attention has focused 'onhow livelihoods are threatened by international trade and other agreements that reduce claimsand access to common property resources' through 'appropriation and exclusion by the powerful'(Chambers and Conway, 1992).

With respect to the treatment of gender issues in this literature, WID perspectives are prevalent.A disaggregative approach is taken with attention to the different activity profiles of men andwomen, and to the sexual division of labour, drawing attention to women's heavy workload innatural resource use especially of common property resources such as water and forests. Alliedwith the ecofeminist approach widely followed in NGO circles, this led to the presumption thatwomen have a natural affinity to natural resources. Accordingly, agencies such as the WorldBank have tended to argue that environmental degradation is always harmful to women(Jackson, 1995).

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Gender analysts bring a new approach to these issues (see Joekes et al.). It is argued that the typeof livelihoods which men and women derive and the incentives they have for managingenvironmental resources are mediated by social institutions, i.e. social rules of tenure, propertyrights and labour mobilisation, which are gender biased. Not only does the concentration ofwomen's reliance on natural resources often indicate their difficulties of access to or theirexclusion from other more remunerative economic activities, but their rights in natural resourcesare often contingent, fragile and easily undermined. Moreover, the link of women's interestswith the environment is not robust in other ways. Interventions to improve the natural resourcebase may not carry through to women proportionally since the distribution of benefits from suchimprovements is mediated by gender-biased social institutions. Decline in environmentalresources can sometimes be turned by women to their advantage (Jackson, 1995) although it isnotable that examples of this come from sub-Saharan Africa, where women have stronger rightsin land than in other regions.

Coping Strategies Perspectives

The traditional focus of coping strategies perspectives has been in relation to famine in sub-Saharan Africa (Davies, 1996a), but more recently the concept has been used in urban contextsto illustrate the diverse survival strategies that individuals, households and communitiesundertake in response to changes in economic circumstances (Moser, 1996). In both cases, thecapacity to cope with stress and crisis, whether due to short-term shocks or forced longer-termchange, is seen as a critical determinant of livelihood sustainability. Coping strategies are anintegral part of livelihood systems and a function of underlying institutional rules and culturalnorms which determine the distribution of entitlements, capabilities and resources within thesesystems.

Most analyses of women's capacity to cope tends simply to differentiate between men andwomen, often implying that they operate in separate livelihood spheres (Davies, 1996a).Typically, women have been regarded as a passive vulnerable group. It is true that women tendto be more vulnerable than men and to have greater need for recourse to coping strategies both innormal times and in emergencies because they have limited access to resources and are poorlypaid. But just as livelihoods are highly gendered, so are the activities of women and men in theprocess of coping. Greater attention needs to be paid to women's active participation in copingand the multiplicity of intra-household relations which determine the causes and distribution ofvulnerability (ibid.).

A gender analysis, on the other hand, suggests that gender relations have several implications forcoping. First, coping is harder with very tight gender divisions of labour. In crisis, both womenand men may be barred from pursuing particular strategies which are not habitually regarded aspart of their domain. Where female seclusion is central to the framing of the household divisionof labour, women's coping options are particularly constrained. Women and men need to be ableto combine productive and reproductive roles. Children, especially girls, may be unintendedlosers from gender biases in coping. Gender differentiation in capacity to cope operates at manydifferent levels. It reflects and amplifies gender differentiation in structures of asset ownershipand entitlements and in the structure of dependent relationships. It also varies with the intensityand duration of crisis, as Table 3 demonstrates.

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TABLE 3: GENDER BIASES AFFECTING WOMEN IN COPING STRATEGIESTYPE OFSTRATEGY

ACTUAL COPING STRATEGY DETERMINING INSTITUTIONAL RULES GENDER BIASES AFFECTING WOMEN [+ or -]

1. STINT Reduce consumption Obligation to assure well-being of family lies with womenObligation to give preferential access to scarce food for men, boys

• reduce own consumption to protect family despite pregnancy,lactation [-]

• cultural norms which prioritise men's consumption [-]2. HOARD Accumulate assets Legal & social right to own & control assets • forbidden from or restricted in owing land, other assets [-]

• lack of control over those assets owned [-]3. PROTECT Preserve asset base Legal & social right to own & control assets • own few assets [-]

Use collateral Legal & social right to take out credit • lack of collateral [-]• lack of access to formal credit [-]

4. DEPLETE Liquidate assets Legal & social right to own & control assetsExistence of & right of access to marketExistence of & right of access to formal or informal credit market

• assets owned are easily liquidated, in preference to men's [-]• restricted market access[-]• some access to informal credit markets [+]

Take out credit for immediateconsumption

Legal & social right to take out creditExistence of & right of access to formal or informal credit market

• access to gift-giving & sharing networks [+]• generally responsible for maintaining immediate consumption [-]

5. DIVERSIFY Diversify on-farm Social right to participate in intra-household resource allocation decisionsGendered division of labour

• restricted influence over decision-making about production [-]• more productive work, but no reduction in reproductive work [-]

Seek off-farm employment Existence of & right of access to labour market on competitive termsSocial right to seek work outside home

• restricted & discriminatory labour market access [-]• wage differentials [-]• female seclusion [-]• need to combine productive & reproductive roles [-]

Exploit common property resources Rules of access to common property resourcesGendered division of labour

• privatisation of common property resources [-]• natal rights of access to resources, independent of male kin [+]

Take out credit to invest in futureproduction

Social right to participate in intra-household resource allocation decisionsLegal & social right to take out credit

• lack of collateral [-]• lack of access to formal credit [-]• some access to informal credit markets [+]• access to gift-giving & sharing networks [+]

6. CLAIM Borrow or receive gifts Structure of social obligations to lend to/borrow from kin • access to gift-giving and sharing networks [+]Exploit kinship & friendship ties Structure of social & cultural obligations to assist impoverished kin • nurturing of reciprocal ties, to benefit all household members [+]Exploit patron/client relationships Structure of patron/client relationships, including reciprocity • gender-specific exploitation in some 'reciprocal' relations [-]Seek state support Legal right to seek state support

Social right to seek work outside home• need to combine productive and reproductive roles [-]• wage differentials on public works [-]• benefit from specific public action to assist women [+]

7. MOVE Divide family Structure of social & cultural obligations to assist impoverished kin • responsibility for caring or fostering (in or out) of children [-]Migrate Gendered division of labour

Existence of & right of access to labour market on competitive termsSocial right to seek work outside home

• need to combine productive & reproductive roles [-]• female seclusion [-]• social exclusion if migration is not sanctioned [-]

14

4. Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods: Trends and Implications

4.1 Overview

Changes in the world economy are affecting both the nature and structure of employment and thesustainability of other forms of livelihoods. The processes of economic restructuring9 arecomplex so it is not surprising that they should be benefiting some groups of men and womendepending on where they live, the work they do and their income group, while impactingnegatively on others. The processes associated with economic restructuring have certainlybenefited some women by creating new opportunities for employment which carry specificdemand for female labour; on the other hand have they adversely affected some women'slivelihoods. The growth of labour-intensive industries in developing countries has created more'female' jobs (Lim, 1996), whilst attempts to reduce fiscal imbalances by reducing state spendingon social services, have affected women directly, by cutting their employment opportunities, andindirectly, by placing increasing demands on women to provide these services by caring for thesick (Joekes and Weston, 1994). There may be a further indirect impact on women in thereduction of their bargaining power overall, in cases where public sector job lossesdisproportionately affect women, since female employment in the public sector is often on betterconditions than in the private sector.

4.2 Key Trends in Employment

The standard data on employment shows that female labour force participation (FLFP) is rising(see Appendix 1) while that of men is falling. However, this has not translated into genderequality (ILO, 1994; UN, 1995, Lim 1996). By choice or necessity, women have assumedincreasingly indispensable roles in household, national and international economies. The rise inFLFP has been attributed to a number of factors. First, improved measurement of women'swork. In developing countries, conceptual and methodological constraints and conventionallabour force definitions and statistical systems still do not appropriately or adequately reflectwomen's productive work in the non-market economy. But, with improved labour forcequestionnaires including a wider definition of 'economic activity' to cover informal sector andnon-market activities, the recorded female share of employment is rising (ILO, 1994).

Second, the decreasing reliability of male employment, partly a consequence of recession andstructural adjustment, is forcing women to seek alternative sources of employment as men'sability to contribute to the household budget is diminished (Baden, 1993; Beneria and Roldan,1987). Third, the increasing number of women taking up positions in labour-intensiveindustries, particularly in the export processing zones (EPZs) worldwide and the SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs) in Asia (Baden and Joekes, 1993; Joekes and Weston, 1994).

9For purposes of simplicity, economic restructuring taken refers to a number of processes: globalisation, relocationof industries to developing countries, recession, structural adjustment and transition to market economies, that havebeen the main features of the economic climate since the 1980s. This section mainly looks at processes indeveloping countries. There is however, some mention of transition to the market in former socialist economiesbecause of its effect on female employment.

15

The relatively large rise in female labour participation rates and consequently the rising share forwomen in the labour force is sometimes referred to as the 'feminisation of the labour force10'.This is a concept sometimes also taken to refer to the growing 'informalisation' or casualisationof employment even within the formal sector, globally over the 1980s. 'The feminisation ofmany jobs and activities traditionally done by men' (Standing, 1989) is also sometimes alleged,but evidence is slim. The trend towards flexible working patterns and practices in response tothe competitive pressures of global markets has resulted in the growth of atypical and precariousforms of employment. The effects of economic reforms (particularly the loosening of legal andadministrative established frameworks alleged to constrain labour mobility and theresponsiveness of wages to market conditions) have resulted in limited creation of stable, full-time jobs.

There is growing concern that quantitative increases in women's economic participation are notbeing matched by qualitative improvements or better working conditions. Relative to men,women still face unequal hiring standards, unequal opportunities for training and retraining,unequal access to productive resources, segregation and concentration in a narrow range of'female' sectors and occupations, unequal pay for equal work, unequal participation in economicdecision-making, unequal sharing of family responsibilities, unequal career prospects and greaterlikelihood of being unemployed and of being poor (Lim, 1996). The equality of opportunity andtreatment for women in employment has yet to be achieved anywhere in the world. Althoughwomen are entering the labour market in increasing numbers, their employment is concentratedin a relatively small number of 'female' areas and occupations which tend to attract lowerrewards and wages (ILO, 1995b).

Data on differential wage levels is scarce. Some commentators allege that there have beenlimited advances towards wage equality (Table 4). One paper proposes that wage differentialsbetween men and women are diminishing much faster in developing countries than they havedone historically in developed countries (Sayeed and Tzannatos, 1995). However, a majorfailing of this study is that it does not control for educational levels. In general, the greater thereduction in the gender gap in education over time, the greater the reduction in the wagedifferential (given that typically about half the gender gap in wages is attributable to humancapital differences). Certainly the world wide trend towards reduction of the gender gap ineducation ought to feed into the respective returns to men's and women's labour. However,diminution in the level of gender discrimination is needed if the wage gap is to be fullyeliminated. The data in Table 4 do not address this issue.

Table 4: Relative Female Earnings (Per Cent) in Selected Countries 10The feminisation of labour and employment thesis has many strengths, but perhaps overestimates the extent towhich females are substituting for male labour. Data used are biased towards Asian countries with a high proportionof women in manufacturing employment and African data are markedly absent. Moreover, the proportion of womenemployed in export-oriented manufacturing is, as a proportion of the total labour force, small in most countries and,according to recent evidence, tending to decline over time (Baden and Joekes, 1993).

16

Country Year F/M Wage Year F/M wage GrossChange

AnnualChange

Cote d'IvoireBrazilColombiaPhilippinesThailandIndonesia

198519811984197819801986

75.750.267.270.973.555.6

198819901990198819901992

81.453.670.280.079.860.0

7.56.84.512.88.68.1

2.40.70.71.20.81.3

Note: Monthly wages for urban workers except in Indonesia and Thailand (whole country)

Source: Tzannatos, 1994

Overall, more men than women are openly unemployed because of their larger numbers in thelabour force, but women's unemployment rates tend to be higher than those of men. There issome evidence that unemployment for women is rising in Africa, the Caribbean, some LatinAmerican countries (eg. Panama and Nicaragua) and some countries in the Asia and Pacificregion (ILO, 1994).

Another trend has been the increased migration of women for employment, traditionally a malepreserve. There are very few studies about the differences between women and men inmigration. In some contexts, the migration of women is subject to greater constraints than thatof men because of their dependent position within the family and in society. But, even withinsuch contexts female migration seems to be increasing (UN 1995).

A distinctive feature of Asian labour markets recently has been the entry (both legal and illegal)of migrant women as contract labourers. It has usually been men who have migrated for work,but with the slow down of construction in the Middle East more Asian women from lowergrowth countries have entered the labour markets of the Middle East, Japan, Hongkong,Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia as domestic workers, sex workers, nurses, helpers in shops andrestaurants and in manufacturing industries. This trend of increasing female migration hasparticularly applied to the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka as in other South Asian countriescultural constraints have restricted female outflows (ILO, 1994). There are anticipated costs tomigrant workers by way of debts incurred to recruiting agencies, absence of safety nets,unhealthy living conditions and deskilling11 (Wee and Heyzer, 1995). Female migrants are morevulnerable to exploitative conditions than other groups of women and male migrants.

The introduction of new technologies has had a gender differential impact in transition countriesin Central Europe. The shift away from state socialist prioritisation of heavy industry to a focuson light industry, with a special emphasis on new and micro-technology, consumer goodproduction, and expansion of the service sector has led to a worsening of women's labour marketposition (Einhorn, 1993). The effects of the reform programmes are not gender-neutral andfemale labour is likely to continue to bear a disproportionate share of the costs of restructuring(Fong and Paul, 1992).

4.3 Changes in Livelihood and Gender Patterns

11Many workers are over-qualified for the jobs they obtain overseas. For example, Filipina's working overseas asdomestic workers are often qualified to be school teachers, executives and health professionals, but because ofunemployment seek other work overseas (Wee and Heyzer, 1995).

17

A number of studies are pointing to increasing poverty levels in many parts of the developingworld (Baden with Milward, 1995). The incidence, severity and distribution of poverty has notbeen uniform over time and space, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the vulnerability (toshocks) of the poor is increasing in many parts of the developing world especially in countriesthat are marginalised in the world economic system or affected by conflict and civil disorder. Anumber of studies have illustrated the increasing reliance of the poor on diverse forms of copingand survival strategies (Moser, 1996; Davies, 1996b). In the context of increasing poverty inmany developing countries, the emerging trend is that women's capabilities are being erodedmuch more quickly than men's. Gender inequality in terms of access to resources seems to beincreasing and more and more people are having to resort to unsustainable forms of livelihoods.

Rural Livelihoods

Contemporary economic growth processes often polarise men's and women's experiences andopportunities and increase economic and gender inequalities (WRI, 1994). Suppressingdomestic demand in the early stages of economic restructuring and the reorientation of theeconomy towards export production has mixed results. As production for export has increased,firms in industry and agribusiness have provided both wage and self-employment for women.Nevertheless, the promotion of tradeables has on balance benefited men and adversely affectedwomen who are mainly involved in the production of non-tradeables (IDB, 1995).

The introduction of new technology, new agricultural practices and legislation continues tofavour men. A significant trend in developing countries has been the move towards privateownership in land. New laws tend to be premised on the assumption that men are heads ofhouseholds. In Latin America, this has meant that women have been excluded from rights toland ownership. In many rural areas women are less likely to have access to agricultural credit(without collateral such as land) and have limited opportunities for participation in decision-making processes oriented towards enhancing agricultural production (World Bank, 1995b).This tendency limits women's scope to ensure sustainable livelihood.

An emerging trend is the 'feminisation of agriculture'. As men migrate to cities in search ofemployment, rural women are increasingly having to take up a number of agricultural tasks withlimited capabilities (FAO, 1995a).

Some observers believe that there has been some progress on the advancement of the status ofrural women. Increasing alliance-building and networking among rural women has facilitatedthe integration of their concerns into policymaking. The recent introduction of new internationalagreements, legislation, policies and programmes may eventually improve women's access toland and tenure security. NGOs and community-based organisations have given rural women avoice (FAO, 1995a). But it is doubtful that this has done enough to reverse the processesleading to the feminisation of agriculture and women's decreasing ability to ensure sustainablelivelihoods.

Environment and Natural Resources Management

The increased volume of world trade has been criticised by many environmentalists asaccelerating environmental degradation in some regions. For instance, tropical timber exportshave played a part in the decimation of rain forests. Intensive production of cash crops, likecoffee and bananas for export has increased water pollution with the run-off of pesticides and

18

fertilisers. These environmental consequences have had particular implications for women,affecting women in their capacities as hewers of wood and drawers of water (Joekes andWeston, 1994).

Limited sources of employment in rural areas may push women to overexploit the few naturalresources at their disposal (FAO, 1995a). As Kettel (cited in Wee and Heyzer, 1995) points out:'the challenge of maintaining sustainable livelihoods in a degrading environment is a gender-differentiated challenge. Environmental degradation exacts higher costs on women than men. Ina world that is largely rural, women are the main subsistence farmers of Africa, Asia and SouthAmerica. At an everyday level, these women farmers are facing the challenge of maintainingsustainable livelihoods for themselves, their families, and their communities, as their resourcebase of fuel, water and food becomes increasingly depleted'.

In times of environmental stress, women's lesser ability than men to migrate is particularlyconstraining. A study of the impact of out-migration on household livelihoods and themanagement of natural resources in Embu, Kenya, notes that more men are migrating frommarginal areas to areas of higher potential in terms of labour and agricultural productivity(Oniang'o, 1995). Men move out for extended periods, but retain their controlling interest inland. Women who stay behind are unable to take decisions in the best interests of productivity,such as land use practices that improve soil structure and moisture conservation, or to mobiliselabour or the inevitable resources necessary to realise such improvements, given very low levelsof remittances by male migrants.

Individual, Household and Community Coping Strategies

The gender division of labour affects how individuals confront crisis and shocks. The impact ofeconomic restructuring in terms of cuts in food subsidies can make it difficult to maintainnutritional standards without greater inputs in time for women (Davies, 1996a; Moser, 1996).Many case studies have shown that women reduce their personal consumption, although in somecases girls may benefit from the coping strategies adopted. For instance, in times of crisis inparts of northern Cameroon and Chad girls tend to stay with their mothers, and have access tofood when preparing meals (Davies, 1996a).

Coping strategies to reduce vulnerability to crisis impose unequal burdens on householdmembers. A comparative study of household responses to increasing poverty and vulnerabilityin four poor urban communities12 shows that men and women diversify or increase householdincome in different ways, with women extending their working day to a far greater extent thanmen, risking their health (Moser, 1996). This finding is consistent with aggregate data showingrises in female labour force participation rates, and the absorption of increasing numbers ofwomen in the informal sector in many developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s.

12The study was carried out in Lusaka (Zambia), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Manila (Philippines) and Budapest(Hungary).

19

5 Strategies13

and Policy Recommendations

5.1 Policy Lessons from the Review of Approaches

This paper has shown that the goal of gender equality in the economic dimension needs to beapproached by active pursuit of equality as an objective. So long as equality is not achieved,forces will be at work for the perpetuation of women's economic dependence, underminingattainment of equality in other dimensions too.

Empowerment (in the economic dimension) is a step on the road to equality but not synonymouswith it, nor a guarantee of it. Not all economic activity is empowering for women in the sensethat women control the resultant income. But economic equality is not attainable withoutwomen's engagement in economic activity and access to the returns from such activity. Thepursuit of economic gender equality therefore breaks down into efforts to support:

• improvements in access to paid economic activity for women and their control of theresultant income;

• improvements in the returns to such activity to the point of equality with the returns that menattain;

• elimination of gender discrimination and by improvements in women's access to thecomplementary resources (such as education and good health) which determine the rate ofreturn to the application of men and women's labour.

This review of the spectrum of approaches, ranging from employment through livelihoods tocoping, affirms the importance of efforts to support high-level and quality employment creationfor women. Many poor women are marginalised, and their options circumscribed in terms oflivelihood strategies, partly because of lesser access to employment. Consequently, they aremore vulnerable to having to resort to coping strategies but these are also largely biased againstwomen (Davies, 1996a). The only way out of this treadmill is to improve opportunities at the'top' end of the spectrum, while not ignoring the need to safeguard or improve women's positionand situation in other respects where possible. The power of quality employment creation ingender terms is that it increases average wages (labour returns) for women in aggregation andthus enhances their bargaining position generally. It also by the same token highlights theinhibiting effects of gender relations on women's earning powers in other situations.

5.2 Priorities for Employment

There is clearly a need for more and better jobs for women to counteract the trend towardsdeterioration in quality, standards and conditions of jobs on offer with casualisation, adjustment,deregulation of labour markets, because research shows that formal, contractual jobs are moreempowering to women. Macro policies need to be oriented towards labour absorption. In such acontext sectoral policies and interventions need to be geared towards the terms and conditionsrather than the level of employment for women.

In relation to the informal sector and self-employment, credit and micro-enterprise schemesshould aim to promote activities where women can develop market knowledge and are able toexercise it. Support for collective organisations (such as SEWA) is important as they create the 13Appendices 5 and 6 highlight ILO and World Bank priorities for enhancing employment opportunities for women.

20

best setting for enabling women to enter and operate effectively within the market and toscrutinise the productivity and profitability of their activities. Only in such circumstances willwomen see an optimal return to their efforts in terms of returns to their labour, and control of therevenue. Credit schemes should aim generally to adopt the Grameen Bank practice of insistingthat assets purchased with a woman's loan be registered in her name in order to exert maximumpressure to enhance women's property rights.

In respect of formal employment, mainstream ideas have evolved considerably with respect tounderstanding of the nature and causes of gender differentiation in employment, but theprescriptive lessons that have been drawn are very limited. The need to address gender-baseddiscrimination has not been taken on board as a legitimate policy goal.

Public policies have been limited to measures to improve women's access to employment(mainly via girls education, though also some affirmative action efforts at recruitment quotas etc.in the public sector), but usually for instrumental rather than equity reasons, with a view tointergenerational effects on children's education, fertility reducing influences, and productivityenhancement related to economic restructuring.

While it is true that scope for public policy or particular interventions to reduce discrimination isnot known, there have been very few direct attempts to improve the relative position of womenin employment. Governments tend to pride themselves as observing equal pay legislation in thepublic sector, though scrutiny of promotion and training practices might suggest that the claim isdisingenuous (see Joekes, 1995 for evidence in Morocco). Moves against discriminatorylegislation (eg lifting of the prohibition on night work in EPZs), have been done in deregulatoryspirit without thinking through the new vulnerabilities to which this may expose women. WhileILO Convention 100 for equal remuneration (Appendix 7) has been ratified by very manygovernments, efforts to implement and monitor it are rare in developing countries. There is aneed to pursue enforcement probably with some test cases brought to trial in the first instance.NGO pressure could be effective in this process.

Furthermore, follow-up efforts to encourage governments to ratify the new ILO HomeworkingConvention with resources subsequently allocated for monitoring and implementation areparticularly important. Homeworking has far wider negative connotations and ramifications forwomen in terms of depressing general wage levels and expectations for women in the labourmarket, than is usually perceived.

5.3 Enhancing Livelihoods

Rural/agricultural livelihoods: There is a need to improve women's returns, both in femalestereotyped activities (especially via market valuation of subsistence production), and in terms ofcontrol of income. Local food markets are crucial, both immediately in terms of research andincentives which bring prospects of productivity-enhancing techniques down the line.

Environment: Environment and natural resources management (NRM) focused policies tend tobe WID based, emphasising the gender division of labour, but lacking an understanding of itslink to the gender subordinating pressures in social systems. The WID tendency has broughtgrowing awareness of need to 'disaggregate' information by gender and acknowledgement ofneed to 'bring women in' to project efforts, paying attention to the nature and costs of thisincorporation. Within standard NRM programmes there is often the tendency to use women as

21

'volunteer' i.e. unpaid labour, and place them in non-decision making positions. The currentfashion for 'community management' (of projects and in respect of initiatives) is a false panacea.It offers no solution from a gender perspective. Without placement of women in authority inproject management structures and in technical positions with real responsibility in projectoperations, women's weaker property rights, resource access and use entitlements will bias thedistribution of project benefits against women. Extending projects and policy measures beyondthe NRM sphere into activities for women which generate market returns will greatly enhancelivelihoods.

Coping strategies: More needs to be known about how institutional rules operate in order todesign effective policies that support coping strategies without prejudicing women and children.Exactly how this should be done 'is an area that has received little attention, not least becauseconcrete examples of policy implementation are rare' (Davies, 1996a).

22

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27

APPENDIX 1: Table Showing Male/Female Labour Force Participation

Economic activity rates of persons aged 15 and over, each sex, 1970-1990 (from The World's Women 1995, UnitedNations)

Adult economic activity rate (percentage)

1970 1980 1990a

Women Men Women Men Women MenDeveloped regions

Eastern Europeb 56 79 56 77 58 74Western Europeb 37 78 42 75 51 72Other developed 40 81 46 78 54 75

AfricaNorthern Africa 8 82 12 79 21 75Sub-Saharan Africa 57 90 54 89 53 83

Latin America andCaribbean

Latin America 22 85 25 82 34 82Caribbean 38 81 42 77 49 72

Asia and Pacific

Eastern Asia 57 86 58 83 56 80South-eastern Asia 49 87 51 85 54 81Southern Asia 25 88 24 85 44 78Central Asiab 55 76 56 77 58 79Western Asiab 22 83 26 81 30 77Oceania 47 88 46 86 48 76

a Based on national population census and survey data as reported by countries and not adjusted for comparability to internationallyrecommended definitions. Covers fewer countries than ILO estimates.

b Figures for 1970 and 1980 include ILO estimates for States succeeding the former USSR.

Source:UN,1995

28

APPENDIX 2: Survey of Empirical Findings on Sources of Earnings DifferentialsBy Sex

Country Year Female-maleearnings ratio

% of earnings differentialexplained byHuman capitalendowments

Returns toendowment (paystructure)

Industrialised

Canada

Taiwan Province of ChinaUnited States Manufacturing Manufacturing Services

197019811981

197019801981

0.600.640.64

0.590.590.75

36.735.340.1

45.031.339.5

63.364.759.9

55.068.760.5

Latin America and Caribbean

ArgentinaChileColumbiaHaitiVenezuela

19851987198819871989

0.650.470.850.870.78

22.0-14.912.3 4.114.0

78.0114.987.795.986.0

Other developing

CyprusMalaysiaTanzania

197919791977

0.550.710.76

37.514.4102.9

62.585.6-2.9

Source: Joekes (1995)

29

APPENDIX 3: Production and Employment in The Informal Sector - SelectedCountries

Women in the Informal Sector % sector labour force which is femaleCountry or area Year Manufacturing Transport Services TotalAfricaBurundiCongoEgyptGambiaMaliZambia

199019841986198319901986

30 12 1 13 49 41

0 0 0 4 0 11

26 63 5 54 35 65

28 46 3 44 40 59

Latin America andCaribbeanBrazilCosta RicaHondurasJamaicaMexicoUruguayVenezuela

1990198419901988199219851992

8 17 58 15 28 32 37

1 2 3 4 1 3 2

52 15 57 67 35 37 41

41 15 55 53 32 34 34

Asia and PacificIndonesiaIraqKorea, Republic ofMalaysiaQatarSyrian Arab RepublicThailandTurkeyFiji

198519871989198619861991199019851986

51 7 25 54 0 5 44 9 18

1 0 8 2 0 0 3 1 1

52 7 34 43 0 1 58 4 30

48 5 31 42 0 1 48 4 22

Source: UN (1995)

30

APPENDIX 4: Production and Employment in the Informal Sector - Selected CountriesPercentage of Production and of Labour Force Which is InformalCountries or area Year Manu-

facturingTransport Services Totala Manu-

facturing(women)

Manu-facturing(male)

Transport(women)

Transport(men)

Services(women)

Services(men)

Total b(women)

Totalb(men)

AfricaBurundiCongoEgyptGambiaMaliZambia

199019841986198319901986

353921484541

810291645 7

183615573748

253318514039

6043 51003581

313922386331

000000

1311311350 8

2160 3603371

172118233931

3257 3623472

212521254529

Latin Americaand CaribbeanBrazilCosta RicaHondurasJamaicaMexicoUruguayVenezuela

1990198419901988199219851992

12142619 91616

23 91723201046

23162830201622

18152625161623

5135211112030

14141521 81513

20002010

24111929211250

24 72932161420

23222627301925

21 83428151521

19192125221723

Asia and PacificIndonesiaIraqKorea, RepublicofMalaysiaQatarSyrian ArabRepublicThailandTurkeyFiji

198519871989198619861991199019851986

38151713 121101114

44333420 338404221

56 74423 122182112

49123019 124162213

57132122 01814 920

281524 9 021 81215

20 040 50 014 6 0

44343622 039434425

68 45226 0 430 6 9

47 77821 191112313

65 54124 0 724 710

41114817 161122115

a Relative to total non-agricultural domestic productionbRelative to total non-agricultural labour forceSource:UN(1995)

31

APPENDIX 5: World Bank Strategy: Enhancing Women's Participation inEconomic Development

The World Bank has used a range of instruments to institutionalise gender concerns: staffing(decentralised WID regional positions), operational tools (gender assessments, pilot programmesand impact evaluations) and analysis (women country reports, policy papers in the areas ofeducation, agriculture, forestry, women's health and credit for the poor).

At an operational level, the World Bank has made attempts to tackle gender issues focusing onenhancing women's participation in economic development. In recent years, the World Bank haswidened its policy focus on women to a gender and development approach to reflect the ways inwhich the relations between women and men constrain and advance efforts to boost growth. TheBank has expressed a commitment to integrating gender issues into the mainstream of itsapproach, including a special focus on countries and areas where underinvestment in women hasbeen acute.

The Bank has identified five main operational strategies for improving women's status andproductivity:

• expanding girls enrolment in education;

• improving women's health;

• increasing women's participation in the formal labour force;

• expanding women's options in agriculture;

• providing financial services for women.

Source: World Bank, 1994

32

APPENDIX 6: ILO Strategy: Gender, Poverty and Employment

The ILO has identified the following means of action: research, laying down the rules (settingdown standards, making recommendations and adopting conventions) and technical co-operation(promoting policy dialogue, policy advisory missions and pilot field programmes).

The ILO closely links gender and employment to poverty issues arguing that the vulnerability ofthe poor (largely women) is largely due to underemployment and low returns to labour ratherthan open unemployment. A number of strategies have been proposed by ILO. The mainpriorities identified are:

• increasing women's access to land and other assets (rights over forests and commonproperty resources) through a number of measures (land reform, resettlement schemes,legislating equity in land rights, safeguarding rights of forest dwellers, regeneration of forestsand land improvement schemes).

• investing in human capital by focusing on training, particularly non-formal skills training(community-based training and self-assisted training approaches). Improving and expandingtraining opportunities of poor women for productive employments demand action in twomajor areas: overcoming or removing obstacles to women's access to training systems; anddirecting training investments into marketable skills.

• providing financial resources for the poor with a particular focus on credit. Improvingwomen's access to informal sources of credit, special credit schemes run by banks,intermediary programmes run by non-financial institutions, NGOs and government agencieslinked to micro-businesses and parallel credit schemes.

• expanding wage employment opportunities. Multi-pronged approaches are necessary (legalreform to remove laws and practices which discriminate against women, employmentintensive infrastructure programmes, compensatory programmes and social fund.

• extending social protection by improving workers' protection and working conditionsspecifically in the informal sector (social insurance schemes).

• enhancing women's ability to initiate change through organisational and negotiatingpower. Empowerment through organisation (informal women's groups, formal women'sassociations, trade unions).

Source: ILO, 1995b.

33

APPENDIX 7: Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)

Aim: Equal remuneration for women and men for work of equal value

Summary of the provisions:

Applies to basic wages or salaries and to any other additional emoluments (supplements,bonuses, allowances, etc.) which the employer pays directly or indirectly to the worker, in cashor in kind, as a result of her or his work.

Defines equal pay for work of equal value as the rate of pay fixed without discrimination basedon sex.

The principle may be applied by means of national laws or regulations, legal machinery forwage-fixing, collective agreements or a combination of these methods. In practice, some formof objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed is the only means ofdifferentiating wages in conformity with the principle of equality.

For practical purposes, job evaluation techniques are used to measure and compare objectivelythe relative value of work performed by women and men.

Requires governments to ensure that the principle is applied to all employees under its controland to promote the application of the principle in all other sectors by co-operating withemployers' and workers' organisations.

Source: Lim (1996)