Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data. Issue 5 (4th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Islam, Asif; Muzi, Silvia; Amin, Mohammad
• Is Part Of: Journal of development studies. Volume 55:Issue 5(2019)
• Page Start: 822
• Page End: 844
• Publication Date: 2019-05-04
• Subjects: Economic development -- Periodicals; Economic history -- 1945- -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; Développement économique -- Périodiques; Histoire économique -- 1945- -- Périodiques; Pays en voie de développement -- Conditions économiques -- Périodiques; 338.91
• DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1487055
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0388

Abstract

Abstract: Institutions are defined as the set of rules that govern human interactions. When these rules are discriminatory, they may disempower segments of a population in the economic spheres of activity. In this study, we explore whether laws that discriminate against women influence their engagement in the economy. We adopt a holistic approach where we explore an overall measure of unequal laws also known as legal gender disparities and relate it to several labour market outcomes for women. Using data for over 59, 000 firms across 94 economies, we find that unequal laws not only discourage women's participation in the private sector workforce, but also their likelihood to become top managers and owners of firms. Suggestive evidence indicates that access to finance, property ownership, business registration, and labour market constraints are pathways by which legal gender disparities disempower women in the private sector.