WUNRN
http://www.gallup.com/poll/155405/Wide-Gender-Divide-Employment-One-Fourth-Countries.aspx -
Gallup News
reports empirical evidence about the world's 7 billion citizens based on
Gallup's continuous polling in 160 countries.
WIDE GENDER DIVIDE IN EMPLOYMENT IN
1/4 OF COUNTRIES
By Jenny Marlar and Kyley McGeeney - July 5, 2012
Gallup's
Employed at Capacity for an Employer Index includes the percentage of people in
the workforce who are working full time for an employer and those who are
working part time for an employer and say they do not want full-time work. This
measure of employment is more strongly related to GDP, household income, and
wellbeing than unemployment and other measures of employment, including
self-employment.
All
of
Worldwide,
an average of 43% of women in the workforce are employed at capacity for an
employer, compared with 49% of men. This is in line with findings from the
World Bank, which has reported that women tend to be underrepresented in the
formal sector. Despite the advantage men have worldwide, women outperform men
by double digits in four countries:
Similar
percentages of men and women are employed at capacity for an employer in Europe
and the former
Higher GDP Countries Lead in Employment at Capacity for Women
Despite
the gender gaps, relatively large percentages of women are employed at capacity
for an employer in many countries. At least three in four women in 17 countries,
including
Women
are also more likely than men to be unemployed and underemployed. Worldwide,
10% of the female workforce is unemployed, compared with 7% of the male
workforce, and 20% of women are underemployed, compared with 15% of men.
Underemployment includes people who are unemployed or who are working part time
but want full-time work. While these measures are not as highly correlated with
GDP and wellbeing, they do further emphasize the differences between working
men and women.
Women in Some Countries Perceive a Less Favorable Job Climate
Women in some countries perceive the job climate in their
communities worse than men do, but these gaps are far less common than the gaps
in actual employment. In 10 countries, women are at least 10 points less likely
than men are to say it is a good time to find a job in the city or area where
they live. High GDP nations tend to have the largest gender differences, led by
While
this job climate measure is more subjective than employment data, it is a good
measure of economic attitudes. This is an important measure to watch because if
women feel that there are fewer opportunities, it could become a barrier to
entry into the workforce. It is noteworthy that the difference in job
perceptions at the global level have largely held steady since
Implications
This
analysis illustrates the challenges involved in measuring and advancing women's
employment worldwide. Women around the world who want to work clearly do not
participate in the formal global economy to the same degree as men. Further,
this issue is not confined to any region or only to developing countries.
Gender differences are universal, affecting countries from
Women
clearly need better employment opportunities. Social norms in individual
countries may explain many of the gender gaps in employment. However, policies
in individual countries that encourage decent job opportunities for everyone
and encourage women to pursue higher education may help level the playing
field. Women who have a tertiary education are nearly three times more likely
than women with a primary education to be employed at capacity for an employer.
While men with a tertiary education are also more likely to be employed at
capacity than men with a primary education, the difference is not as pronounced
as it is for women. As these gaps narrow, countries will benefit from women's
increased economic contribution, and families and communities will reap the
rewards of women's higher wellbeing.
For
complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150 countries
Survey Methods
Results
are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with 187,119 adults, aged 15
and older, conducted during 2011 in 144 countries. For results based on the
total global sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of
sampling error is less than ±1 percentage point. For results based on
country-level samples of men and women in the workforce, the margin of error
ranges from a low of ±2 percentage points for employed men in the United
Kingdom and Germany to a high of ±12 percentage points for employed women in
Bangladesh. All gender differences reported in the tables are significantly
different. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In
addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in
conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public
opinion polls.