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What firm characteristics determine women’s employment in manufacturing? Evidence from Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed, Salma
  • Feeny, Simon
  • Posso, Alberto
Abstract
Purpose – This study investigates the principal determinants of women’s employment in the manufacturing sector of Bangladesh using a firm-level panel data from the World Bank’s ‘Enterprise Survey’ for the years 2007, 2011 and 2013. The paper sheds light on the demand-side factors, mainly firm-level characteristics, which also influence this decision. Design/methodology/approach - We estimate a fractional logit model to model a dependent variable that is limited by zero from below and one from above. Findings - The results indicate that firm size, whether medium or large, and firms’ export-oriented activities, have an important impact on women’s employment in the manufacturing sector in Bangladesh. Moreover, we find that women are significantly more likely to work in unskilled-labour intensive industries within the manufacturing sector. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to Bangladesh; however, much of the evidence presented here has implications that are relevant to policymakers in other developing countries. Practical implications – The study identifies factors that affect female employment, that is, where the main constraints to increase female labour force participation. The study focuses on the demand-side factors, which has been somewhat neglected in recent years. As such, it has practical policy implications. Social implications – Focusing on female employment in Bangladesh also sheds light on the nexus between labour market opportunities and social change within a country that is characterised by extreme patriarchy, which has wide-reaching implications. Originality/value – This is an original and comprehensive paper by the authors.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed, Salma & Feeny, Simon & Posso, Alberto, 2015. "What firm characteristics determine women’s employment in manufacturing? Evidence from Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 84492, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:84492
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/84492/2/MPRA_paper_84492.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat & Robert McNown, 2018. "A synthetic cohort analysis of female labour supply: the case of Thailand," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 527-544, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bangladesh; female employment; manufacturing firms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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