Notes

Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam). Several findings emerged from this analysis:

• Although HSOs account for 13 percent of employment in lower-middle-income countries, they make up 25 percent of women’s employment in upper-middle-income countries and 40 percent in high-income ones. Similarly, several professional service industries that have been traditionally important for females are prominent only in high-income countries. We find that returns from employment in the occupations available in lower-middle-income countries are perhaps insufficient to draw women into the workforce, especially given the extra education needed and the number of hours worked relative to the wages received. • Education levels in three sample countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan) are insufficient to meet the needs of career occupations, particularly for women. But in the other countries (Egypt, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam), education levels for women are not only sufficient but also equal to or higher than those for men. Thus, the problem is likely to stem from low demand in select industries and misalignment between education and workforce development.

• In most of our case countries, certain laws either (a) limit women’s ability to undertake certain occupations, to earn, or to move between occupations equally to men; or (b) are lacking in protections against discrimination in the workplace.

Moreover, gender norms further limit women’s involvement in the labor force or diminish the workplace environment, deterring them from staying in the workforce. This is particularly evident in Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, which have lower FLFP rates, higher levels of sexism, and—except in Turkey— lower gender equality based on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law indicators. They also have low female-to-male ratios in industries that traditionally employ more women.

If countries primarily engage in industries that mostly provide “jobs” (such as in apparel manufacturing), the opportunities for career advancement are quite limited. Furthermore, when these jobs provide low wages, there are minimal returns to national income that would increase demand for the professional service industries that women often transition into in higher-income countries. The following chapter explores this further.

1. The Gini coefficient is the most commonly used measure of the inequality of the distribution of income (or consumption) in an economy. A Gini value of 0.0 indicates perfect equality, and a value of 1.0 indicates perfect inequality.

2. International Labour Organization (ILO), “Employment by sex and economic activity,

ISIC level 2” (1992–2020) data, https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer40/?lang=en& segment=indicator&id=EMP_TEMP_SEX_EC2_NB_A. 3. For details on the data sources, see appendix A. 4. ILO, “Employment by sex and economic activity (thousands), Annual” (1947–2020) data, https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer20/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=

EMP_TEMP_SEX_ECO_NB_A. 5. ILO, “Employment by sex and economic activity, ISIC level 2” (1992–2020). 6. ILO, “Employment by sex and economic activity (thousands), Annual” (1947–2020). 7. ILO, “Employment by sex and economic activity, ISIC level 2” (1992–2020). 8. Female share of HSOs by country (highest to lowest): Vietnam (52 percent), Cambodia (43 percent), Sri Lanka (42 percent), Turkey (34 percent), Egypt (26 percent), Bangladesh (26 percent), and Pakistan (20 percent). 9. ILO, “Employment by sex and occupation (thousands), Annual” (1969–2020) data, https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer40/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=

EMP_TEMP_SEX_EC2_NB_A. 10. ILO, “Employment by sex and occupation (thousands), Annual” (1969–2020). 11. ILO, “Employment by sex and occupation (thousands), Annual” (1969–2020). 12. ILO, “Employment by sex and occupation (thousands), Annual” (1969–2020). 13. In Pakistan, apparel and tobacco manufacturing are the only industries where men do not outnumber women, but there are no industries where the proportion of women is higher than men among HSOs or sales and service workers. 14. Women, Business and the Law index data are available for 190 economies. The indicators for the 2020 index are based on data from June 2, 2017, to September 1, 2019. Scores by indicator are based on the number of questions (four or five). For example, a score of 50 means the indicator includes four questions, and the country’s results were yes for two questions and no for two questions. 15. In Sri Lanka, see the Shops and Office Employees Act, Sec. 10; Employment of Women,

Young Persons, and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, Secs. 2–3. In Pakistan, see the Sindh Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, Sec. 7(4). 16. In Egypt, see the Decree of Minister of Manpower and Immigration No. 183 of 2003, Arts. 1 and 2(A); Decree of Minister of Manpower and Immigration No. 155 of 2003, Art. 1. In

Bangladesh, see the Labor Act, Secs. 39, 40, and 87. In Pakistan, see the Sindh Factories Act,

Secs. 31(2) and 36. In Sri Lanka, see the Factories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942, Secs. 25, 67, and 67A (2). In Vietnam, see Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BLDTBXH, Lists Part A-I-32. In Turkey, there are no laws specific to factories, but there are laws in other industries covered in the

Women, Business and the Law Index. 17. See the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, Arts. 87, 39, and 40: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail /docs/352/A%20Handbook%20on%20the%20Bangladesh%20Labour%20Act%202006.pdf. 18. See “Circular Promulgating the List of Jobs in Which the Employment of Female Workers Is

Prohibited,” Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BLDTBXH, Art. 23: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex /docs/MONOGRAPH/97047/128483/F-256917122/VNM97047%20Eng.pdf.