Informality and Gender Gaps Going Hand in Hand

In sub-Saharan Africa women work relatively more in the informal sector than men. Many factors could explain this difference, including women's lower education levels, legal barriers, social norms and demographic characteristics. Cross-country comparisons indicate strong associations between ge...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Malta, Vivian
Other Authors: Kolovich, Lisa, Martinez, Angelica, Mendes Tavares, Marina
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 2019
Series:IMF Working Papers
Online Access:
Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:In sub-Saharan Africa women work relatively more in the informal sector than men. Many factors could explain this difference, including women's lower education levels, legal barriers, social norms and demographic characteristics. Cross-country comparisons indicate strong associations between gender gaps and higher female informality. This paper uses microdata from Senegal to assess the probability of a worker being informal, and our main findings are: (i) in urban areas, being a woman increases this probability by 8.5 percent; (ii) education is usually more relevant for women; (iii) having kids reduces men's probability of being informal but increases women's
Physical Description:34 pages
ISBN:9781498314718