integrating a gender perspective in work and labour market statistics elisa benes, ilo department of...

Integrating a gender perspectivein work and labour market statistics

Elisa Benes, ILO Department of Statisticsemail contact: [email protected]

Pacific Region Workshops on: Gender Statistics4 – 6 August 2014, Nadi, Fiji

What the statistics show…

ILO Department of Statistics 2

TOTAL URBAN RURAL Men Women Men Women Men Women

Gender mainstreaming in work statistics-What does it mean?

Process of evaluating & improving existing data

to enhance its capacity to reflect

differences & similarities

between women & men in

the world of work


How to make work statistics more gender relevant?

A. Ensure comprehensive coverage of gender issues

– Producing data disaggregated by sex is not enough!

– Identify gender issues in the world of work

– Identify available data sources & gaps

B. Improve quality of work statistics from a gender perspective

– Frameworks, concepts, definitions that recognize differences

– Methods that reduce underreporting & misclassification

C. Facilitate understanding of gender differences

– Highlight gender issues in presentation of data

– Often requires detailed disaggregation to identify differences

Scope & objectives of work statisticsIdentify gender issues Identify data needs to address gender issuesAssess existing sources of data

A. Ensure comprehensive coverage


Work & Labour market statistics:Scope and objectives (19th ICLS, 2013)

• Describe and monitor labour markets

– Participation in employment, characteristics, working conditions

– Extent of underutilization, labour market access and integration

• Measure & participation in all forms of work (paid & unpaid)

– Contribution to economy (national accounts / satellite accounts)

– Contribution to household livelihoods and wellbeing

• Assess differences in participation

– Urban / rural , women / men, children / youth / adults, etc.


-Levels & patterns of work and labour market participation -Characteristics of the work-Working conditions-Contributions & returns from work

Gender differences Data needsForms of work performed (paid & unpaid)Labour force statusBarriers to labour force entryOccupation, industry, employment statusUnion membershipOccupational injuriesEarnings, working time, benefits, social security

Identify gender issues

EducationFamily constraints

Intra-household & gender rolesCommunity expectations

Access to physical & financial assetsDiscrimination on the job market

And in the workplace

-Age, sex, education, marital status-Family constraints (presence of children by age groups, other dependent members, child care…)-Area context (urban /rural, regions)-Personal ownership of assets (land, livestock)-Employment experience, seniority

Personal & context variables

Identify gender issues:4 dimensions

1. Forms of work (paid & unpaid)

carried out2. Labour market

access / exit

3. Characteristics and conditions

of work

4. Contributions and returns for their work


1. Forms of work (paid & unpaid) carried out

• Do they engage in work for pay or profit? – Employment

• Do they provide unpaid household services?

– Own-use providers of services• Do they engage in subsistence agriculture, fishing?

– Own-use producers of goods, subsistence foodstuff producers

• Do they participate in unpaid community / village work?

– Volunteer work

Illustration: Forms of work


2. Labour market access

• Do they have work for pay / profit ? – Employment

• Do they look / are available for work for pay / profit?

– Unemployment• Do they work for pay /profit or look for work?

– Labour force• Do they enter and exit the labour market?

– Labour turnover, life cycle patterns

Illustration: Unemployment rate by sex and age group


TOTAL

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3. Characteristics & conditions of their work

• Tasks & duties in their job - occupations• Kind of goods / services produced - industries• Employment relationship - status in employment• Security and stability – contract type, duration• Type of employer - institutional sector• Type of establishment –formal, informal, household• Type of place where they work - place of work• Hazardousness of their work – occupational injuries, illnesses• Voice and representation– union density, collective agreements• Benefits provided -social security coverage, maternity leave


Illustration: Occupations with highest concentration of women / men

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4. Contributions & returns for their work

• Working time– Hours worked, working time arrangements

• Income from employment– Wages, salaries, commissions, tips– Profits / losses– Overtime payments, other regular & irregular payments– Social security benefits

• Contribution to households, community & economy– Value of production for own-final use– Value of paid and unpaid work to national production & satellite

accounts

Illustration: time spent on paid and unpaid work



Official sources of work statistics

Different sources exist, with different purposes–Population and housing census

–Household surveys – Labour force surveys (LFS)

– Household income & expenditure surveys (HIES)

– Time-use surveys (TUS)

–Establishment-based censuses & surveys

–Administrative records

Frameworks, concepts, definitions that recognize gender differencesMethods that reduce underreporting & misclassification

Improve quality of work statistics


New work statistics framework(Resolution I, 19th ICLS, 2013)

• Replaces previous international statistical standards on – Economically active population, employment, unemployment,

underemployment (13th ICLS, 1982) • To become the reference framework

– For work and labour market statistics in decades to come • Address gender bias in recognition of ALL work (paid and unpaid)

– Make visible participation patterns & quantify contributions • Inform policies targeting different forms of work, paid & unpaid

– Working conditions, remuneration, social protection, work life balance, social inclusion & cohesion

• Contribute to post 2015 development agenda – Inclusive, sustainable development policies, job growth


Work 1st international statistical definition (I)

“Any activity performed by persons of any sex and age

to produce goods or provide services for use by others or for own use”

Para 6,Resol I. (19th ICLS, 2013)


Recognizes ALL productive activities as Work

Whether formal, informal, legal, illegal

Linked to General production boundary

Concept for reference purposes

Note: WORK ≠ Employment

“Work” and the SNA


Activities

Productive activities

Market unitsIncorporated, unincorporated

GoodsServices

Non-market unitsGovernment, Non-profit institutions

Services Goods

Householdsproducing for own final use

GoodsServices

Non-productiveactivities

Self-careSleepingLearning

Own-recreationBegging

General production boundary

SNA production boundary

New concept of “Work” == productive activities

Previous activity scope for “employment”Included

Forms of Work (III): 5 distinguishedBy main intended destination & transaction type


Work (i.e. ALL activities to produce goods and services)

For own final use (by households)

Own-use production

work

For use by others (i.e. other units)

For remuneration (i.e. for pay or profit)

Employment(work for pay or profit)

Without remuneration

Unpaid trainee work

Other work activities

(e.g. unpaid compulsory

work)

Volunteer work

Services Goods S G S G G SServices Goods

SNA labour input

Usefulness of new framework


1. Multiple activities of women & men 2. Household allocation of labour, contribution to livelihoods

3. Assessment of labour market participation & integration by persons in forms of work

other than employment

Illustration: Participation of WAP in different forms of work (%)


Illustration: Own use providers of servicesby sex and activity cluster (%WAP)


Source: ILO calculations based on national data (LFS-CWIQ, 2010)

Most unpaid household services

predominantly performed by

women, except for household

repairs

Classifications of the Working Age Population

• By Labour force status – For labour market monitoring – Assessed in a short reference period– Based on activity principle, 1-hr criterion, priority rule

• By Main form of work– For social analysis– As self-declared

New labour force status classification

• Classify the population into 3 mutually exclusive & exhaustive groups• Based on activity principle, priority rule & 1 hour criterion


Total population

Employed (for pay / profit) Unemployed

OutsideLabourForce

Min. age threshold

Labour force

Snap-shot picture of labour market activity at a point in timeFocuses on work transacted for pay or profit

Changes in terminology-Removing gender bias in language

• Labour force = Employed + Unemployed

(for pay / profit) (without employment + seeking + available)

– No longer “economically / currently active population”

• Outside labour force

– No longer “economically inactive population”

– No longer includes population below minimum age


-ALL forms of work are productive & contribute to the economy-Persons outside labour force may be engaged in other forms of work-Children may be engaged in work, including in child labour

Labour underutilization-New indicators that recognize other barriers to employment


“Refers to mismatches between labour supply and demand, which translate into an unmet need for employment among the population”

Para 40,Resol I. (19th ICLS, 2013)

Labour underutilizationImproved labour market monitoring across contexts/groups

Working age population

Labour force

Unemployed

Do not want employment

Potential Labour Force

-seeking, not available-available, not seeking

Time-related underemployed

Labour underutilization(unmet need for employment)

Employed (for pay/profit)

Outside the labour force

Labour market attachment

Want employment but not seeking,

not available

41ILO Department of Statistics

LU1-LU4: Composite measures of labour underutilization

LU4


Illustration:Old and new indicators


OLD NEW

Illustration: Willing non-job seekers


Source: Enquête nationale sur l’Emploi, Morocco 2012

Percentage of willing non-job seekers among persons outside the labour force (%)

Classification by Main reason for not being in labour market

• Personal reasons– Own illness, disability– Studies, training

• Family related reasons– Pregnancy, family or household responsibilities– Refusal by family

• Labour market reasons– Past failure in finding a job, gave up looking for jobs– Lack of experience, qualifications or jobs matching skills– Lack of jobs in the area– Considered too young or too old by prospective employers

• Lack of infrastructure– No roads, transport, employment services in the area

• Other sources of income– Pensions, rents


Discouragement

Social barriers

To reduce underreporting & misclassification

Issues in measurement


Reduce gender biases in data collection• Instrument design

– Add probes (questions) and examples to better capture activities likely to be underreported (secondary, casual, part/-time self-employment jobs)

– Use reference periods that take account of different gender roles • Field operations

– Interviewer training (raise awareness of concepts, activities likely to go unreported, social expectations & roles, multiple activities of women)

– Mixed teams of interviewers (men / women)– Avoid proxy responses, reduce interviewer interpretation by providing full questions

to be read verbatim• Data processing, coding

– Collect detailed information for industry and occupation– Reduce coding based on assumptions of typical gendered occupations


Suggested activities for gender units and gender focal points

• Review questionnaires, manuals & training for surveys and censuses:• Work topics covered (main topics + causal factors)• Use of additional questions on “WHY – not working, not seeking work etc.)• Use of probing questions, activity lists / sketches • Examples given in the manuals (should be free of gender bias)• Degree of details used in classifications• Coverage of gender aspects in the training

• Discuss data quality with survey/census team

• Get involved in data quality assessments at the end of data collection

• Careful assessment of data for adequate interpretation

Highlight gender issues in presentation of dataOften requires detailed disaggregation to identify differences

Facilitate understanding of gender differences


50

Basic table for gender analysis

Title

Women Men Sex distribution

N % N % %W %M

A

B

C

Total 100 100

Source…

51

Group exercise

• Using the handout provided, do the following:1. Identify key gender issue(s)2. Determine key message(s) to be highlighted3. Propose a title / heading that highlights the gender issue

shown4. Draft a short paragraph explaining key message(s)5. Discuss its relevance for labour market and social policies6. Was the information provided sufficient?

-If no, which additional information is needed?

Resources and Contact

• ICLS Resolutions and Guidelines

– Resolution concerning statistics of Work, Employment and labour underutilization (2013)

– Checklist of good practices for mainstreaming gender in labour statistics (2003)

http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and databases/standards-and-guidelines/

• ILO STATISTICS contact

[email protected] 52ILO Department of Statistics

http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and%20databases/standards-and-guidelines/

http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and%20databases/standards-and-guidelines/

mailto:[email protected]

integrating a gender perspective in work and labour market statistics elisa benes, ilo department of...

Documents

gender statistics

work labour market statistics

quality of work statistics

conditions of work

gender mainstreaming

gender relevant

gender perspective frameworks

levels patterns of work