Women at Work:

Regulatory Barriers and Opportunities

Introduction: Michelle Bekkering, USAID Bureau for Economic Growth,

Education and Environment (E3)

Speakers: Lis Meyers, Nathan Associates, Kenana Amin, USAID/Jordan

Moderator: Ana Guevara, USAID Office of Trade and Economic Growth

Date: October 10, 2018

Michelle BekkeringUSAID Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3)

Michelle Bekkering joined USAID in July 2017 and serves as the Senior

Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Economic Growth,

Education and Environment (E3). Concurrently, Ms. Bekkering serves as the

Agency’s Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s

Empowerment where she oversees the Gender Equality and Women’s

Empowerment portfolio for the Agency. Prior to joining USAID, Bekkering

was the Director for Global Initiatives and Senior Gender Advisor at the

International Republican Institute (IRI), where she managed cross-sectoral

global programs with a focus on parliamentary strengthening, people-to-

people exchanges, leadership development initiatives, and the political

inclusion of women and youth. At the same time, Bekkering served as the

Institute’s senior gender advisor, providing strategic leadership, technical

assistance and training for IRI’s initiatives to promote women’s

empowerment and gender equality. She also served as guest lecturer for

the Gender Equality Course at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service

Institute; as a member of the U.S. State Department’s Speakers and

Specialists Program; in the European and Eurasian Affairs Directorate of the

National Security Council under President George W. Bush; and as an aide

to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46). Bekkering graduated from

Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa and studied at the Vrije Universiteit in

The Netherlands.

Ana GuevaraUSAID Office of Trade and Economic Growth

In February 2018, USAID Administrator Mark Green named the Honorable

Ana M. Guevara the Senior Advisor for Trade and Economic Growth. Ms.

Guevara is a respected figure in both government and business sectors with

extensive experience in international trade, customs, transportation, and

development. She was formerly Vice President at two Fortune 50

companies (UPS and Walmart), Alternate Executive Director to the World

Bank Group, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Trade for Service Industries at

the U.S. Department of Commerce, and an active member of nonprofit

executive boards and think tanks. Over the years, Ms. Guevara has

promoted and led initiatives on women’s economic empowerment with

governments, NGO’s, private sector, and multilateral organizations. Her

track record of achievement is a result of optimizing the nexus of

international policy and business with social impact through strategic

partnerships. She received her B.A. in public and international affairs from

George Washington University.

Lis MeyersNathan Associates

Ms. Meyers is a Managing Associate at Nathan Associates, where she leads

gender and women’s economic empowerment programing across Nathan’s

portfolio of international projects. She recently undertook research for

USAID on legal and regulatory barriers that affect women’s wage

employment. The report includes analysis to understand how policies and

regulations limit or enable women to enter, remain, and advance in the

workforce, including restricting employment of women, requiring

occupational licenses, addressing employment discrimination, prohibiting

and addressing sexual harassment, and enabling parents to work. With over

a decade of expertise in gender integration work across sectors, Ms.

Meyers has led research on women’s role in cross border trade, addressing

social norms in women’s financial inclusion, child, early, and forced

marriage, and the potential of impact sourcing to generate employment

opportunities for vulnerable populations. Ms. Meyers facilitates the SEEP

Women’s Economic Empowerment Working Group and chaired the

Technical Advisory Committee for the 2017 Women’s Economic

Empowerment Global Learning Forum in Bangkok, Thailand. She is also an

experienced trainer and has facilitated gender integration trainings in the

U.K. and across Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Persuasive Communication

workshops for women entrepreneurs and workers. She has a BA from

Brown University and an MSc with Distinction from The London School of

Economics

Kenana AminUSAID/Jordan

Kenana Amin is a senior specialist with the USAID/Jordan Program Office.

She currently serves as the Gender Team Leader as well as the Team

Leader for the Monitoring, Evaluation and Project Design teams. In her 20

years with USAID/Jordan, Kenana has played a key role in a variety of

areas, including strategy development, gender equality, participant training,

outreach and communication, performance monitoring and evaluation and

project design.

WOMEN’S WAGE

EMPLOYMENT IN

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

REGULATORY BARRIERS AND

OPPORTUNITIES

Women at Work

Where more legal restrictions around gender equality exist, fewer women work!

Laws and regulations influence

women’s economic participation

across women’s lifecycles - from

educational opportunities and

choices through retirement.

Education and field of

study

Job prospects

Earning potentiel

Career growth

Economic decision making

Ability to balance work

and family

Topics

• Ability to Seek Wage Employment

• Employment Restrictions for

Women

• Employment Discrimination

• Sexual Harassment in Education,

the Workplace and Public Spaces

• Enabling Parents to Work

Grounded in data from the Women, Business and the Law (2018)

Ability to Seek Wage Employment

• Gender inequalities in civil and

administrative laws prevent or make

it harder for women to seek

employment.

• Affect women’s ability to exercise

agency and make choices on

economic activities.

• Marriage can change the legal status

and legal capacity of women:

• Curtails women’s rights to

pursue a profession; decide

where to live or when to travel;

• Additional requirements to

obtain IDs, passports or bank

accounts.

Key Findings: Ability to Seek Wage Employment

• Many of these restrictions are found in

former colonies where outdated colonial

laws and codes have not been reformed.

• Women without a legal identity are

excluded from the formal labor market

• When married women are faced with

additional requirements to obtain an ID

(6 USAID countries), seeking

employment; attending school; opening

a bank account; or applying for a

driving license become more

cumbersome.

Key Findings: Ability to Seek Wage Employment (cont.)

Women’s labor force participation is curtailed

when married women need their husband’s

approval to work.

• When married women have to obey

their husband (10 USAID countries)

or require their husbands permission

to get a job (10 USAID countries),

there are fewer incentives to educate

girls and serious restrictions on

married women’s ability to work;

• In Rwanda, preventing one’s spouse

from working is considered a crime

and a form of domestic violence.

A wife shall not be entitled to

maintenance when she is

nusyuz [disobedient], or

unreasonably refuses to obey

the lawful wishes or

commands of her husband:

(a) when she withholds her

association with her husband;

(b) when she leaves her

husband’s home against his

will; or

(c) when she refuses to move

with him to another home or

place.

— Article 59 Islamic Family

Law [Malaysia]

Case Study: Regulatory change in Ethiopia enabled more women to work outside the home

• The (old) rule: The Ethiopian family code granted a

spouse the ability to deny the other spouse the right to

work outside the home.

• Practical implications: It was predominantly husbands

who denied their wives the opportunity to work outside

the home.

• Regulatory reform: Elimination of the spousal

objection rule and the legal age of marriage for women

was raised from 15 to 18 years.

• Result: Women’s participation in paid work outside the

home increased by 15–24%. As young women delayed

marriage, more young, unmarried women worked full-

time and in higher skilled jobs.

Key Findings: Ability to Seek Wage Employment (cont.)

Child marriage reduces girls’ educational attainment, workforce

participation, and intra-household bargaining power.

Recommendations:

Ability to Seek Wage Employments

• Conduct gender reviews of national

systems, rules, procedures, practices

and costs to obtain a legal identity.

• Support reform activities to remove

spousal approval to seek employment

or to travel outside the home.

• Support civil society organizations

and policy makers in raising and

enforcing the legal age of marriage to

18 years and in supporting girls to

remain in school.

Employment Restrictions for Women

• Women’s range of employment

possibilities are limited by restrictions

on what occupations women can hold, the

hours they can work or the tasks they may

perform.

• Regulatory restrictions on women’s

employment reduce the employer’s pool of

qualified job seekers.

• Prohibitions are often motivated by

concern for health and safety, but bar

women from higher paid industries or

industries where jobs are more readily

available.

29

46

21

44

65

47

37

27

26

29

21

32

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

Night work

Hazardous

Morally inappropirate

Arduous

Mines

Factories

Construction

Agriculture

Water

Energy

Transport

Metal work

Number of Countries with Employment Restrictions for Women

USAID Countries Non-USAID Countries

Key Findings: Employment Restrictions for Women

• Women are banned from numerous professions due to concerns about

strenuous work conditions and their reproductive health.

• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) prohibit women from

working in several hundreds of professions, including driving buses,

trains, trams and tractors;

• Women are restricted from “morally harmful” professions, such as

preparing, handling or selling material with “immoral content” (17 USAID

countries).

• Mining is the most common profession in which governments bar female

employment.

• 51 USAID countries prohibit women from working in mines;

• While conditions can be arduous and dangerous, mining can offer

lucrative pay and advancement opportunities and serve as stable source

of formal employment.

Key Findings:

Employment Restrictions for Women (cont.)

• All employees that work night shifts require special protection.

• Women are restricted from working at night in 20 USAID countries.

• Many countries have removed restrictions on women’s night work and

adopted regulations to protect and improve the working conditions of all

night workers.

Recommendations:

Employment Restrictions for Women

• Improved health and safety

regulations for workers offers

occupational choices and better work

conditions.

• Undertake country-specific regulatory

inventories to map restrictions.

• Study the positive effects of regulatory

changes allowing women to work in

previously restricted professions.

• Conduct an economic impact analysis

of the cost of restricting women’s

employment in particular sectors.

Employment Discrimination

• Discrimination effects women at all stages

of their career cycle – from applying for a

job to retirement.

• Discrimination perpetrates occupational

segregation, promoting a greater

concentration of women in low-paying jobs.

• Gender wage gap is attributed to

discrimination, occupational options and

choices, as well as the perception that

women, as mothers, will be less committed

to work and that it is men’s responsibility to

provide for the family.

Hiring

Employment

Remuneration

Promotion

Dismissal

Retirement

Key Findings: Employment Discrimination

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Equal remuneration for work of equal value

Nondiscrimination based on gender in employment

Nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring

Nondiscrimination based on gender in promotions

Nondiscrimination based on gender in dismissal

Countries that have laws mandating:

USAID Countries Non-USAID Countries

• Increasingly, discrimination in hiring, employment, remuneration, promotion and dismissal is prohibited.

• Limited enforcement of nondiscrimination exasperates occupational segregation.

Key Findings: Employment Discrimination

• Maternity discrimination remains widespread.

• Pregnant women, mothers and women of childbearing age are

perceived to be less available and committed to their work;

• To counteract this, 7 USAID countries prohibit employers to ask job

seekers about their family status and most countries prohibit dismissal

of pregnant workers.

• Women earn less than men for work of equal value throughout the world.

• Can occur in identical work or different occupations deemed to be of

equal value;

• Motherhood wage penalty: Mothers earn less than women who are not

mothers;

• Fatherhood wage bonus: Fathers enjoy a wage increase, compared to

men without children.

Discrimination in Remuneration

54%

34%

27%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Azerbaijan India Bolivia South Africa

Gender Wage Gap: Difference between male and female average earnings

Key Findings: Employment Discrimination

• Wage inequalities deter many women from entering labor market at

same rate as equally skilled men.

• Wage inequalities often exacerbated by career breaks or working

reduced hours to provide child or eldercare.

• 37 USAID countries (less than 1/3) have regulations guaranteeing men

and women equal remuneration for work of equal value.

• Less than 25% of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle

East and North Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, and South Asia

mandate equal remuneration.

Recommendations:

Employment Discriminations

• Assess enforcement of

nondiscrimination regulations

and use findings to develop

improved enforcement,

compliance, and M&E

procedures.

• Support private sector actors in

evaluating potential economic

impact of reducing employment

discrimination.

Sexual Harassment in Education, the Workplace and Public Spaces

• Sexual harassment in school, at work and in public places disproportionally affects girls and women.

• Sexual harassment limits girls’ and women’s mobility and education and employment opportunities.

• Sexual harassment legislation should provide for civil and criminal recourses.

Key Findings: Sexual Harassment

• School-related, gender-based violence (SRGBV) contributes to girls dropping out of school, which limits skill-building and employment opportunities.

• When the risk of SRGBV is high, parents take their girls out of school, particularly when schools are far away from home;

• Awareness about SRGBV is increasing: since 2016, 10 countries adopted legislation addressing SRGBV.

31

72

18

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Education Workplace Public places

USAID countries prohibiting sexual harassment

Key Findings: Sexual Harassment (cont.)

Workplace harassment disproportionately affects women, but also has far-reaching negative effects on economic productivity.

• Can lead to declines in productivity and increased absenteeism.

• Harassment can be the price to pay for a job offer, pay raise or promotion.

• Can create intolerable work environments that cause women to change career trajectory or drop out of workforce entirely.

• Sexual harassment among U.S. government workers is estimated to cost $327 million over 2 years, due to job turnover, absence and reduced productivity. 61% of cost due to reduced workgroup activity.

Key Findings: Sexual Harassment (cont.)

• When sexual harassment in

public places is pervasive,

women modify or restrict their

travel, and forgo educational,

employment or career

opportunities.

• It can also affect women’s

engagement in civil society and

access to educational and

networking opportunities.

Recommendations:

Sexual Harassment

• Expand sexual harassment

legislation to places of

education and public

spaces.

• Support governments to

adhere to and implement

the forthcoming ILO

Convention on violence

and harassment in the

workplace.

Enabling Parents to Work

• Women spend significantly more time than men on unpaid domestic work, including childcare, eldercare, and household tasks.

• Time poverty limits women’s ability to remain and advance in the workforce.

• Regulations for paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and adequate childcare support parents to balance work and family commitments.

• Policies intended to enable women to work can reinforce social stereotypes about family responsibilities (childcare centers specifically for working mothers).

39

15

36

5…

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Women Men

Time spent in paid and unpaid work in Peru

Hours of paid work/week

Hours of unpaid work/week

Enabling Parents to Work

• Paid parental leave creates greater gender

equality and supports working parents by

enabling mothers and fathers to get time off

to care for their infants.

• Most USAID countries (110) mandate

paid or unpaid maternity leave, but 58

USAID countries do not mandate paid or

unpaid paternity leave;

• Women’s employment is 7% higher in

countries that provide paternity leave;

• In 37 USAID countries, the employer

(not the government) pays for maternity

benefits;

• For employers, covering the cost of

maternity leave adds to the cost of

hiring women of childbearing age.

Key Findings: Enabling Parents to Work (cont.)

• Policies supporting parents to balance work and family commitments enable

women to remain and advance in the workforce.

• Women have the right to return to the same or similar position in 67 USAID countries;

• Parents have the right to request flexible work arrangements in just 9 USAID countries.

• Access to affordable, quality childcare enables mothers to return to work, while

increasing women’s productivity and decreasing absenteeism.

• When subsidized childcare is available, the female labor force participation is higher;

• Reliable childcare improves worker attendance, retention, and productivity.

Case Study: Employer-paid Childcare in Chile

• Law: Requires all firms employing 20 or more female

workers to provide employer-paid childcare services

for female employees.

• Intention: To support women’s employment and

enable mothers to work.

• Effect: The cost of employing women increased, a

cost the employer passed on. Women working at

firms providing child care with 20+ female workers

earn 9-20% percent less than female workers hired

by the same firm when no requirement of providing

child care was imposed. Women experience wage

penalty.

Enabling Parents to Work (cont.)

• Review policies to ensure

they support working parents

rather than only working

mothers.

• Conduct a cost-benefit

analysis of expanding

access to affordable, quality

childcare.

Leadership in Public Financial Management II

(LPFM II)

Women’s Employment in Jordan

Jordan: Country ProfileYoung Workforce with Daunting Economic Challenges

• Non-sustainable economic model

• Jordan has the highest public sector employment ratios in the world (exceeding 40%).

• Jordan’s public debt is 96% of GDP.

• Unemployment

• Two-thirds of the population are under 30 and the highest employment rates are

experienced by those youth 15-24.

• Jordan has one of the lowest rates of women’s workforce participation worldwide, at

26.8% and political participation remains limited.

• Water scarcity

• Jordan is one of the most water scare countries in the world. Water demand exceeds

supply by 100%.

• Stresses on social services, including education and healthcare

• Jordan has a high rate of population growth, with population expected to double by 2047.

U.S. – Jordan Partnership60 Years of Commitment to Stability, Prosperity and Self Reliance

Focus Areas

• Supporting economic growth

• Strengthening democratic governance

• Improving essential service delivery

• Promoting gender equality

Gender EqualityPromoting Female Empowerment

Interventions• Raise awareness of gender issues

and support community action

• Improve advocacy and reform

policy

• Encourage women-focused

support services

What the Data is Telling usWomen remain heavily excluded from public life

Economic Participation:• Gender parity in education; ratio of women to men enrolled in universities is 1.07 [Source: World Bank]

• 15.3% of women (vs 55.3% of men) are actively engaged in the economy [Source: Department of

Statistics, 2018 Q2]

• 97.2% of women are wage employees; 46% of women work in public sector [Source: Department

of Statistics]

• 70% of women reported that they are homemaker and are not seeking work outside the

home [Source: General Population Survey]

• 16% of businesses report having some percentage of female ownership [Source: Private Sector

Survey]; 6% of women surveyed owned their own business or had an income generating

activity from home vs 11% of men surveyed [Source: General Population Survey]

• 49% of businesses report that they do not hire women [Source: Private Sector Survey]

• Cultural norms around a woman’s perceived primary role as a mother and a homemaker

may be underpinning the biases against women’s economic empowerment and participation [Source: Private Sector Survey]

What the Data is Telling us – cont.Women remain heavily excluded from public life

Perceptions• Across all surveys data showed clear biases (amongst men and women) against the

equal rights and equal economic and civic participation of women.

• 30% of men and 18% of women do not believe women should have equal rights as men [Source: General Population Survey]

• 27% of men and 13% of women do not believe that women should have equal

employment opportunities as men [Source: General Population Survey]

• 74% of men and 70% of women believe that men have more right to a job than women

in times of economic crisis [Source: General Population Survey]

• 56% of men and 50% of women believe that men make better political leaders and

should be elected rather than women [Source: General Population Survey]

• Underrepresentation of women in leadership positions; estimated only 7% of highest level

of civil service employees are women

• 32% of ever married women are subject to gender-based violence; 70% of married

women accept one rationale for violence by husband [Source: DHS]

Policy and Regulatory ReformSafeguard rights and promote role models

Focus On Public Sector

• Provide incentives for adopting reforms

• Model best practices in civil service

• Strengthen institutional governance

through gender audits

• Provide leadership training

• Identify gender champions

• Review, identify and advocate for legal

reforms

• Support legislators

Cultural Norms and PracticesChange mindsets to increase awareness and promote equality

Social and structural changes• Facilitate online and offline social dialogue

• Provide skills training and job placement

services

• Engage families and communities

• Work with employers and employees

• Establish mentorship and networking

forums

• Increase women-owned businesses

Remember ….What we learned over the years

Women’s employment is key to economic

prosperity

Research-based multi-level strategy

Regulatory reforms must be accompanied

by tackling cultural norms

Customize and adapt

Be persistent

Focus on the positive

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