This brief, written by feminist economist Diksha Arora, illustrates structural barriers to women’s employment, starting with a discussion of gender division of care work as both a supply- and demand-side constraint. It shines a light on macroeconomic structural constraints and policies that affect demand for labor and workers’ bargaining power, and how these interact with gender segregation and stereotypes to create less favorable outcomes for women in the labor market.
The brief examines the effects of macroeconomic policies including trade liberalization, monetary policy including interest rates and low-inflation bias, and fiscal policy including the role of austerity measures. It also outlines potential gender impacts of climate change adaptation strategies, which are increasingly becoming a part of national development plans. Blending micro- and macro-level analysis, the brief concludes with policy recommendations towards a more gender aware and equitable macroeconomic policy environment.
Published in April 2024 and available in French, Spanish, and English, this brief explores constraints and incentives for women's labor force participation from a structural lens, examining the impacts of macro-level fiscal, monetary, and trade policy on women's jobs, care work, and lives.
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