Women in Asian Miracle Economies: Trends in Female Labour Force Participation

Research on the impact of gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5—SDG 5) on economic growth (SDG 8) looks at how gender equality can boost productivity and innovation by increasing the available workforce. This paper attempts to understand how and if economic growth (SDG 8) can lead to gender economic equality. This is done through an analysis of the following: (i) understanding how women are located within the structural transformation of miracle economic growth and the trends of female labour force participation rate (FLFPR), (ii) exploring the nature of the relationship between FLFPR and women’s tertiary education rates, and (iii) the determinants of FLFPR. Through these objectives, the paper attempts to understand the economic position of women in the context of miracle economic growth. This analysis is done for 10 Asian “miracle economies”—China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. These 10 countries are selected as they have all experienced remarkable growth post economic reforms in the 1960s-1990s. The study finds that the gendered nature of structural transformation has important implications on women’s labour force decisions. However, a rise in female labour force participation or a decline in women’s labour also requires an understanding of the nature of jobs that women do in these 10 countries. Gender segregated labour markets, rising precarity and vulnerable work, extension of informality, and persistence of self-employment imply that higher education does not guarantee better job opportunities. Finally, we find that women’s tertiary education rate, fertility rate, and the relative female employment share of services to agriculture have positive and significant impact on female LFPR, while the relative employment share of women in manufacturing to agriculture has a negative significant effect. Hence, manufacturing jobs are not as conducive to female employment as services.