Women’s Rights and Economics
Women around the world are struggling to balance their responsibilities as labour market employees and primary caregivers of children. Unlike men, women face additional challenges in spending a lot of reproductive life compared to productive economic growth.
In industrialized states, it is known that well-paid women who have a formal job in this sector change their marriage and motherhood to adapt to work and care (Bertrand et al. 2016; Blau and Kahn 2017). However, in developing countries, the pressure to link parenthood to employment in most cases leads women to the informal sectors of employment, where they face unsafe working conditions and have no major guarantees for women.
In developing countries, women have proven to be the most significant contributors to the economy through farming and business venture contributions. At the same time, also they are expected to meet the care works and contributing to the family income. However, in recent years there has been a significant shift in these developing countries regarding the roles of women to the economy and their reproductive rights. This is because women have become highly educated, and therefore, they can no longer be exploited sexually through practices like FGM, sex trafficking and cruel cultural practices. For example, In some countries in Africa where women are getting the education and cultural practices like FGM have stopped, Women are proving to be the most significant contributors to the economy and improvement of welfare in the society.
Gender and reproductive rights have been a major concern for women living in developing countries. Women in these countries do not get the right to plan childbirths or even spacing of children; rather, childbearing is perceived to be their role in society while men go to work. While women have fought to also participate in the labour markets like their male counterparts, they are often downgraded to the informal sector. The “choice” of formal and informal work can fluctuate due to women’s reproductive empowerment, including their capacity to make reproductive rights, practice their sexual rights and access to a full scope of health services (Radhakrishnan, 2010). In Thailand, for example, Zoe Horn et al. conducted a study in 2013 and found that home workers mentioned the possibility of combining paid work and daycare with a primary reason for home care. In addition, Anja Franck (2012) found that women in low-skilled jobs in Malaysia decided to start their own business, instead of officially returning to work after the birth of their children.
Gender plays a significant role in the economy because it supplies the economy with the labour force required to stimulate growth. However, for the economy to grow optimally, Gender equality is vital; that is why gender equality is one of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals ( UN SDG). Gender equality is essential in the economy because it leads to equal opportunities and education for all genders. This will have a ripple effect on the labour force because the country will have a skilled population working in the economy. Studies have proven a connection between gender and poverty. When women work, they tend to spend 90% of their earning back to their families, while Men spend 35% back to their families. Thus, when women earn more income, there is an overall improvement in health and education in society (Chen, 2004)