Duality of female employment in Pakistan
Kazi, S.; Raza, B.
Pakistan Development Review 30(4 Pt 2): 733-740
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-9729 PMID: 12285308 Document Number: 320128
This paper seeks to assess change over time in the level and pattern of women's employment in Pakistan and to analyse these changes in the context of supply and demand factors influencing women's participation in the labour market. It maintains that women's economic participation is greatly underestimated in official statistics. Data are derived from the Agricultural Census and intensive micro-level surveys while estimates of change over time are mainly based on Labour Force Survey data. The findings highlight the trend towards the duality of female employment as reflected in the increased participation in the labour market of women at the top and bottom end of the socioeconomic scale. With the exception of a small proportion of highly qualified women the great majority of women are in a severely disadvantaged position in the labour market. There are three main sections. Section 1 deals with the changing share of women in different occupational groups. Section 2 examines demand and Section 3 supply constraints on female employment. It concludes that there is a restricted demand for women in the modern sector. Keeping women in casual jobs in the informal sector is seen as the outcome of a deliberate policy of exploiting a cheap source of labour. A comment on the paper by A. Duncan is appended.