Does increasing access to waged labour force represent the liberation of women around the world?

Change Lab x Paths Academics

Women remain underrepresented in the labour market. Globally, the female labour force participation rate is roughly 47% versus 72% for men; this amounts to an average difference of 23.1% in overall working-age employment rates. Gender differences in laws affect both developing and developed economies, and women in all regions. Globally, over 2.7 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. Over 69 economies have laws constraining women’s decision to work, and 43 economies have no laws on penalizing sexual harassment in the workplace. These statistics highlight the current situation faced by women in the labour market: they are paid less, face more disadvantages and are under-represented across many roles and leadership positions. 

‘Liberation’, defined by The Britannica Dictionary, is ‘the act or process of freeing someone or something from another’s control’ and ‘the removal of traditional social or sexual rules, attitudes etc’. The liberation of women can thus be defined as allowing women to have the freedom of choice, to have equal rights as men that’s both legal and social, and to break the stereotypes that men are better than women. By increasing the access of women to the waged labour force, it directly contributes to giving women more opportunities and more equal rights whilst allowing the economic empowerment of women. Women’s economic empowerment is essential to achieving women’s rights and gender equality, and thus to achieve the liberation of women. Economic empowerment means ensuring that women can equally participate in and benefit from decent work and social protection; access markets and have control over their own time, lives and resources. Women will enjoy increased voice and have meaningful experience in economic decision making at all levels whether it is household or international institutions. This essay argues, therefore, that  increasing access to waged labour force would be a significant milestone for the liberation of the women's movement, but that this change alone is insufficient for it to fully achieve genuine liberation.

Many millions of women dwell in the informal economy of the developing world. The expansion of the informal economy provides jobs for many women but also at the price of being unprotected and poorly paid. Women would directly benefit from paid work. At the most basic level, paid work is seen to increase girls’ chances of surviving from birth into adulthood and reduce the number of ‘missing women’. ‘Missing women’ describes a demographic shortfall in the number of women compared to men in a given population due to sex-selective abortion, female infanticide and gender discrimination. This reduces neglect and directly empowers women by giving them social protection. Furthermore, when women contribute financially to the household, they are likely to have more bargaining power within the family. They have more say in financial decision makings like when and where to spend money. When women gain employment, their families also have more resources to devote to culturally marginalised family members(girls) and so women’s employment is beneficial for girls in countries where they are culturally less valued in terms of basic survival and nutrition.This shift not only improves family welfare but also challenges traditional patriarchal norms that confine women to domestic roles. 

In addition, as more women enter the workforce, it helps to break the stereotypes that women are less capable than men in work. As more women enter professional fields and office jobs, it will help with the gradual transformation of cultural attitudes. This is crucial for the liberation of women in terms of removing restrictive social norms. Moreover, paid jobs allow women to gain more skills, confidence and opportunities that weren’t previously available, fostering independence. 

Nonetheless, increasing access of women to the waged labour force alone is insufficient to the full liberation of women. Legal and institutional failures continue to hinder progress. As highlighted earlier, millions of women face discriminatory laws that restrict their employment choices or fail to protect them from harassment and exploitation at the workplace. Even when legislation and acts are in place to prevent these behaviors, it often lacks effective enforcement; in other words, there are still gaps between laws and implementation. Furthermore, women often face a ‘double-burden’ of balancing professional responsibilities with family obligations. This often pushes women towards part-time jobs or remote work which frequently results in lower pay than in-person positions whilst impeding professional progression. Thus without burnouts, it is extremely difficult for women to have a healthy work-family balance.

In conclusion, increasing access to waged labor is essential but not sufficient for achieving the global liberation of women. It is essential because the economic empowerment of women gives women more independence, bargaining power in families and a chance to be a role model. Yet it is insufficient by itself due to already established social norms and stereotypes that will need time to be re-established. A truly liberated future for women therefore depends not only on opening the office door or factory gate for women, but on rewriting the laws, norms and economic arrangements that determines whose work is valued, whose voices are heard and who makes the choices count.