Transformation of women at work in Asia: an unfinished development agenda

This book, based on original comparative research and extensive fieldwork, highlights the commonalities and diversity of challenges facing women across Asia in gaining access to more and better jobs. Findings show that women have contributed significantly to economic growth across the region yet social norms and economic factors limit their levels of participation. The book calls for a comprehensive approach to improve opportunities for women's participation in the labour market as well as for the freedom to engage in paid employment. The argument is that this will, in turn, contribute to a more inclusive growth process. It addresses important challenges faced by women workers and provides policy options for governments to promote decent work opportunities for women across social strata.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The chapters are as follows: Introduction / Sukti Dasgupta and Sher Singh Verick (pages 1-21); Women labour force participation in Asia: trends and issues / Fernanda Barcia de Mattos and Ruchika Chaudhary (pages 23-48); At the threshold of economic empowerment: women, work and gender regimes in Asia / Govind Kelkar (pages 49-73); Decline of women's labour force participation in India: explaining the puzzling trend / Steven Kapsos, Andrea Silberman and Evangelia Bourmpoula (pages 75-101); Declining female employment in India: insights from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh / Partha Saha, Sher Singh Verick, Santosh Mehrotra and Sharmistha Sinha (pages 103-121); Women's employment in Bangladesh: beyond garments / Rushidan Islam Rahman and Rizwanul Islam (pages 123-153); Factors holding women back from market work in Sri Lanka: to work or not to work? / Ramani Gunatilaka (pages 155-186); The life-cycle of women in the labour market in Cambodia: subsistence versus wage employment / Kang Chandararot and Liv Dannet (pages 187-222); Women's employment in Indonesia: gaining more from structural transformation / Makiko Matsumoto (pages 223-258); Women and men in China's labour market: is inequality on the rise? / Sukti Dasgupta, Makiko Matsumoto and Cuntao Xia (pages 259-293); Mapping out a way forward: can policies make a difference? / Sukti Dasgupta and Sher Singh Verick (pages 295-302). Show less