Women's Employment - United Nations Research Institute for Social ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Women’s employment in the textile manufacturing sectors of Bangladesh and Morocco suggests that not only will it have negative consequences for individual women, but also that it will have long-term negative impacts on the economy as a whole: [D]iscrimination will tend to slow economic growth by reducing efficiency in the allocation of labour among firms and the economy by reducing job commitment and the effort of workers who perceive themselves to be victims of injustice; and by reducing the magnitude of investments in human capital, and the returns on those investments. (Birdsall and Sabot, 1991:7) 3. Objectives and structure of the study The current study builds on the existing literature, in attempting to link the issue of gender-based wage discrimination to trade performance and competitiveness. It argues that the low-wage export strategy based on female labour that has been pursued in Morocco needs to be rethought if Morocco is to maintain its market share in textile export in the global economy. This is a challenge to the common view that wages are too high in Morocco to compete with new entrants such as China, India and Viet Nam. To develop this argument, the chapter uses data from urban labour force surveys to estimate the extent of gender-based wage discrimination. It also attempts to identify the main determinants of gender-based wage differentials. Drawing on this empirical analysis, it hypothesizes a link between the declining competitiveness of Moroccan industry, declining productivity and gender discrimination in wages. It concludes with policy proposals designed to redress gender-based wage discrimination, thereby, it is argued, improving productivity, and, by extension, the competitiveness of Moroccan industry. Section II provides the overall macroeconomic context for the study, covering the period 1980-93 and focusing on the competitiveness of Moroccan industry. The third section gives an overview of employment trends in the same period while the fourth specifically examines the feminization of manufacturing employment. The fifth section provides some data on wage differences by gender in urban labour markets. Theoretical explanations for wage discrimination by gender are reviewed (section VI) and then the methodology and results of the analysis of wage discrimination undertaken in Morocco are presented (section VII). These results are analyzed in some detail in section VIII, which identifies the factors explaining differences in wage levels by gender, as well as wage 38
Wage discrimination by gender in Morocco’s urban labour force differentials, in urban Morocco. Section IX draws together policy conclusions and suggests fruitful areas for further research. II. Economic performance and policy in Morocco, 1980-93 The background to this study is a broad concern with the longterm competitiveness of Moroccan industry, as structural adjustment (introduced in 1986) and increasing deregulation are pushing the country towards greater integration in the global economy. Following structural adjustment, Morocco’s trade performance was initially strong and its share of world markets grew up to 1988. Since 1988, competitiveness has declined, as reflected in rising trade deficits, a falling share of world markets overall and a falling exportimport ratio after 1988. In 1981 (before adjustment), the trade deficit was equivalent to 19 per cent of GDP, falling to 5 per cent in 1988, and rising again to 10 per cent in 1994. While the devaluation of the dirham associated with the adoption of a structural adjustment programme in 1986 initially supported the positive trade performance, in the longer run, structural adjustment has not led to a sustained improvement in trade indicators. Growth in exports has slowed and imports have risen rapidly. Between 1980 and 1988, the growth rate for exports was 4.71 per cent annually. Between 1988 and 1993, this fell to 2.07 per cent, while import growth rose from 1.72 per cent annually (1980-88) to 7.21 per cent (1988-93). Alongside the loss of international competitiveness, there has been a loss of competitiveness in the domestic market, with foreign producers being the main beneficiaries of increases in domestic demand (Belghazi, 1995a). Improvements in the current account in the period 1982-93 2 were largely due to revenues accrued from tourism and remittances of migrant workers, sources that may be unreliable in the longer term. Pressure on the current account is compounded by the rising burden of debt repayment following rescheduling in 1993. Although the current account deficit was financed by a massive increase in foreign private investment, there are concerns that unless there is significant domestic investment alongside this, the economy will remain highly vulnerable. Compared to other newly industrializing countries, Morocco’s competitive advantage is concentrated in final consumer goods and 39
Page 1 and 2: Women’s Employment in the Textile
Page 3 and 4: This United Nations Research Instit
Page 6: Acknowledgements Many people have b
Page 9 and 10: notwithstanding the inertia of the
Page 11 and 12: Carol Miller is a policy analyst on
Page 13 and 14: xii VII. Contribution of different
Page 15 and 16: Introduction 1 Introduction 1 Shahr
Page 17 and 18: Introduction Table 1: Basic indicat
Page 19 and 20: Introduction women have been tradit
Page 21 and 22: Introduction The chapters on Bangla
Page 23 and 24: Introduction occurs, on average, at
Page 25 and 26: Introduction women workers related
Page 27 and 28: Introduction in low-income countrie
Page 29 and 30: Introduction by repaying their “d
Page 31 and 32: Introduction participate in labour
Page 33 and 34: Introduction their bargaining power
Page 35 and 36: Introduction processing zones hypot
Page 37 and 38: Introduction IV. The case studies T
Page 39 and 40: Introduction experience in garment
Page 41 and 42: Introduction V. Conclusion Although
Page 43 and 44: Introduction improved technology. T
Page 45 and 46: Introduction References Afsar, R. (
Page 47 and 48: Introduction Household Power Relati
Page 49 and 50: Wage discrimination by gender in Mo
Page 51: Wage discrimination by gender in Mo
Page 75 and 76: Gender and employment in Moroccan t
Page 103 and 104:
Gender and employment in Moroccan t
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Gender dimensions of labour migrati
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Table 1: Total number of male and f
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Table 9: Distribution of the sample
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Becoming a garment worker 5Becoming
Page 167 and 168:
Becoming a garment worker garment w
Page 169 and 170:
Becoming a garment worker Table 1:
Page 171 and 172:
Becoming a garment worker view of t
Page 173 and 174:
Becoming a garment worker that time
Page 175 and 176:
Becoming a garment worker 2. “I e
Page 177 and 178:
Becoming a garment worker out that
Page 179 and 180:
Becoming a garment worker being. Th
Page 181 and 182:
Becoming a garment worker support t
Page 183 and 184:
Becoming a garment worker they firs
Page 185 and 186:
Becoming a garment worker V. Conclu
Page 187 and 188:
Becoming a garment worker is a job
Page 189 and 190:
Becoming a garment worker Endnotes
Page 191 and 192:
Becoming a garment worker Cole P. D
Page 193 and 194:
Women’s employment in the textile
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
258 Women’s employment in the tex
Page 273 and 274:
260 Annex Table 2:Level of wages an
Page 275 and 276:
show all

Women's Employment - United Nations Research Institute for Social ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?