Women and Men in the Caribbean Community

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Women and Men in the Caribbean CommunityA disproportionate share of the unemployed is the youth; 40 to 62 per cent of unemployedwomen and 44 to 72 per cent of unemployed men were 15-24 years of age in the early 1990s.These shares remained high, in the late 1990s, having declined only marginally for six of theeight countries with data for the two periods. In Barbados and Suriname, the shares declinedby a wider margin, at least 8 percentage points. The biggest decline of the shares of youthamong the unemployed was in Barbados, from 49 to 34 per cent for women and 55 to 42 percent for men (table 5.9).Adult UnemploymentUnemployment Higher among Women Relative to MenThe unemployment rate for women aged 15 years and over exceeded the rate for men in thisage category, in all countries for which there are data for the years around 2000 (table 5.10).In almost all the countries the rates for women, which ranged from ten to 23 per cent, wereone and a half to two times those of men. The unemployment rates generally declined for menbetween 1990 and 2000, but for women, the rates increased for four of the nine countries forwhich there are data for both periods. The unemployment rate for women doubled inDominica from 9 per cent in the early 1990s to 19 per cent around 2000 but was lower thanthe rate in 1980 (22 per cent). In Grenada, it increased by a substantial margin, from 12 to21 per cent in the same time period. The rate was unchanged for Jamaica, and remained asthe highest level, 23 per cent in both years. The rates had previously declined substantially inmost countries for both women and men between 1980 and 1990. Exceptions are Jamaica andSaint Lucia, where they increased for only women; and Barbados, Belize and Trinidad andTobago, where they increased for both women and men.Table 5.10 Unemployment rate of the population aged 15 years and over, 1980,1990 and latest available yearLatest year1980 1990 after 1995Country Women Men Women Men Women MenAntigua and Barbuda . . . . . . 6 7 . . . . . .The Bahamas 16 10 8 8 10 6 aBarbados 14 8 20 10 a 12 7 aBelize 5 5 15 8 ab 20 9 aDominica 22 16 9 10 19 13Grenada 19 16 12 14 21 11Guyana 20 15 18 8 a . . . . . .Jamaica 16 10 23 9 a 23 10 aMontserrat 16 11 5 7 . . . . . .St. Kitts and Nevis 13 9 5 5 . . . . . .Saint Lucia 20 16 22 12 a 20 16 aSt. Vincent and the Grenadines 28 26 21 18 . . . . . .Suriname . . . . . . 19 11 14 8Trinidad and Tobago 10 8 22 22 a 19 12Source: Calculated based on data compiled by the CARICOM Secretariat from (i) 1980-1981 Population and Housing Census of theCommonwealth Caribbean–National Reports, (ii) 1990-1991 Population and Housing Census of the Commonwealth Caribbean-Volume of BasicTables for Sixteen CARICOM Countries, Regional Census Office, Trinidad and Tobago; (iii) National labour force survey reports; (iv) data submittedto CARICOM by Member States; and (v) Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2001-2002, KILM 8. International Labour Office, Geneva: 2002.a Compiled from KILM 8. International Labour Office, Geneva: 2002.b Pertains to labour force aged 16-64 years.94
Chapter 5: WORKWomen Stay Unemployed Longer than MenWomen are not only subjected to higher unemployment, but they also remain unemployed fora longer period than men. Women who have been unemployed for at least one year, (i.e., inlong-term unemployment), form about five to 9 per cent of the female labour force; for menthe corresponding figures are two to 3 per cent, in the early 1990s (table 5.11). In the late1990s, the proportion of the labour force that had been unemployed on a long-term basisdeclined in a few countries: The Bahamas, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, for bothwomen and men. However, the incidence of long-term unemployment remained significantlyhigher for women compared to men (generally two or three times higher) in all six countriesfor which there were data. Among the unemployed, a third to half of the women had beenunemployed for more than a year in the early 1990s, compared to their male counterparts, lessthan a third of who were long-term unemployed. In some countries, the component of theunemployed, which was long-term declined for both women and men (Barbados, and Trinidadand Tobago); for The Bahamas and Belize, they increased for both women and men, but forJamaica they increased slightly for women and declined slightly for men.LONG-TERMUNEMPLOYMENTis defined as a continuousperiod ofunemploymentextending for oneyear or longer.A more detailed breakdown of the duration of unemployment for The Bahamas is presentedas a case study. Table 5.12 shows that women in that country remain unemployed for a longerperiod than men. Almost 60 per cent of unemployed women have been in this state for atleast three months, compared to almost 55 per cent of unemployed men. In addition, therewere almost as many women as men among the unemployed (50 per cent); women comprised56 per cent of those who were unemployed for three to 12 months, but only 41 per cent ofthose unemployed for one to three months.Table 5.11 Long-term unemployment, selected countries, 1990 and 2000Long-term unemployment aas percentage of thelabour forceLong-term unemployment aas percentage of the totalunemployment1991/1993 1997/1999 1991/1993 1997/1999Country Women Men Women Men Women Men Women MenThe Bahamas 5 3 4 2 40 23 44 28Barbados 9 3 3 1 35 15 23 12Belize 7 2 13 4 52 31 66 43Dominica … … 13 8 … … 49 39Jamaica 6 2 7 2 28 21 30 18Trinidad and Tobago 9 3 7 2 49 23 42 20Source: Compiled from Key Indicatorsof the Labour Market 2001-2002,KILM 10. International Labour Office,Geneva: 2002.a Long-term unemployment is definedas continuous period of unemploymentextending for one year or longer.Table 5.12 Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment, The Bahamas, 2001DistributionSex compositionWomenMen Women MenDuration Number Per cent Number Per centLess than 1 month 695 12 630 11 52 481 month but less than 3 850 15 1,225 21 41 593 months but less than 12 1,700 30 1,330 23 56 4412 months and more 1,635 29 1,430 25 53 47Recently laid off/waiting to start a job 760 13 1,110 19 41 59TOTAL 5,640 100 5,725 100 50 50Source: Derived from nationallabour force survey datasubmitted to the CARICOMSecretariat by Member States.95
Page 1 and 2:
Caribbean Community SecretariatStat
Page 3 and 4:
PrefaceThis report, Women and Men i
Page 5 and 6:
Sources of Data for the ReportThe P
Page 7:
SOURCES OF DATAEducationData on gro
Page 10 and 11:
Women and Men in the Caribbean Comm
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65: Women and Men in the Caribbean Comm
Page 160: Women and Men in the Caribbean Comm
show all

Women and Men in the Caribbean Community

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?