Intra-Household Employment Gatekeeping
Observational StudyClinical Trial
Women in low- and middle-income regions face severe structural constraints on economic participation due to limited personal autonomy. Male guardians frequently exercise final authority over whether female household members are permitted to enter paid employment.
Picture this
Think of entering the workforce like passing through a locked gate where a relative holds the key. Even if an individual wants to go through, they cannot step into the labor market unless the keyholder agrees to unlock the gate.
What the evidence says
Only 36 percent of women reported having the final say over taking a paid job, and 69 percent of participants had never worked for pay prior to the intervention.
- Who was studied
- Baseline evaluation of 1,670 adult women (average age 30, 93% married) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
- How
- Baseline survey quantifying decision-making power, prior labor force participation, and male guardian influence prior to intervention.
What to do
Design remote gig work offers that require lower household permission thresholds to facilitate initial labor market entry for agency-constrained women.
From the source
"Male figures played a large role in whether women work, with only 36 percent of women reporting they had the final say over having a paid job."
Improving Female Labor Force Participation through Flexible, Internet-mediated Gig Work in India