Gender, age, and economic activity Gretchen Donehower University of California at Berkeley Project Director, Counting Women s Work UN Expert Group Meeting on Changing Population Age Structures and Sustainable Development United Nations, New York October 13, 216
Gender and changing age structures Historical perspective Changing gender roles and changing population age structures are both strongly influenced by lower fertility. Future perspective Aging economies can no longer afford to segregate people s economic contributions by gender.
Historical example from the US 1. 1. Proportion in Labor Force.8.6.4.2 Male Labor Force Participation # of Children -4 in Household Female Labor Force Participation.8.6.4.2 Average Number of Children Age -4 in Household. 188 19 192 194 196 198 2 Year. Notes: For ages 2-5 in households, averages age-standardized using equal shares for each age group. Source: US Census samples before 2 and the American Community Survey from 2 on, www.ipums.org.
What does this mean for today? Institutions created around separate spheres of economic activity maintain influence Cultural norms Legal discrimination Unintended consequences of policies Measurement of economic activity
5 Labor Income in Ghana 45 4 Male Ghanaian Cedi per Year 35 3 25 2 15 Total 1 5 Female 2 4 6 8 Source: Data from National Transfer Accounts and Counting Women s Work
1. Gender Gaps in Labor Income Male / Female Labor Income.8.6.4.2 South Africa India Ghana US Senegal. 2 25 3 35 4 45 5 55 6 65 Age Source: Data from National Transfer Accounts and Counting Women s Work
Reason for optimism: rising education, falling gender gaps Years of Schooling 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Average Years of Schooling, Age 25-29 North America Latin America & Caribbean Asia Africa Europe Estimated <== ==> Projected 197 199 21 23 25 Axis Title Ratio of Male/Female Years of Schooling 1.1 1..9.8.7.6.5 North America Asia Ratio Male/Female, Age 25-29 Europe Africa Latin America & Caribbean.4 Estimated <== ==> Projected 197 199 21 23 25 Year Source: Data from Lutz, Butz, and KC (214), provided by Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital
The potential payoff Change in the support ratio (effective producers per consumer) from 215 to 25 if Female Labor Income Age Profile: India Uruguay Argentina Mexico Remains Constant Converges by Half United States Costa Rica China -.5..5 1. Avg Annl Rate of Change in Support Ratio
What is missing from this discussion? Miroslav Gerencer
Senegal Male Female Hours/Week 6 4 2 Market Work 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Hours/Week 6 4 2 Household Production 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Source: Data from Counting Women s Work
South Africa Male Female Hours/Week 6 4 2 Market Work 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Hours/Week 6 4 2 Household Production 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Source: Data from Counting Women s Work
United States Male Female Hours/Week 6 4 2 Market Work 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Hours/Week 6 4 2 Household Production 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 Source: Data from Counting Women s Work
Is specialization a problem? Women s time spent in household production is a barrier to Paid work time Access to leisure Time for education Economic measurement is gender biased by not including household production Incomplete economic measurement can lead to inaccurate policy conclusions Failure to realize gender dividends
Measuring the gendered economy National Time Transfer Accounts (NTTA) Measure time spent producing unpaid care and housework services using time use surveys Value that time by a replacement wage Apply NTA methodology to estimate production and consumption by age Counting Women s Work countingwomenswork.org
Example (Mexico, 25) National Time Transfer Accounts (Household Production) National Transfer Accounts (Market Production) 1 8 Production, Male Consumption Production, Female 1 8 6 6 4 4 2 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Combined Total 12 1 8 6 4 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
What do we see? Unpaid care and housework creates a lot of value, is a huge part of the economy From Mexico example NTTA household production: 22% of GDP NTA market labor income: 42% of GDP Dependency looks different when you include cost of care Youth dependency increases relative to old age Makes lower fertility look like an even better bet for realizing a demographic dividend
Policies to promote human rights and realize gender dividends Remove barriers to women s full economic participation Legal discrimination in wages, access to capital Recognize, reduce, redistribute unpaid care and housework (Elson 28) It maximizes return from all kinds of development investment