Describes the Women's Legal and Economic Empowerment Database for Africa (Women-LEED-Africa), which lists existing indicators of gender differences in economic rights by discussing the issues the indicators capture and describing cross-country patterns in all 47 Sub-Saharan countries and the most important sources of law. Four key messages emerge: (1) while the constitutions of all countries recognize the principle of nondiscrimination, widespread legal exceptions exist; (2) many of the discriminatory provisions apply not to women as women but as married women, because in many countries, marriage changes the legal status and rights of women, conferring legal capacities and responsibilities on husbands and removing them from wives; (3) a country's income does not closely relate to the treatment of women's economic rights; and (4) gender gaps in economic rights reduce women's ability to grow a business and employ workers, while stronger economic rights for women increase the share of female employers.

Outlines some areas where policy reforms could improve women's opportunities for entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on key areas that affect the gender-differentiated patterns. The aim is to enable women to engage in larger, formally registered businesses in higher-value-added lines of business by emphasizing reforms of women's legal status and property rights. Gender gaps in rights limit women's business opportunities, and as development is not sufficient to close these gaps, they require proactive measures to improve women's: (1) access to finance, (2) financial literacy, and (3) managerial skills. Broader investment-climate reforms should address constraints to growth in areas where women's economic activities are concentrated, and measures can be taken to strengthen women's participation in policy dialogue, which would improve the business environment for everyone.

No AccessJun 2013Self-Employed, Employers, and Wage Earners in the Formal and Informal SectorsAuthors/Editors: Mary Hallward-DriemeierMary Hallward-DriemeierSearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1596/9780821397039_CH01AboutView ChaptersPDF (0.7 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Describes how many—and where—women work in Sub-Saharan Africa, by comparing the patterns with men—and Sub-Saharan Africa with other regions—paying special attention to employment categories (in the labor market, unemployed, wage earner, self-employed, or employer) and focusing on nonagricultural entrepreneurship relative to wage employment. Because the data overwhelmingly show women active in the labor force (with participation rates higher than in any other region), and most working outside of agriculture as entrepreneurs, strengthening women’s economic opportunities should focus not on expanding entrepreneurship but rather on tackling constraints on women’s abilities and incentives to expand their businesses and move into higher-value-added activities. Three patterns of gender differences emerge: (1) women’s self-employment outnumbers wage employment; (2) a high gender gap exists in the share in wage employment; and (3) rates of being an employer remain low, with the female share generally at 25–30 percent. Previous chapterNext chapter FiguresreferencesRecommendeddetails View Published: June 2013ISBN: 978-0-8213-9703-9e-ISBN: 978-0-8213-9809-8 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsAfricaRelated CountriesGhanaLao People’s Democratic RepublicPeruRelated TopicsEducationFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentGenderHealth Nutrition and PopulationRural DevelopmentSocial Protections and Labor KeywordsBUSINESS OWNERSHIPECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENENTREPRENEURSFEMALE EMPLOYERSFEMALE POPULATIONGENDERGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER EQUALITYGENDER GAPGENDER GAPSGENDER ISSUESINFORMAL SECTORINFORMAL SECTORSLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE (LFPR)LABOR MARKETLABOUR ORGANIZATIONOPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENPEACEPRODUCTIVITYSELF-EMPLOYED PERSONSWOMEN EMPLOYEESWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSESWOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PDF DownloadLoading ...

No AccessJun 2013Effect of Country Patterns in Income, Human Capital, and Assets on Where Women WorkAuthors/Editors: Mary Hallward-DriemeierMary Hallward-DriemeierSearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1596/9780821397039_CH03View ChaptersAboutPDF (0.9 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Examines contributions to the gender-differentiated patterns of entrepreneurship across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, analyzing how much of the variation in women’s overrepresentation in self-employment and relative underrepresentation among employers can be explained by a country’s level of income. Analysis of data from 37 countries finds that while country income is associated with some trends in entrepreneurship, it cannot explain all the differences in patterns across countries; a great deal of country variation exists in women’s entrepreneurship at all income levels. Using adult literacy as a measure of basic human capital shows that large gender gaps in adult literacy coincide with a large relative share of women in self-employment. Greater legal protection of women’s economic rights leads to higher shares of female employers, a finding as prevalent in middle-income countries as low-income countries, showing that closing the gender gaps in legal protections, and strengthening women’s property rights in particular, remain critical. Previous chapterNext chapter FiguresreferencesRecommendeddetails View Published: June 2013ISBN: 978-0-8213-9703-9e-ISBN: 978-0-8213-9809-8 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsAfricaRelated CountriesBurkina FasoMarshall IslandsPeruSão Tomé and PrincipeRelated TopicsCulture & DevelopmentEducationGenderHealth Nutrition and PopulationRural DevelopmentSocial Protections and Labor KeywordsECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTENTREPRENEURSFEMALE EMPLOYERSFEMALE LABORFEMALE LABOR FORCEFEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFEMALE LITERACYFEMALE POPULATIONGENDERGENDER EQUALITYGENDER GAPSGENDER INEQUALITIESGENDER ISSUESINEQUALITYLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLITERACYMATERNAL MORTALITYOPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMENPRODUCTIVITYPROTECTION OF WOMENSELF-EMPLOYED PERSONSWOMEN EMPLOYEESWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWOMEN IN AGRICULTUREWOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PDF DownloadLoading ...

Asks if women's enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa are less productive or profitable than men's enterprises, and if so, are productivity gaps due to differences in sorting across types of entrepreneurial activities, or are they present between women and men engaged in the same activity? The choice of industry, the size of the enterprise, and the decision about whether to operate in the formal sector markedly affect performance patterns, and gaps exist in average productivity between men's and women's enterprises, but controlling for these variables—thereby comparing like with like—shrinks productivity gaps. Countries with higher incomes tend to have firms with higher value added per worker, but also larger gender gaps in average performance measures, with women's continued higher concentration in traditional lower-value-added industries. Few or no significant differences exist between female and male entrepreneurs in the productivity of their businesses, confirming considerable hidden growth potential in women.