Gendered Impacts of Globalization: Employment and Social Protection (Research and Policy Brief)

Globalization has led to increases in female labour force participation, reducing the gap between women’s and men’s labour force participation rates. However this increase has not necessarily translated into gender equality in pay and status, as women’s entrance in the labour force has often been on unfavourable terms. This brief draws on a review of existing literature conducted by UNRISD in 2012.

This brief focuses on four sets of issues.
1. How globalization has affected the female labour force.
2. Constraints to improving labour market outcomes for women.
3. How social protection affects women’s living standards and economic security under conditions
of globalization.
4. The policy and programme implications.

This brief was first prepared and published by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and is based on an UNRISD paper, Gendered Impacts of Globalization: Employment and Social Protection, by Shahra Razavi, Camila Arza, Elissa Braunstein, Sarah Cook and Kristine Goulding.

UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.