20, Mar 2018 | CJP Team

A new study from the International Labour Organization (ILO) released earlier this month has found that women are less likely than men to be participants in the labour market, and more likely to be unemployed in most areas of the world. According to the study, the global women’s labour force participation rate in 2018 is 48.5%, while the global men’s labour force participation rate is 26.5 points higher. Moreover, the global unemployment rate for women is 6%, 0.8 points higher than the global unemployment rate for men. Overall, this indicates that just six women are employed for every ten men who hold jobs. The study revealed differences in these metrics depending on countries’ wealth. For example, the disparity between unemployment rates for men and women are largely small in developed countries. In particular, in North America and Eastern Europe, the unemployment rate for women is lower than that for men. However, in the Arab region and in North Africa, women’s unemployment rates are double those of men, with women being prevented from working because of social convention. In developing countries, women are “overrepresented” in the informal sector, according to the ILO. The study’s authors also highlighted the fact that the number of men working as employers in 2018 is four times the number of women. Women still struggle with hurdles to secure management-level positions. The complete World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends for Women 2018 – Global snapshot may be read here.