Discriminatory Environment, Firms' Discriminatory Behavior, and Women's Employment in the Democratic Republic of Congo / Marie Hyland.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Hyland, Marie.

Contributor:

Hyland, Marie.

Islam, Asif.

Muzi, Silvia.

Series:

Policy research working papers.

World Bank e-Library.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Africa Gender Policy.

Discrimination.

Employment.

Enterprise Survey.

Female Employment.

Gender.

Gender Bias.

Kinshasa.

Labor Market.

Law and Development.

Poverty Reduction.

Private Sector Development.

Local Subjects:

Africa Gender Policy.

Discrimination.

Employment.

Enterprise Survey.

Female Employment.

Gender.

Gender Bias.

Kinshasa.

Labor Market.

Law and Development.

Poverty Reduction.

Private Sector Development.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (29 pages)

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : The World Bank, 2020.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

This paper contributes to better understanding firms' discriminatory behavior in the presence of gender-based legal discrimination and its linkages with labor market outcomes for women in a developing country setting. Using data collected through the World Bank Enterprise Surveys in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the paper documents the existence of nonnegligible employer discrimination and limitations in women's autonomy in the presence of a discriminatory environment. Interestingly, these are more pervasive outside the capital city, Kinshasa, which suggests that cultural norms or differences in regulation enforcement may be at play. The paper also finds that firms' discriminatory behavior harms women's labor market outcomes, in their representation among the upper echelons of management and participation in the overall workforce. The negative relationship between restrictions from discriminatory behaviors and female employment is particularly strong in the manufacturing sector.