Sectoral Effects on Female Absolute and Relative Employment in Selected Least Developed Countries

This study investigates the sectoral effects on female absolute and relative employment in 39 least developed countries. Random and fixed effects estimation techniques were used on a panel data for the period 1991–2010. Our results shed light on the importance of the sectoral effects on female employment. Specifically, we find that while changes in the agriculture sector output tend to significantly favor female employment in both absolute and relative terms, those in the services, manufacturing, and nonmanufacturing industry sectors tend to have negative effects when significant. Besides the sectoral effects, an increase in female access to education and industrialization, and a decrease in reproduction responsibilities play an important role in enhancing female production responsibilities. Nonetheless, the role of infrastructure development in lessening women’s unpaid care burden and consequently increasing their employment opportunities cannot be underestimated in both absolute and relative terms.