Offers an analysis of 12 indicators from the ILO Key Indicators of the Labour Market database. The aim is to look for progress or lack of progress towards the goal of gender equality in the world of work and identify where and why blockages to labour market equity continue to exist. Focuses on the relationship of women to labour markets and compares employment outcomes for men and women to the best degree possible given the available labour market indicators.

This book addresses women’s changing role in and contributions to the Indian labour market. It explores how feminist theories and frameworks have changed over time and gradually been supplanted by new ones. The book explores the structural shift in women’s employment from farm to non-farm jobs in services and industries, both theoretically and empirically. Further, it examines the steady rise of women in high skilled or ‘new economy’ sectors like information and communication technology, electronics and telecom; and in low skilled work such as domestic work, particularly in urban areas. It also scrutinizes how emerging sectors of the economy are experimenting with new forms of employment by changing the temporal (part-time work, flexible hours), spatial (location of work) and contractual (temporary contracts) dimensions. Beyond analysing the above-mentioned aspects, the book discusses perennial challenges such as patriarchy, socio-cultural norms and gender-based labour market inequalities across occupations as a ‘glass ceiling’ or ‘sticky floor’. One of the book’s most important contributions is inclusion of detailed labour market statistics for women, with long-term trends and patterns, as well as comparisons with other countries and regions. In closing, the book highlights women’s participation in economic and non-economic activities and related quantification issues, i.e. the invisibility of women’s work, which remains a highly contentious aspect. Given its content, the book offers a valuable asset for a broad readership including academics, NGOs, and policymakers. “The subject of low work participation rates for women has been of concern to economists, gender specialists and policy makers for decades. This book makes an important contribution in understanding the role of women in development and identifies some new policy directions that could be initiated to facilitate greater employment of women.” - Rohini Nayyar, Former Principal Adviser, Yojana Aayog, Government of India “This book is timely and extremely relevant to the academic and policy debates in India. Given the puzzle of low and declining female labour force participation, it is critical to focus on where women work, beyond a supply-side perspective. In addition, efforts are needed to better measure women’s work, which is typically underreported. In both these dimensions, this book makes an important contribution, which will be valuable for both academics and policymakers.” - Sher Verick, Employment Policy and Analysis Programme (EPAP) of the International Training Centre (ITC), International Labour Organization “This book critically examines both theoretically and empirically the dynamics of changes in women’s participation in and contribution to the fast-transforming Indian labour market. The aspects covered include the essential issue of how the new forms of employment are impacting temporal, spatial and contractual dimensions. An excellent and compulsory read for academicians and policy-makers involved in gender as well as labour economics.” - Ritu Dewan, Former President, Indian Association for Women's Studies; Former Director & Professor, Dept. of Economics, University of Mumbai “The book is a required addition to the exiting literature on women’s work and employment for its comprehensive and distinctive approach. It is a unique blend of macro and micro level perspectives and issues capturing statistics.” - Neetha N., Acting Director & Professor, Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS), New Delhi

Labour market institutions, including collective bargaining, the regulation of employment contracts and social protection policies, are instrumental for improving the well-being of workers, their families and society. In many countries, these instituti

The transformation of women's lives over the past century is among the most significant and far-reaching of social and economic phenomena, affecting not only women but also their partners, children, and indeed nearly every person on the planet. In developed and developing countries alike, women are acquiring more education, marrying later, having fewer children, and spending a far greater amount of their adult lives in the labor force. Yet, because women remain the primary caregivers of children, issues such as work-life balance and the glass ceiling have given rise to critical policy discussions in the developed world. In developing countries, many women lack access to reproductive technology and are often relegated to jobs in the informal sector, where pay is variable and job security is weak. Considerable occupational segregation and stubborn gender pay gaps persist around the world. The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy is the first comprehensive collection of scholarly essays to address these issues using the powerful framework of economics. Each chapter, written by an acknowledged expert or team of experts, reviews the key trends, surveys the relevant economic theory, and summarizes and critiques the empirical research literature. By providing a clear-eyed view of what we know, what we do not know, and what the critical unanswered questions are, this Handbook provides an invaluable and wide-ranging examination of the many changes that have occurred in women's economic lives.

"Stories about women in the workforce permeate newspapers, magazines--virtually all media formats devoted to news and commentary in contemporary society. Women's movement into the paid workforce has transformed their lives--and those of their families-and has in many ways reshaped society. This book takes a holistic view of the economic lives of women in the workforce"--

In the present stage of international capitalist development, women are increasingly being drawn into paid employment by multinational and state investment in the Third World. This volume investigates the interrelations between women's participation in the urban wage economy and their productive and reproductive roles in the household and family. It brings together a selection of important recent research on all major regions of the developing world by leading scholars in this emerging field. It argues that the household itself is an important determinant of the character and timing of women's labour force participation, and it assesses the extent to which family patterns can be expected to change as women increasingly work outside the home.