8th
March is the annual day to recognise the role of women in society and also
remind society to push for greater participation of women in key roles in
society and the economy. Today, more women are employed in various industries
and jobs than any other time in history, however some experts believe that more
can be done to address this inequality. An often cited statistic is how much
income women earn compared to their male counterparts (79% for every $1 earned by a man).
The push for equality
and bridging the gender pay gap is usually concentrated in the formal sector.
Through regulation, companies can be given directives on a certain quota of
women to employ in key leadership positions which they can easily comply to.
Uganda’s parliament has a woman member of parliament for each of the 120 districts,
ranking it 32nd (out of 153 countries surveyed) in female
representation in parliament.
In the informal
sector, we have most of the groceries sold in markets in stalls operated by
women, as well as majority of the work in subsistence agriculture and
restaurants being done by women. A great deal of this income (if not all of it)
goes to women. One might say men are underrepresented here, and still the
programs and policies in the informal sector tend to target women more than the
men. Well, the overall income level in such a sector is very low.
On the point of
restaurants, it is curious that high end restaurants (if not most
restaurants) usually have a male head chef (mostly assisted by a male sous chef); for an activity that women
have done for centuries free of charge.
There’s one part
of the informal dining sector that has limited participation of women. I often
like using the Rolex industry as a
case.
In all Kampala
suburbs one is bound to find a Rolex joint
or several joints, some neighbouring one another. These small establishments
are operated by young men; I’ve never encountered one operated by a woman in
the last 9 years. This translates into 100% of the income from this industry
going to the men.
Comparing two
individuals, one in the formal sector (at a bank) and the other in the informal
sector (say a trader in groceries). The banker would get her salary at a
specified date at the end of every month, plus some perks that include health
insurance, annual leave, maternity leave and an end of year bonus. These
benefits enable her to lower the cost of health care and enjoy deserved rest
that enables her be more productive. The informal sector female workers will
not enjoy the same privileges; her healthcare costs have to be fully covered by
her income, and any leave days she takes translate into income lost. For this
observation, proponents of equal pay would push for more formal sector
representation of women, and make a less fuss about how many women are
participating in the Rolex industry.
But the
conversion from informal sector to formal sector is a function of education. Formal
sector jobs are highly human capital intensive, and this human capital is a
result of education. It should come as no surprise that a female applicant to a
public university will get an extra 1.5 points. For a time though, this system
rendered the Makerere Law School a female-dominated portion of the campus. No
one batted an eye as to the inequality the boy-child was facing!
Further Reading
World Economic Forum. (2020). The Global Gender Gap Report World Economic Forum.
Patience Ahimbisibwe (April 2019). "The Scuffle for Tickets to Makerere's Law School," in The Daily Monitor.
Rafaella Asio & Mubatsi A. Habatsi (June 2009). To Keep or End 1.5 free points for Varsity girls? in The Independent.
Isa, this is a great read. So engaging. I was just warming up to it when it drew to a close. Perhaps more argument would have been tendered in regards to the conversion from the informal to formal sector. You had set it up well. Great read!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It had to end where it ended. In this day and age one has to be careful, whilst criticizing affirmative action, not to make a habit of rousing its proponents.
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