Home> Archive> 2017> Volume 7 Number 3 (Mar. 2017)
IJSSH 2017 Vol.7(3): 184-187 ISSN: 2010-3646
doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2017.V7.816

Women’s Labor force Participation in Sri Lanka: An Inquiry into the Factors Influencing Women’s Participation in the Labor Market

Wanninayake M. Semasinghe

Abstract—The main objective of this study was to identify the contributory factors that obstruct women from entering the labor market at the micro level. The study was based mainly on the mixed method approach. A sample survey method was employed to collect data in order to achieve the main objective while data generated by Quarterly Labor Force Surveys were employed to achieve the other objective. As analysis revealed involvement in household activities is the major factor common to all three sectors. Other factors that were identified were engagement in studies, voluntarily abstaining from working in order to enjoy leisure, sufficiently high level of household income to preclude the need for an additional income, bad environment in the work place, unfavorable working conditions, socio-cultural constraints, physical illness/disability, having retired, low wages, family decision, lack of employment opportunities, low education level, backward attitudes, lack of awareness about the employment opportunities and lack of skills to cope with available opportunities. Among these, the first three are common to the urban and rural sectors while the last four factors are specific to the estate sector.

Index Terms—Economic development, female labor force participation, social development, Sri Lanka, U-hypothesis.

Wanninayake M. Semasinghe is with the Department of Economics, University of Kelaniya, P.O. Box, 11600, Sri Lanka (e-mail: sema23@kln.ac.lk).

[PDF]

Cite: Wanninayake M. Semasinghe, "Women’s Labor force Participation in Sri Lanka: An Inquiry into the Factors Influencing Women’s Participation in the Labor Market," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 184-187, 2017.

PREVIOUS PAPER
NEXT PAPER

Copyright © 2008-2024. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity. All rights reserved.

E-mail: ijssh.editorial.office@gmail.com