Socioeconomic Drivers of Women’s Employment Patterns: Evidence from the Next Eleven (N-11) Economies

Abstract

Women's employment emerges as a fundamental global development challenge, emphasizing the need to address the gender disparities in the workforce to foster inclusive and sustainable growth. This study examines the relationship between women's employment (WEMP) and some primary socio-economic determinants like education, fertility rate, workplace regulation, economic growth, and FDI in the Next Eleven (N-11) countries during the period of 1993-2022 by applying the CS-ARDL approach. This study further analyzed the U-feminisation hypothesis between economic growth and WEMP. The findings reveal the positive and significant impact of education on WEMP as 1% rise in education increase 0.10% employment opportunities for women, while the fertility rate, workplace regulation, and FDI show negative impact on female employment rate. Moreover, this study validates the U-feminisation hypothesis of economic growth and WEMP for N-11 countries which implies that employment opportunities for women decline initially with economic growth, reach a minimum level and gradually increase as economic growth continues. This study makes a significant contribution by analyzing the socio-economic determinants of WEMP in the Next Eleven countries.