Education and employment

Empowering women to have stronger access to the workforce is a shortcut to development. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, delivering a lecture this week during her visit to Sri Lanka, underscored the importance of closing the gender gap by noting that UNESCO’s forthcoming Global Education Monitoring Report shows, on average, every additional year of education boosts a person’s income by 10% and increases a country’s GDP by 18%. 

A parallel study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that if women participated in the labour market to the same extent as men, GDP could increase by 5% in the United States, by 9% in Japan and by 27% in India. Since women make up an estimated 52% of Sri Lanka’s population it stands to reason that more involvement by them would foster stronger development. 

Women seeking employment are challenged by the lack of space in the formal sector. Despite high numbers of qualified women, especially at the university level where an estimated 60% of graduates are female, entrance to the formal workforce remains understated. Currently, about 35% of Sri Lanka’s workforce consists of women, with the largest contribution coming from the agricultural sector.

Local employment opportunities for women are also stymied by weak regulations that do not provide flexible work hours and other perks such as paternity leave, which are standard in other countries. Large numbers of women who remain in the informal workforce also have limited chance to access bank accounts and other avenues of financial inclusivity.

According to the Department of Census and Statistics, the estimated economically-active population of Sri Lanka was about 8.9 million in the first quarter of 2015, of which 63.3% are males and 36.7% are females. Within the economically-inactive population, which also comprises everyone involved in household duties, the disequilibrium is even starker with 25.9% being males and 74.1% females.

A glance at female labour force participation rates around the world suggests that there is a large untapped reservoir of female manpower that can be utilised for the development of the country, while empowering women and benefitting society as a whole. But such an effort requires a huge adjustment from employers and female employees alike.

The female unemployment rate in Sri Lanka is over two-and-a-half times that of the male rate, and almost twice the national figure. According to Government data, only 2.9% of men entering the labour market remain unemployed, while the corresponding figure for women is 7.2%. The national unemployment rate is 4.2% making it clear impediments exist for women to enter the job market.

The same Government figures indicate that education and skills do not necessarily help females secure employment – on the contrary, they could result in a lifetime of frustration. Currently, the single largest employer of women is the agricultural sector at 33.9%, while the services sector employs around 42% of women, while industries employ around 24%.

If Sri Lanka wants to perform better and bridge the gender gap, then it also has to understand and address issues that move beyond healthcare and education. An upgrade appears to be the order of the day, especially since a rupee given to a woman means a better educated and healthier future generation as well.