Gender equality is central to economic development. This paper examines gender gaps in Burkina Faso and find that women's labor force participation is 10 percentage points lower than men's in 2019, while their wage earnings are 82 percent lower, business revenues are 61 percent lower, and value of agricultural production is 61 percent lower. Nationally, gender gaps in labor force participation, business revenues and crop sales are unchanged when compared to 2014 but increased significantly for wage earnings and (to a lesser extent) for harvest value. The gender gap in labor force participation increased in urban areas, while the northern part of Burkina Faso witnessed large increases in the business revenue gender gap. The wage gap increased most in more rural regions. Results from decomposition analysis show that women's lack of capital and male workers, lack of control over income and lower economic benefits from marriage-along with lower levels of skills and farming inputs-have the largest associations with the gaps. The paper reviews evidence-based policy options for tackling the identified gaps for each sector, which include providing vocational skills to women, improving their access to capital, increasing the effectiveness of agricultural extension services and expanding the provision of childcare services and gender norms interventions.
Authors
Donald,Aletheia Amalia, Islam,TM Tonmoy, Robakowski-Van Stralen,Anja
- DOI
- https://dx.doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10809
- Disclosure Date
- 2024/06/18
- Disclosure Status
- Disclosed
- Doc Name
- Explaining Gender Differences in Economic Outcomes in Burkina Faso
- Originating Unit
- Off of Sr VP Dev Econ/Chief Econ (DECVP)
- Product Line
- Advisory Services & Analytics
- Published in
- United States of America
- Rel Proj ID
- BF-Burkina Faso Country Economic Memorandum -- P177349
- Sector
- Central Government (Central Agencies)
- Series Name
- Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 10809; PROSPERITY;
- Theme
- Inclusive Growth,Job Creation,Gender,Human Development and Gender,Economic Policy,Economic Growth and Planning,Private Sector Development,Job Quality,Jobs,Macroeconomic & Structural Policy Modelling,Structural Transformation and Economic Diversification
- Unit Owning
- EFI-AFR2-MTI-MacroFiscal-1 (EAWM1),Gender Impact Evaluation (AFEGI)
- Version Type
- Final
- Volume No
- 1
Table of Contents
- Explaining Gender Differences in Economic Outcomes in Burkina Faso 3
- 2. Setting and Empirical Strategy 6
- 2.1 Context and Data 6
- 2.2 Econometric Specification 9
- 3. Results 11
- 3.1 Labor Force Participation 11
- 3.2 Wage Earnings 13
- 3.3 Business Revenues 15
- 3.4 Agricultural Production 16
- 4. Discussion and Recommendations 17
- 4.1 Increase Women’s Skills and Engagement in Higher-Value Sectors 19
- 4.2 Increase Women’s Access to Productive Inputs 21
- 4.3 Increase Women’s Physical Security and Household Agency 23
- 5. Conclusion 24
- 6. Bibliography 27
- WHO 2019. Trends in Maternal Mortality: 2000 to 2017. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2019 32
- 7. Tables 33
- 8. Appendix Tables 45
