Determinants of and Trends in Labor Force Participation of Women in Turkey

Female labor force participation rate in Turkey is quite low by European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards: it was 24.9 percent in 2006, compared to 66.1 percent in EU-27 and 60.8 percent in OECD countries. Moreover, it has declined from 34.3 percent in 1988 to 24.9 percent in 2006. The purpose of this report is to shed light on factors that determine women's participation in the labor market and the reasons behind the observed trends over the 1988-2006 periods. An important reason for the fall in female participation rate is urbanization. Turkey has witnessed high levels migration from rural to urban areas since 1988. The share of urban population rose from 51.1 percent in 1988 to 63.3 percent in 2006. Despite the declining trend, the female labor force participation rate in rural areas is still higher than that in urban areas, which has been more stable over time. In fact, the gender gap in participation rate in urban areas is much wider. Significant improvements have taken in place in women's schooling in recent decades in Turkey. The final interesting finding that requires further investigation is the low and stagnant participation rates of low skilled women - those with less than high school education. Over the 2000-2006 periods, the participation rate of low skilled women varied between 10.9 and 11.8 percent. These are considerably lower rates compared to that of low skilled men which, over the same time period, varied between 67.1 and 68.8 percent.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Dayıoğlu, Meltem, Kırdar, Murat G.
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Ankara 2010-03
Subjects:	AGE CATEGORIES, AGE COMPOSITION, AGE GROUP, AGE GROUPS, BASIC EDUCATION, BIRTH CONTROL, BUSINESS CYCLES, CHILD CARE, CLERICAL WORKERS, COMPULSORY SCHOOLING, CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA, CURRENT LABOR FORCE, DAY CARE, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES, DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, DISCRIMINATION, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN, DIVORCE, DOWNWARD PRESSURE, EARLY RETIREMENT, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS, EDUCATED MEN, EDUCATED WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL LEVELS, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, ELDERLY, EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN, EMPLOYMENT STATUS, FAMILY WORK, FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, FEMALE LABOR, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, FEMALE POPULATION, FEMALE WORKER, FEMALE WORKERS, FERTILITY, FERTILITY BEHAVIOR, FERTILITY RATES, FIRM SIZE, FIRST MARRIAGE, GENDER, GENDER GAP, HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA, HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, HIGHLY EDUCATED WOMEN, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD WEALTH, ILLITERATE WOMEN, INNOVATION, INTERNAL MIGRATION, JOBS, LABOR ECONOMICS, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR LAW, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKET INDICATORS, LABOR SUPPLY, LABORERS, LIVES OF WOMEN, LOWER FERTILITY, MALE COUNTERPARTS, MALE WORKERS, MARITAL STATUS, MARKET WAGES, MARRIED WOMEN, MATERNITY LEAVE, MIGRANT, MIGRANT WOMEN, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MINIMUM WAGE, MOTHER, NUMBER OF BIRTHS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUMBER OF WOMEN, NUMBER OF WORKERS, OCCUPATIONS, OLD MEN, OLDER WOMEN, PAID MATERNITY, PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN, PARTICIPATION RATES, PARTICIPATIONS, PATERNITY LEAVE, POPULATION TRENDS, PREVIOUS STUDIES, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL GRADUATES, PRIME AGE, PRODUCTION WORKERS, PROPORTION OF WOMEN, REGULAR EMPLOYMENT, REGULAR WORKERS, REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR, RETIREMENT, RURAL AREAS, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL LABOR, RURAL POPULATION, RURAL WOMEN, SAFETY, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLING ATTAINMENT, SCHOOLS, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION, SEVERANCE PAYMENT, SEX, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SINGLE WOMEN, SKILLED WOMEN, SOCIAL POLICY, SOCIAL SECURITY, STATE PLANNING, STATUS OF WOMEN, TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, UNIVERSITY EDUCATION, UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS, URBAN AREAS, URBAN POPULATION, URBAN WOMEN, URBANIZATION, VOCATIONAL SCHOOL, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, WAGE DATA, WAGE DIFFERENTIAL, WAGE EMPLOYMENT, WAGE GAP, WAGE POLICIES, WOMAN, WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, WOMEN WORKERS, WORK FORCE, WORKER, WORKFORCE, WORKING HOURS, WORKING WOMEN, YOUNG AGES, YOUTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/466591468316462301/Determinants-of-and-trends-in-labor-force-participation-of-women-in-Turkey http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27853
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