Do Foreign Firms Transfer Gender Norms in the Labour Market? Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

• Date: 01 September 2020
• Author: Rezart Hoxhaj,Florian Miti
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/saje.12256

South African Journal of Economics Vol. 88:3 September 2020

doi: 10.1111/saje.12256

227

© 2020 Economic Society of South Africa

DO FOREIGN FIRMS TRANSFER GENDER NORMS IN THE

LABOUR MARKET? EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

REZART HOXHAJ*,† AND FLORIAN MITI‡

Abstract

Closing the gender gaps in economic opportunities is crucial for boosting economic growth and

the empowerment of women. In this paper, we study how foreign firms contribute in reducing

gender disparities in the labour market by transferring the gender norms of their country of origin

to the affiliates in the host countries. We use cross sectional data on foreign firms located in 19

Sub Saharan Africa countries in 2010 by UNIDO. We find that firms coming from more gender

equal countries employ more female workers in their affiliates. This effect is more relevant for the

highly skilled female workers.

JEL Classification: F21, O55, J16

Keywords: Female employment, gender norms, FDI, Sub-Saharan Africa

1. INTRODUCTION

Addressing gender disparities in economic opportunities remains high on the agenda

of policymakers worldwide. Despite recent improvements, in 2017, the average differ-

ences in terms of labour force participation rate and wages between men and women still

persist at 14.5% and 20.5%, respectively (ILO, 2018). From the economic perspective,

narrowing the gender employment gap would benefit growth (Aguirre et al., 2012) and

optimise the allocation of skills and talent of female workers that are currently underuti-

lised (Hsieh et al., 2013). From the social perspective, more economic opportunities for

females could be a catalyst for social change that would benefit women in particular and

the society at large.

This paper aims to shed light on how globalisation affects gender disparities in the

labour market. More specifically, we examine whether and to what extent foreign firms

transfer the gender norms – mostly those related to employment opportunities – of the

country of origin to their affiliates in Sub-Saharan African (SSA henceforth) countries.

We empirically investigate the relationship between the share of female workers employed

by affiliates – a proxy of gender attitudes towards women – and the gender norms of for-

eign firms measured by a wide set of indexes suggested by the literature. More specifically,

our reference index captures the magnitude of disparities in economic participation and

opportunities in the labour market between females and males at the country level.

* Corresponding author: Rezart Hoxhaj, Department of Economics, Rome Tre University, 00145,

Rome, Italy. Tel: +393917747450. E-mail: Rezart.Hoxhaj@EUI.eu

† Department of Economics, Rome Tre University

‡ Department of Economics, University “Ismail Qemali” of Vlora

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