rapid and substantial increase in the proportion of women in paid work over the last two decades. Secondly, it refers to the increased flexibility of labour for women and men that has increased low-paid or flexible female labour (Kanji 2001). Feminisation of labour, in fact, is linked to the sexual division of labour. For example, teaching and nursing (particularly at lower levels) are considered the most suitable professions for women, and are hence comparatively ill-paid in relation to other white-collar jobs.
30 A woman who prefers to stay at home; very obedient and submissive to male members as well as to
elderly women of the family such as mother-in-law/grandmother-in-law.
31 A women who is highly skilled in domestic chores like washing clothes, making dishes, serving food to
family members and so on.
32 I myself witnessed this on the birth of my first baby girl. I was happy and invited my villagers for having some sweets and drinks/tea. I was surprised to see when none of villagers were happy and greeted me as well as none of them brought some presents for newly born baby girl. On the contrary, when I celebrated the birth of my baby son, they came with presents and were very happy.
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Feminists argued that such ‘feminization’ of teaching and nursing is because such work is seen as an extension of the nurturing work that women do within the home (Menon 2012; Ghazala and Khalid 2012).
South Asia, being a developing region, witnessed a major shift in work patterns and gendered roles. These changing patterns of paid-work, as well as societal structure, have either attracted or pushed women into paid work, and Asia became the place with the greatest labour force figures in the world. In 2005, Asia had 57.3 per cent, while South Asia accounted for 21 per cent of the world‘s labour force. In South Asia, the female labour participation rate was 35 per cent in 2008, and Pakistan had very low female labour participation (21 per cent) for the same year (Reddy 2013). Labour force participation rates are very uneven among the South Asian countries because of large differences in the female participation rate and gendered norms.
In Pakistan, women’s labour force participation rate is significantly lower compared to other regional countries (for example, 32.4 per cent, 42.4 per cent, and in 36.8 per cent in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively). Kahn and Khan (2009) found that in Pakistan, decision-making within the household is predominantly considered as male privilege. That is why female labour participation is ranked the lowest in South Asia. Furthermore, the gender-role ideologies and social and cultural restrictions on women’s mobility are also major reasons for low female participation in the labour force (pp.77- 78). Similarly, Papanek’s (1971) argument that women’s participation in paid work generally carries low values in Pakistan, still holds in the twenty-first century, and only a few jobs- related to teaching and medicine (doctors) - are considered prestigious for women (Ferdood 2005; Shah 2002).
In Pakistan, the male labour force participation rate is 53.4 per cent, while the female labour participation rate was 24.4 per cent in 2010-2011. This has slightly increased from 16.3 per cent in 1999-2000 (FBS 2011). Factors determining the employment of women are extremely complex, as Pakistani society is class-based, as well as tribal and feudal, simultaneously. Shaheen, Siyal and Awan (2011) have categorised determining factors of women’s employment as ‘at individual level’ and ‘at aggregate level’. At the individual level, women’s decision to work is subject to factors such as their education level, skills and the availability of jobs, while at the aggregate level, female labour force participation is largely determined by the economic, social and demographic
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circumstances of the locality under consideration (p. 104). Particularly in a society divided by income groups, women belonging to lower-income classes are more likely to participate in the labour market, as large family size and economic burden might push mothers into the labour force (Ahmad and Hafeez 2007).
Pakistani society is class-based (Sathar and Kazi 2000). Hence, at household level, the determinants of labour force participation of women depend upon the socio-economic background of working women. Women from elite and middle classes, with at least a graduate degree (14 years of education), are employed in high skilled and high-status jobs- such as doctors, lecturers, superior civil servants, army officers, bankers, and business executives. The majority of women from elite and upper-middle classes enter the labour force to pursue a career, or for their personal fulfilment- as higher-ranked positions are considered a symbol of social status where financial necessity is not the main reason for taking up paid employment (Sayeed, Javed and Khan 2002). Reasons behind this may lie in the family’s sound socio-economic position, and in religious values. The prescribed role of women in Islam is often argued to be a major determinant of women’s status in Pakistani society (Shah 1986). Women are viewed as wives and mothers, whereas economic provision for women is the responsibility of men (Sathar et al 1988; Ferdoos 2005).
The second category is classified as middle- or lower-level professionals with intermediate (12 years’ education) and technical certificates- including nurses, paramedics, telephone and computer operators, and clerical workers. The third category is classified as women from poor households, who work in low-income occupations in the informal sector. This group of women includes factory workers, informal sector workers such as domestic servants, casual workers, vendors, and home-based women workers (Khan and Khan 2009).