Female Labour Force Participation in African Countries: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This article investigates female labour force participation (FLFP) in a panel comprising 20 selected African countries across five sub-regional groupings, over the period 1990–2018. It analyses the determinants of demand and supply of FLFP, thereby contributing to the ongoing debate on the female labour participation in African countries. The study sources data from the World Bank Data Bank and uses seemingly unrelated regression as an estimation technique after confirming the stationarity of the time series properties of all variables and the static analysis of the models. The analysis suggests that the GDP growth rate and inequality are positive determinants of female labour demand, while wages, GDP per capita growth and poverty are negative determinants. It also shows evidence for an inverted U-shaped relationship between female labour supply and economic development in Africa, while education, fertility, GDP per capita growth, manufacturing growth rate and culture were contributing factors to this relationship. It is therefore suggested that policymakers in Africa should accelerate the process of formalising African economies to encourage an increase in female labour participation.