86
Economic Opportunities for Women in the East Asia and Pacific Region
Box 4.1 (continued)
An economy-wide wage gap between men and women persists in these countries, particularly within the export sector. This gap exists not only because women’s wages are often lower but also because women engage in more irregular or contract work, which pays less. This country-level evidence allows for some tentative observations, pending further poverty and social-impact analysis of international trade expansion. Although women’s increased participation in international trade has expanded participation and employment in absolute terms, it has had ambiguous effects on gender equality in the labor market because • Women, concentrated in low-value-added, low-skilled manufacturing work, lack the bargaining power against highly mobile capital to exact higher wages (Seguino 2000). • Contract and temporary employment has grown in the export sector, reducing the social and other labor protections available in full-time contractual employment (ILO 2009). • Countries have not invested enough in upgrading the skills of their female workforce, thus perpetuating their segmentation at the bottom of the value chain. Sources: ADB 2002, 2004; ADB and World Bank 2008.
ng Ho apo n re Re g Ko p n Au ubli g, C st c o hi Ne rali f K na w a ore a Th Ze ai ala Ph lan nd ili d M ppi al ne a In ysi s do a Ch nes in ia Vi a et Ca nam m So b o lo d i a Fij mo i n Isl Ti an m ds or Va -L nu e s Pa atu te pu M aN on e La go w G o l i a ui PD ne a R
Export Procedures and Costs, Selected East Asian and Pacific Economies
2,000
5
0
6
8
1,500 1,000
9 10
10 14 16 18 21 21 22 22 24 24 25 26 26
500
20 30 46
50
0
40 50 60
time to export (days) Source: World Bank 2009.
cost to export (US$ per container)
days
2,500
Si
cost per container, US$
Figure 4.2