Gender-Oriented Languages and Female Labour Force Participation: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Michelle Rao

No 2016-12, CSAE Working Paper Series from Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

Abstract: Using the data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper estimates the relationship between language and labour force participation of women in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results suggest that women who speak languages with stronger distinctions between masculine and feminine are less likely to participate in the labour force. This relationship holds both across and within countries, even after controlling for individual characteristics, religion and proxies for gender social norms related to ones ethnicity, such as historical use of the plough. The results suggest that language has a direct effect on preferences regarding labour market decisions, above and beyond gender norms arising from ethnicity and religion. These findings contribute to the growing literature on the relationship between socio-psychological factors and gender differences in economic outcomes.

Keywords: Language; Identity; Culture; Gender social norms; Female labour force participation; Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D03 J16 N37 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-dem, nep-dev and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:csa:wpaper:2016-12

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