Recent progress in narrowing gender gaps in education, health, and political representation is not matched by similar improvements in labor market outcomes for women, or more broadly, women’s economic empowerment.  This paper by PERI economist James Heintz addresses the complex links between factors that shape women’s labor market participation and their economic empowerment. It reviews and synthesizes research findings from the Growth and Economic Opportunity Program to shed light on why development gains have yet to translate into more and better employment for women in some regions, and why employment gains seen in others have failed to empower women.

Proximity to industrial facilities can have positive employment effects as well as negative pollution exposure impacts on surrounding communities. PERI economists Michael Ash and James Boyce use facility-level data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to assess the extent to which the racial and ethnic distribution of industrial employment corresponds to the distribution of exposure to air toxics emitted by the same facilities. They find that the share of pollution risk accruing to minority groups generally exceeds their share of employment and exceeds their share of higher paying jobs by a wide margin.

This paper by PERI economist Nancy Folbre reviews recent research on unpaid care work in the Global South. The projects that Folbre reviews use a range of research methods to compare women’s unpaid care burdens in several developing countries. The results show that programs designed to increase women’s opportunities to earn income are typically hampered by inadequate provision for child care, leading to increased economic stress and longer work days. This research supports arguments that developing countries should invest more heavily in social and physical infrastructure to improve the productivity of unpaid work and reduce the burden placed on women as family caregivers.