Why women earn less? Gender-based factors affecting the earnings of self-employed women in Turkey

Abstract

In this study I examine gender-based earnings differences among the urban self-employed in Turkey. I argue that human capital, as well as prevailing social and institutional structures, contribute to earnings differences. Social and institutional factors considered include women's heavy non-market work burden, and their reduced mobility. I conclude that women's lower earnings are not a result of free and rational choices. Since women are not really expected to choose to concentrate in low-return, labor-intensive tasks, these choices are more likely to be made within the context of uneven economic development and pre-existing gender inequalities.

Citation

Esim, S. (2001), "Why women earn less? Gender-based factors affecting the earnings of self-employed women in Turkey", The Economics of Women and Work in the Middle East and North Africa (Research in Middle East Economics, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 205-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1094-5334(01)04012-2