My work lately has centered on analyzing data on casual employment in Myanmar. As a result, I’m learning a great deal about women and their economic activities. While I can’t discuss the findings from our survey here (yet), I thought I’d highlight some of the findings of the Integrated Households Living Conditions Assessment (IHLCA-II) from 2009/10. It gives you a sense of where Myanmar women stand in the workforce.
Women in road construction- Delta Region
The “share of women in wage employment” indicator gives a measure of women’s access to the labor market and their integration into the monetary economy. For 2009/10, women’s share in wage employment was 44.7%. The figure was lower among the poor (40.3%) than non-poor (46.7%). Some states had alarmingly low figures: women’s share in wage employment in Chin state was only 21.7%.
Women work alongside men in the fields- Delta Region
The survey also finds that among economically active women, 47.4% work in agriculture, 13.9% are active in wholesale and retail trade, 10.8 % are active in real estate, renting, and business activities, 7.2% work in manufacturing, and 4.9% work in education.
Women engraving lacquerware mugs- Bagan
Not surprisingly, in many if not all of these sectors, women in Myanmar lag behind men in terms of pay.
Women selling vegetables- Yangon
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