International Trade and Women Employment: The Case of Jordan

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess the impact of international trade measurements, trade liberalization, and other related variables on the Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) and Female Employment (FE) in the agricultural, industrial, and services sectors in Jordan from 1990 to 2019. Methods: The study adopts four models and uses the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) approach to estimate the effects of International Trade (Trade), Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDPC), Live Births (LB), Female Enrollment in Secondary School (EFSS), Female Unemployment (FUN), and Jordan’s Accession to the WTO on the FLFP and FE in the three sectors. Results: The empirical results indicate that international trade measurements, Jordan’s WTO accession, EFSS, and FUN have a significantly negative impact on FLFP, except for GDPC which reveals a positive impact on FLFP, while LB proves to be insignificant. Different results were obtained in terms of Female Employment (FE) in the three economic sectors. The trade measurements hurt FE in the agricultural and services sectors, and a positive impact on the industrial sector. Conclusions: One of the most intriguing findings of this study is that Female Employment (FE) in Jordan has experienced adverse impacts due to increased trade openness. Consequently, the government must pursue policies promoting trade openness without adversely affecting FE. This can be achieved by enhancing Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) through education and training initiatives. Simultaneously, there is a need to consider revising labor laws and regulations. These revisions should unequivocally prohibit gender-based wage discrimination.