EXPLORING THE DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN’S LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This study is an attempt to empirically examine the impact of socioeconomic, demographic, regional, and personal traits on women’s labour participation in Pakistan. The study uses Pakistan Labour Force Survey 2020-2021. The sample size for the female aged 15 or above who are currently not enrolled in any educational institute are 154,408. The logistic regression findings highlight provincial disparities, showing that women in Punjab and Sindh are more likely to participate in the labor force, whereas women in Balochistan are less likely to  engage compared to those in KPK. Urban women are less likely to participate than rural women. Currently married women and formerly married women are less likely to participate compared to never-married women. Age positively impacts participation initially, but this effect diminishes with age due to inverted U-shape relationship. Education shows contrasting effects: higher education increases participation, while primary, middle, and secondary education reduce participation. Job training is a strong predictor, with off-the-job training increasing participation. Native women are more likely to participate than migrants, while women with disabilities are 39.4% less likely to engage in the labour force. These findings highlight critical demographic and socio-economic disparities.