Decent Work in the Turkish Labor Market: An Empirical Study from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

Lower labor market participation compared to men and their concentration in lower-status jobs pose a substantial barrier to women’s access to decent work in Türkiye. Furthermore, Covid-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately adverse impact on women. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the concept of decent work within the Turkish labor market, emphasizing its gendered dimensions and the shifts induced by Covid-19 pandemic. We estimate two separate probit models for decent and non-decent employment by using microdata from the Household Labor Force Survey (HLFS) spanning 2019 to 2023. We run separate regressions for females and males to examine potential gender differences in the likelihood of decent and non-decent employment. Our findings highlight persistent gender disparities in access to decent work, with women disproportionately represented in non-decent employment. This overrepresentation is particularly notable in the services and agricultural sectors and among married or divorced women, suggesting the pervasive influence of societal norms and structural barriers. The U-shaped relationship between educational attainment and non-decent employment among women further underscores the complexity of these dynamics, where higher education paradoxically coincides with increased non-decent employment in some contexts. Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, disproportionately impacting women's employment due to their concentration in sectors most affected by economic disruptions and their dual burden of unpaid caregiving responsibilities.

Keywords

• Decent work
• Gender wage gap
• Covid-19

Türkiye İşgücü Piyasasında İnsana Yakışır İş: Cinsiyet Perspektifinden Ampirik Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Erkeklere kıyasla işgücü piyasasına katılımlarının düşük olması ve düşük statülü işlerde yoğunlaşmaları, Türkiye’de kadınların insana yakışır işlere erişiminin önünde önemli bir engel teşkil etmektedir. Ayrıca, Covid-19 salgını kadınlar üzerinde orantısız derecede olumsuz bir etki yaratmıştır. Bu çalışma, Türkiye işgücü piyasasında insana yakışır iş kavramını kapsamlı bir şekilde incelemekte ve kavramın toplumsal cinsiyet boyutları ile Covid-19 salgınının yol açtığı değişimlere dikkat çekmektedir. 2019-2023 yıllarına ait Hanehalkı İşgücü Araştırması (HİA) mikro verileri kullanılarak, insana yakışır ve yakışır olmayan işe ilişkin iki ayrı probit modeli tahmin edilmiştir. Ayrıca, cinsiyet farklılıklarını incelemek amacıyla düzgün ve düzgün olmayan iş bulma olasılıkları kadın ve erkeğe ait farklı regresyonlarla incelenmiştir. Bulgularımız, düzgün işe erişimde kalıcı cinsiyet eşitsizliklerinin varlığını ve kadınların düzgün olmayan istihdamda orantısız bir şekilde temsil edildiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Bu durum, özellikle hizmetler ve tarım sektörlerinde ve evli ya da boşanmış kadınlar arasında belirgin bir şekilde gözlemlenmektedir. Bu da toplumsal normların ve yapısal engellerin yaygın etkisini akıllara getirmektedir. Kadınlar arasında eğitim düzeyi ile insana yakışır olmayan istihdam arasındaki U şeklindeki ilişki, bu dinamiklerin karmaşıklığını daha da vurgulamaktadır. Diğer yandan, COVID-19 salgını ekonomik aksaklıklardan en fazla etkilenen sektörlerde yoğunlaşan kadınların istihdamını orantısız biçimde etkileyerek mevcut kırılganlıkları daha da artırmıştır.

Keywords

• Düzgün iş
• Cinsiyete dayalı ücret farkı
• Covid-19

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