Inequality in a More Equal World—Labor Market Gender Gaps in St. Lucia

IMF Working Papers, June 14, 2024

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St. Lucia has enviably high female labor force participation rate and strikingly low participation gap vis-à-vis male.
The participation gap is lower than OECD average and way below world average.
Women are also more educated than men.
Analysis uses a micro dataset of St. Lucia Labor Force Survey over the period 2016-2021.
The paper does not explore causal links but offers interpretation rooted in social, historical, and political structure (a matrifocal but not a matriarchal system).

Childcare has disproportionate effects on female participation and unemployment.
There is a substantial gender gap in labor income for workers without higher education.
The income gap is not explained by observable worker characteristics.
Small gender gaps for workers with higher education across participation, unemployment, and labor income suggest education can help women overcome some barriers.
Two crucial aspects highlighted:
- (i) Macroeconomic indicators like female labor participation rate are important but not always sufficient to capture progress in gender equality.
- (ii) Econometric analysis needs to be complemented with a more holistic understanding of history and social context shaping deeply rooted gender traits.

Assessments of gender equality should go beyond headline macro indicators (for example, participation rates) to include unemployment, labor income, and subgroup analysis by education.
Addressing childcare constraints appears central to reducing female unemployment and improving female participation.
Policies promoting access to higher education for women may reduce gender gaps in participation, unemployment, and labor income.
Understanding social, historical, and political context (for example, matrifocal social structures) is important when designing gender-targeted labor market policies.

IMF Working Papers — "Inequality in a More Equal World—Labor Market Gender Gaps in St. Lucia", Hyunmin Park, Swarnali A Hannan, June 14, 2024