Female Labour Force Participation in South Africa

Abstract

The study uses data from the 2017 South African National Income and Dynamics Survey (NIDS) to investigate the determinants of female labour force participation in South Africa. The majority of women form part of the female labour force (50.21%). These estimates are similar in urban areas (55.77%) but lower among women in rural areas (40.29%). Age and education emerge as dominant predictors of female labour force participation. A large household size decreased the odds of labour force participation. The results suggest that more needs to be done in terms of encouraging the full economic participation of women.