Trade liberalization, industry concentration and female workers: the case of Egypt

Table 1 Female labor force participation, education, and relative wages 1990 to 2009

*Variable*	1990	1995	1998	2002	2005	2006	2009
Labor force (millions)	16.8	17.8	18.5	20.8	23.9	24.0	26.4
Female labor force (millions)	4.5	4.1	3.9	4.3	5.1	5.3	6.4
Labor force participation rate (% of population 15–64)
Female	27.9	22.9	20.4	20.3	22.3	22.5	25.0
Male	76.2	74.7	74.0	75.7	79.7	77.2	77.8
Unemployment by gender and age (%)
Female	17.9	24.1	19.9	23.9	25.1	24	22.9
Male	5.2	7.6	5.1	6.3	7.1	6.8	5.2
Total	8.6	11.3	8.2	10.2	11.2	10.6	9.4
Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 24)
Female			42.8	40	62.2	55.2
Male			15.8	21.4	23.3	20.6
Wage and salary workers (% of those employed)
Female	..	52.9	60.7	67.9	50.8	53.7	47.9*
Male	..	58.1	59.6	58.4	62.2	63.7	61.4*
Ratio of male to female average monthly wage**
All industries	1.43*		1.29			1.3
Manufacturing	1.47*		1.25			1.59
Education:
Literacy rate (% of population aged 15+)
Female	..	44	..	..	59	58	64*
Male	..	67	..	..	83	75	80*
Ratio of female to male (%)
Primary enrollment	84	88	91*	94	94	94	96
Secondary enrollment	77	87	91*	93	95	95	96
Tertiary enrollment	54	..	..	..	77*	..	91*

Source: World Development Indicators and World Bank Gender Statistics, 2013. *Data for the nearest available year was used.
**Authors calculations based on Egypt Labor Market Survey 1988 and 1998, and ELMPS 2006.