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Labour Force Participation by Women and Inclusive Growth

This article examines the recent trends of opportunities available for women in Sri Lanka in accessing the labour force by using the Social Opportunity Function presented by Ali and Son (2007). Opportunity curves were constructed for women and men separately to assess the equity-impacts of access opportunities to be in the labour force across different expenditure groups. Opportunity index (OI) (average opportunities available to the population) and the Equity Index of Opportunity (EIO) (how opportunities are shared or distributed among the population) calculated for both sexes to quantify the precise magnitude of the change. Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data produced by the Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka was the main data source. Construction of Opportunity Curves revealed that opportunities for women in accessing labour force have declined over time across all expenditure groups. But it is more remarkable for women in the lower expenditure deciles. In the case of men, mixed results could be observed for different expenditure deciles. Regardless of the sex, average opportunities to access the labour force, OI and EIO have deteriorated over the time period considered.