ABSTRACT
Economic development and globalization have contributed to increases in paid work, both waged and self-employment, and considerable evidence of the global feminization of labour exists. Feminization of labour refers to women's increased share of employment and also harmonizing downward of men's labour market outcomes, although feminization may pertain only to specific sectors such as manufacturing rather than across the whole economy. The meaning of gender, gender equality and women's economic empowerment are outlined to inform the analysis of gender and work in subsequent sections. In addition, the importance of gender equality in development strategies at international and national levels is noted to further motivate the topic. Gender refers to the socially constructed differences between women and men, although the notion of binary categorization is critically discussed. Work is generally divided into paid work and unpaid domestic and care work. Paid work refers to any activity performed to produced goods or services for monetary or in-kind payment.
