Gender dynamics in industrial employment: A developing country perspective.

 

Since the onset of industrialization, women have played a vital yet often overlooked role in industry and manufacturing. Historically, they have been underrepresented in technical and managerial roles and have had limited access to technical education and training, which are essential for entering high-skill occupations. Despite their significant contributions, many women, especially in developing countries, continue to face exploitative conditions, including lower wages, long working hours, unsafe workplaces, and insufficient protection from hazardous chemicals. In 2024, only 55.1%  of women aged 15 to 64 years participated in the global labour force, compared to 79.4 per cent of men. Women were also less likely to be employed in industry (17%) compared to men (28 %), and more likely to work in agriculture (26 %) or the service sector (57 %).

In the industry sector, women represented a substantial share of manufacturing employment, accounting for 41.1% in 2023. Yet, as Figure 1 below illustrates, women’s representation in manufacturing has stagnated over the past decade, and across nearly all income groups, with a slight decline in low-income countries and a modest improvement in lower middle-income countries. Data from ILO suggests that women are most prominently employed in the food, apparel, and textile manufacturing sectors. 

By contrast, their representation remains considerably lower across other manufacturing sub-sectors. In particular, metals manufacturing and machinery repair and installation employ only a small fraction of women. This pattern reveals a high degree of sectoral segregation in manufacturing and demonstrates that women's employment is disproportionately concentrated in lower-tech, lower-profitability sub-sectors that typically offer lower average wages and fewer opportunities for advancement. Women are also disproportionately represented in informal manufacturing occupations, where they often face insecure wages, poor working conditions, limited legal protections, and inadequate access to social security (Figure 2). While the gap in informal sector employment between women and men is relatively small in high-income countries, the gap widens significantly for lowerincome countries.

Note: The labels above the lines indicate the difference in percentage points between the higher share (women) and the lower share (men)

Women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles remains a significant challenge across the industrial sector. Globally, women hold only three out of ten managerial positions, with fewer represented at the senior leadership level. According to the World Economic Forum, women occupy just 23 % of leadership roles across industries. While they account for 33.8% of entry-level positions across industries, their representation steadily declines with rank, and drops to only 16.8% in C-suite positions. In the manufacturing sector, this leadership gap is even more pronounced, reflecting deeper structural and cultural barriers to women’s advancement. Gender-based norms and stereotypes also limit women’s entry, retention, advancement, and equal participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) occupations, particularly in manufacturing, heavy industries and energy. According to the same World Economic Forum report, only 20% of women in the manufacturing workforce are employed in STEM roles, compared to 33% of men, underscoring the systemic barriers women face in accessing and progressing in technical occupations.

These disparities are also reflected in earnings. As shown in Figure 4, over the past decade, women’s average hourly wages have consistently lagged behind men’s—by around 10 per cent in developed countries, and 15 per cent in developing ones. While the gender pay gap has narrowed slightly in both, it remains a persistent indicator of inequality in compensation and opportunity in the manufacturing sector.

From margins to mainstream: Breaking barriers and unlocking opportunities The preceding analysis highlights that women face systemic disadvantages in industrial employment, which are often concentrated in informal, low-productivity roles with limited socioeconomic mobility. But why does this disparity persist? A range of entrenched barriers continues to hinder women’s full participation in industry, most notably, deeply rooted gender stereotypes and cultural norms that shape the perceptions of the role of women, in both the workplace and society at large. They include:

 • Unmet standards for gender equality in the workplace: In many countries, laws on equal pay, anti-discrimination, and workplace safety remain weak or poorly enforced. Thus, many companies do not implement effective policies such as parental leave, flexible work options, or ways to report and prevent workplace harassment, including sexual harassment. This contributes to women’s unequal access to training, upskilling, and career advancement opportunities. 

• Gender-specific barriers to entrepreneurship and finance: Due to gender-specific barriers to accessing capital, women-owned businesses are, on average, smaller and less profitable than those owned by men. These challenges are exacerbated in capital and technology-intensive sectors, making it even harder for women to compete. As a result, despite comparable qualifications and potential, women are often excluded from the funding needed to scale innovations.

• The twin digital and green transitions as a risk: Women are underrepresented in green tech and digital industrial sectors and are more likely to be engaged in relatively low-skill employment,11 with only one-third of green tech jobs being held by women. Among college-educated workers, most of the gender employment gap in green tech and the digital industrial sectors could result from the gender gap in STEM degrees and the gender gap in leadership positions.

• Legal and institutional barriers: In many countries, legal restrictions and discriminatory policies limit women’s access to certain jobs, property ownership, or financial resources, further constraining their economic participation. Despite all progress, 2.7 billion women still face legal restrictions on job choices.13 Relying on women as a long-term source of cheap labour is neither inclusive nor sustainable, and ultimately weakens sustainable development. On the contrary, there is increasing acknowledgment of the unique value of gender equality and diversity for the economy and society. The future of gender equality in industry depends on whether the above barriers can be removed.