Moderating Role of Husband’s Education and their Employment on Female Labor Force Participation in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan's economy has declined in recent years, affecting people’s living and employment prospects, and has affected females more compared to males. It has been determined that to contribute to the family income, women, in particular, must work longer hours to maintain themselves and their families above the poverty line. Women in many underdeveloped nations fall behind males in many ways due to social and cultural conventions. This paper has examined the moderating role of husbands' education and employment on female labor force participation (FLFP) using the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18. The findings indicate that FLFP rises in tandem with a woman's age. The odds ratio indicates that educated women who are the head of the family and own land/house (compared to otherwise), have at least five children are more (compared to <5 children), and from Punjab (compare to ICT) are more likely to participate in the labor force. On the other hand, women from the wealthier/richer quintiles (compared to the poorest quintile), married to educated and employed spouses (compared to otherwise) are less likely to engage in the labor force. Our findings further show a positive moderating role of husband’s and women’s education on FLFP and a negative moderating role of husband’s employment and women's education on FLFP. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the husband’s education and his employment are essential to enhance FLFP.