A Gendered Perspective of Underemployment in Ghana

Abstract

Globally, studies have shown that inclusive growth is necessary for poverty reduction. Ghana until recently was a success story in Africa due to its achievement of high and sustained economic growth and impressive poverty reduction. Growth has however not been inclusive. With a high labour force participation rate, most jobs are created in the informal sector where labour is underutilised. Although both unemployment and underemployment are forms of labour underutilisation, research has over the years focused on unemployment. Using the Ghana Living Standards Survey Six (GLSS 6), this paper employs a multinomial logistic regression model within a labour underutilisation framework to investigate underemployment in Ghana from a gendered perspective. Consistent with previous studies, this study finds underemployment to be a rural phenomenon in Ghana. Women, unlike men, face a higher probability of being in income-related underemployment in all employment types. In addition, all levels of education are observed to increase the likelihood of time-related underemployment, yet in accordance with the human capital theory, the probability of income-related underemployment is observed to decline with education.