Putting in the Work: Effects of Women’s Employment on Political Problem-Solving

• In Event: Agency and Choice in Women's Political Participation

Abstract

Does working for pay affect women’s ability to demand goods and services from the state? Surprisingly, this question has been understudied in low to middle-income contexts (LMICs). One might expect that such findings do not travel to LMICs because women’s employment is largely informal in these contexts. However, to suggest that paid employment does not influence women’s political participation would be misleading. Instead, I contend that employment influences women’s political participation through the mechanisms of income, networks, time use and spatial mobility. Specifically, it impacts their stock of politically relevant information and their capacity to engage in political action, which I combine into the broader framework of political problem-solving.

Author

• Rashi Sabherwal, University of Pennsylvania