Everyday struggle - Gender Equal Working Conditions for Females in Cambodia?
Keywords:
gender inequality, gender and labor market, reconciliation of work and family, qualitative social research
Abstract
Compared to other East Asian countries, Cambodia has relatively high female labor force participation rates. More than 75 percent of women are working, compared to the regional average of 60% (World Bank 2018). However, the educational background of many people, especially females coming from rural areas, is still poor in Cambodia, Therefore, the garment industry and the construction sector offer low-threshold job possibilities for less educated females in order to gain a stable income. Whereas the garment industry is defined as dominated by females, the construction sector is still characterized as typical male sector. The study aims to ask to what extend less educated females, coming from poor areas of Cambodia can enjoy and benefit from their work lives. In addition, gender stereotypes and gender inequality concerning the female workforce in garment and construction are presented. As previous research has focused on quantitative analysis, this study tried to explore perceptions of females working in the garment and construction sector by using the qualitative method of focus group discussions.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Asian Development Bank (2013): Gender Equality in the Labor Market in Cambodia. Asian Development Bank.
Asian Development Bank (2018): Cambodia’s New Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy. Edited by Asian Development Bank. Available online at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/401691/adb-brief-089-cambodia-new-tvet-policy.pdf.
Asian Development Bank (2018): Cambodia’s New Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy (Policy Brief, 89). Available online at https://www.adb.org/publications/cambodia-new-tvet-policy, checked on 3/6/2020.
Bohnsack, R. (2010) (in German): Rekonstruktive Sozialforschung. Berlin/Leverkusen.
Cambodian female workers in Nike, Asics and Puma factories suffer mass faintings. In The Guardian (2017). Available online at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/25/female-cambodian-garment-workers-mass-fainting, checked on 10/30/2020.
Cambodian garment factories improve conditions but rights violations continue (2020). In Asean Today, 10/29/2020. Available online at https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/01/cambodian-garment-factories-improve-conditions-but-rights-violations-continue/, checked on 10/30/2020.
England, P. (2005): Gender Inequality in Labor Markets: The Role of Motherhood and Segregation. In Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 12(2), 264–288. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxi014
Girtler, R. (1992) (in German): Methoden der qualitativen Sozialforschung. Wien et al.
Grossmann, K. G., K.E. (2004) (in German): Bindungen - das Gefüge psychischer Sicherheit. Stuttgart.
Gummeson, E. (1991): Qualitative methods in management research. Newbury Park et al.
Heuveline, P. (2017): Household structure and child education in Cambodia. In International Journal of Population Studies. Available online at DOI: 10.18063/ijps.v3i2.309, checked on 3/6/2020.
International Labor Office (2018): Employment and environmental sustainability in Asia and the Pacific. ILO. Available online at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_624556.pdf, checked on 6/17/2019., checked on 11/19/2019.
International Labor Office (2019): Improving women´s access to old-age pensions. Cambodia and Viet Nam. Available online at https://www.usp2030.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action;jsessionid=1vCoKuV6PySiaPZVx41riQkM6EjWsEjmnoL1PjhceDSk-drNIWAm!-1751551395?id=55605.
Kawazu, E. C., & Kim, H. (2019): Mass fainting in Cambodian garment factories. In Global Epidemiology (Volume 1). Available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloepi.2019.100008, checked on 11/19/2019.
König, R. (1967): Handbuch der empirischen Sozialforschung. Band I.
König, R. (Ed.) (1973): Geschichte und Grundprobleme der empirischen Sozialforschung. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart: Enke (dtv 4235, Wissenschaftliche Reihe).
Ledgerwood, J. (1994): Gender Symbolism and Culture Change: Viewing the Virtuous Woman in the Khmer Story ‘Mea Yoeng". In Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile, pp. 119–128. Available online at http://www.seasite.niu.edu/khmer/ledgerwood/women.htm, checked on 10/19/2019.
Mangold, W. (1973) (in German): Gruppendiskussionen (. In Rene König (Ed.): Geschichte und Grundprobleme der empirischen Sozialforschung. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart: Enke (dtv 4235, Wissenschaftliche Reihe), pp. 209–225.
Robertson, R., Acevedo, G. L., & Savchenko, Y. (2018): Globalisation and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from Sri Lanka and Cambodia 1992-2015. Edited by IZA Discussion Paper. IZA (11821). Available online at http://ftp.iza.org/dp11821.pdf, checked on 7/2/2019.
Schmillen, A. D., Tan, M. L, Abdur Rahman, Amanina Lnu, Shahrul Natasha, Weimann Sandig, N. (2019): Breaking Barriers: Toward Better Economic Opportunities for Women in Malaysia. The World Bank. Washington D.C. Available online at Washington.http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/734461569247873555/Breaking-Barriers-Toward-Better-Economic-Opportunities-for-Women-in-Malaysia, checked on 11/19/2019.
Schmillen, A., & Weimann-Sandig. N. (2018): Perceptions of Precariousness. A Qualitative Study of Constraints Underlying Gender Disparities in Mongolia’s Labor Market. The World Bank. Washington D.C.
Schoyerer, G., & Weimann-Sandig, N. (2015) (in German): Family Day Care in Germany – the gap between vision and reality. In Journal of Early Childhood Education (JECER) (4), pp. 2–21.
The Borgen Project (2018): Girls education in Cambodia fights inequality and rural isolation. Available online at https://borgenproject.org/girls-education-in-cambodia/, checked on 10/30/2020.
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (2014).
The World Bank (2019): Gender Data Portal. Cambodia. The World Bank. Available online at http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/cambodia, checked on 10/19/2019.
UN Women (2016): Pervasive Gender Inequality in Rural Areas. Available online at https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/04/pervasive-gender-inequality-in-rural-areas, checked on 11/05/2020.
World Bank (2017): Gender Data Portal. Available online at http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/cambodia, checked on 07.
World Bank (2019): The World Bank in Cambodia. Overview. World Bank. Available online at https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/overview, checked on 7/3/2019.
World Economic Forum (2017): The global gender gap report 2017. World Economic Forum. Available online at http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf, checked on 7/3/2019.
Asian Development Bank (2018): Cambodia’s New Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy. Edited by Asian Development Bank. Available online at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/401691/adb-brief-089-cambodia-new-tvet-policy.pdf.
Asian Development Bank (2018): Cambodia’s New Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy (Policy Brief, 89). Available online at https://www.adb.org/publications/cambodia-new-tvet-policy, checked on 3/6/2020.
Bohnsack, R. (2010) (in German): Rekonstruktive Sozialforschung. Berlin/Leverkusen.
Cambodian female workers in Nike, Asics and Puma factories suffer mass faintings. In The Guardian (2017). Available online at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/25/female-cambodian-garment-workers-mass-fainting, checked on 10/30/2020.
Cambodian garment factories improve conditions but rights violations continue (2020). In Asean Today, 10/29/2020. Available online at https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/01/cambodian-garment-factories-improve-conditions-but-rights-violations-continue/, checked on 10/30/2020.
England, P. (2005): Gender Inequality in Labor Markets: The Role of Motherhood and Segregation. In Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 12(2), 264–288. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxi014
Girtler, R. (1992) (in German): Methoden der qualitativen Sozialforschung. Wien et al.
Grossmann, K. G., K.E. (2004) (in German): Bindungen - das Gefüge psychischer Sicherheit. Stuttgart.
Gummeson, E. (1991): Qualitative methods in management research. Newbury Park et al.
Heuveline, P. (2017): Household structure and child education in Cambodia. In International Journal of Population Studies. Available online at DOI: 10.18063/ijps.v3i2.309, checked on 3/6/2020.
International Labor Office (2018): Employment and environmental sustainability in Asia and the Pacific. ILO. Available online at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_624556.pdf, checked on 6/17/2019., checked on 11/19/2019.
International Labor Office (2019): Improving women´s access to old-age pensions. Cambodia and Viet Nam. Available online at https://www.usp2030.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action;jsessionid=1vCoKuV6PySiaPZVx41riQkM6EjWsEjmnoL1PjhceDSk-drNIWAm!-1751551395?id=55605.
Kawazu, E. C., & Kim, H. (2019): Mass fainting in Cambodian garment factories. In Global Epidemiology (Volume 1). Available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloepi.2019.100008, checked on 11/19/2019.
König, R. (1967): Handbuch der empirischen Sozialforschung. Band I.
König, R. (Ed.) (1973): Geschichte und Grundprobleme der empirischen Sozialforschung. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart: Enke (dtv 4235, Wissenschaftliche Reihe).
Ledgerwood, J. (1994): Gender Symbolism and Culture Change: Viewing the Virtuous Woman in the Khmer Story ‘Mea Yoeng". In Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile, pp. 119–128. Available online at http://www.seasite.niu.edu/khmer/ledgerwood/women.htm, checked on 10/19/2019.
Mangold, W. (1973) (in German): Gruppendiskussionen (. In Rene König (Ed.): Geschichte und Grundprobleme der empirischen Sozialforschung. 3. Aufl. Stuttgart: Enke (dtv 4235, Wissenschaftliche Reihe), pp. 209–225.
Robertson, R., Acevedo, G. L., & Savchenko, Y. (2018): Globalisation and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from Sri Lanka and Cambodia 1992-2015. Edited by IZA Discussion Paper. IZA (11821). Available online at http://ftp.iza.org/dp11821.pdf, checked on 7/2/2019.
Schmillen, A. D., Tan, M. L, Abdur Rahman, Amanina Lnu, Shahrul Natasha, Weimann Sandig, N. (2019): Breaking Barriers: Toward Better Economic Opportunities for Women in Malaysia. The World Bank. Washington D.C. Available online at Washington.http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/734461569247873555/Breaking-Barriers-Toward-Better-Economic-Opportunities-for-Women-in-Malaysia, checked on 11/19/2019.
Schmillen, A., & Weimann-Sandig. N. (2018): Perceptions of Precariousness. A Qualitative Study of Constraints Underlying Gender Disparities in Mongolia’s Labor Market. The World Bank. Washington D.C.
Schoyerer, G., & Weimann-Sandig, N. (2015) (in German): Family Day Care in Germany – the gap between vision and reality. In Journal of Early Childhood Education (JECER) (4), pp. 2–21.
The Borgen Project (2018): Girls education in Cambodia fights inequality and rural isolation. Available online at https://borgenproject.org/girls-education-in-cambodia/, checked on 10/30/2020.
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (2014).
The World Bank (2019): Gender Data Portal. Cambodia. The World Bank. Available online at http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/cambodia, checked on 10/19/2019.
UN Women (2016): Pervasive Gender Inequality in Rural Areas. Available online at https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/04/pervasive-gender-inequality-in-rural-areas, checked on 11/05/2020.
World Bank (2017): Gender Data Portal. Available online at http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/cambodia, checked on 07.
World Bank (2019): The World Bank in Cambodia. Overview. World Bank. Available online at https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/overview, checked on 7/3/2019.
World Economic Forum (2017): The global gender gap report 2017. World Economic Forum. Available online at http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf, checked on 7/3/2019.
Published
2021-01-06
How to Cite
Weimann-Sandig, N. (2021) “Everyday struggle - Gender Equal Working Conditions for Females in Cambodia?”, Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 6(1), pp. 245 - 254. doi: 10.47405/mjssh.v6i1.587.
Issue
Section
Articles
