Wage subsidies can encourage women’s formal employment in Zambia

Improving women’s empowerment is a priority for the Zambian government. Under the country’s development roadmap for 2017-2021, the number of women working in the formal sector has increased by 28.6% but is short of the 45% target by 2021. A team of local PEP researchers investigated whether a wage subsidy program can encourage women’s formal employment. They found that a wage subsidy to reduce the labour costs of employing women in formal employment can increase labour supply, household incomes and GDP at market prices. The subsidy also promotes women’s empowerment as their income and social benefits improve.
Find out more about the research methods, findings and policy recommendations in the following PEP publications: