Publication: Which Socio-Emotional Skills Matter Most for Women’s Earnings? New Insights from Sub-Saharan Africa
Date
2023-03-30
ISSN
Published
2023-03-30
Author(s)
Abstract
Evidence on gender-specific returns
to socio-emotional skills in developing economies is
lacking. To inform the selection of socio-emotional skills
in policy design, a new study mobilizing data from 17
African countries with 41,873 respondents examines gender
differences in ten self-reported socio-emotional skills and
their relationship with education and earnings. Evidence
from the existing literature shows that socio-emotional
skills positively influence labor market outcomes. Findings
from our sample suggest that women in Sub-Saharan Africa
could benefit from training programs designed to improve
their socio-emotional skills, as women earn on average 54
percent less than men and report lower levels of
socio-emotional skills. Educational attainment, which likely
contributes to the increase of socioemotional skills for
both men and women, might not be enough to eliminate gender
differences in socio-emotional skills, since even among the
most educated individuals, women still have lower levels of
socio-emotional skills than men. Research on the
relationship between socio-emotional skills and labor market
outcomes should be deepened to improve the design of future
programs teaching socio-emotional skills in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Our results suggest that public interventions
seeking to equip women with interpersonal skills (e.g.,
teamwork, expressiveness, and interpersonal relatedness) may
provide an effective pathway to reduce gender disparities in
the labor market.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Ajayi, Kehinde; Das, Smita; Delavallade, Clara; Ketema, Tigist Assefa; Rouanet, Léa. 2023. Which Socio-Emotional Skills Matter Most for Women’s Earnings? New Insights from Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Gender Policy Briefs. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39622 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”