Econometric Analysis of Gender Presence and Performance of Women in the Workplace in Cameroon (Sub-Saharan Africa)
This study research paper investigates how gender discrimination affects corporate performance in Cameroon. Data from the Cameroon Enterprise Survey in 2016 by the World Bank Group and data collected from March 6 to 23rd, 2023, in Douala and Yaoundé, as well as 757 managers’ responses, were utilized. The analysis focused on three organizational levels: employees, management, and business ownership. This study used a mixed method of descriptive and econometric analysis. The results of this study revealed a positive and significant relationship between the presence of women in the workforce and performance. This result is attributed to the improvement in the performance of enterprises with appreciable participation of women in the workforce, management, and ownership levels, specifically in the tourism industry, arts and crafts, textiles, general merchandising, and distribution, which require less training and funding, which are the principal factors of discrimination against women and girls in Cameroon. Furthermore, the turnover of businesses owned and managed by women and those owned/operated by men shows successful growth compared to companies of similar sizes.
A growing emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.) highlights the professional equality between men and women in the corporate world. Owing to the complexity of the workplace, diversity and inclusion have been questioned. This study argues that gender equality has become a moral and strategic necessity for corporate competition. The compelling evidence from our research leaves no doubt about the strategic advantage that gender equality can bring to corporate performance. s
The International Labor Organization narrated in its Global Wage Report 2018/19 that women earn 20% less than men do globally (International Labor Organization, 2018). Moreover, women’s labor force participation rate is 26.5 percent lower than men’s. Women are underrepresented in C.E.O. (chief executive officer) positions and board seats despite several studies signifying a robust positive correlation between gender diversity in the corporate world (Taghizadeh-Hesary et al., 2019). This study further reinforces this correlation by highlighting the significant Impact of gender diversity on corporate performance.
Globalization has created genuine concern for interacting with organizations (businesses) and their environment. Corporate Social Responsibility has been the emphasis that brings to light the professional equality between men and women in the corporate world. Indeed, several empirical investigations, particularly in developing countries such as Cameroon, have highlighted the effects of gender equality through women’s participation in the prosperity of businesses. Thus, gender equality is imperative for corporate competition. One study shows that if a company reduces obstacles to women’s ascension in business, it will benefit growth, performance, and productivity (Burke & Davidson, 1994). Gender equality can be an economic and managerial issue beyond being a factor of social dynamism. There has been an increasing debate on the qualities of feminine behavior as a vector of collective performance in businesses. However, there has always been a stereotype that a man will earn for the family, and a woman, on the other hand, is expected to stay indoors looking after the family responsibilities. After a long struggle, women were considered only to look after the family.
Today, female entrepreneurs make up about one-third of the world’s entrepreneurs; however, in Africa, the situation still needs to be more encouraging for female entrepreneurs than for men, considering the worse conditions in Cameroon. According to data, women constitute one-third of the world’s workforce, about 46%, compared to 72% of men, according to the International Labour Organization (I.L.O.) 2016. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a global gap of 17 percentage points between the participation rate in the active population of women and that of men, which are 53% and 70%, respectively (World Bank, 2015). In Cameroon, the results of the second General Census of Enterprises, known in French as Recensement Genrale des entreprise 2eme edition (RGE-2), conducted in 2016 by the National Institute of Statistics (I.N.S.), indicate that compared to men, women are still less likely to be employed in companies. In a country like Cameroon, with a female population of over 51%, only 43% of women are engaged in companies, and only 44% hold a permanent job. This difference in participation is also noticeable when examining business size. Cameroon, a patriarchal society, has a ratio of one woman to six men in large businesses and a ratio of one woman to two men in small and medium-sized enterprises. A look at entrepreneurship reveals more gender disparities in Cameroonian companies (62.8% of businesses are created by men compared to only 37.2% by women).
Regarding management, 57.3% of the companies are run by men and 42.7% by women. Gender attitudes and practices in Cameroon’s labor market are rooted in the traditional patriarchal system. They are reinforced by modern legal and political instruments that limit women’s economic advancement. Although the employment trends of women have improved (RGE2), the sociological, legal, and cultural burdens still relegate Cameroonian women to second place by reducing their activities, primarily to fulfill family commitments and maternity constraints. A solid cultural attachment is observed in these areas compared to urbanities due to the progressive enlightenment of females and the significant emergence of government policies; prejudices, traditions, and customs still limit women’s employment in companies, their promotion to managerial positions, and even the ownership of startups and the creation of enterprises. Beyond these socio-cultural barriers are economic barriers, including lack of equity (in terms of training) and lack of access to institutional credit, severely limiting women’s entrepreneurship in Cameroon. These barriers amply testify to the persistence of disparities in participation by gender in the labor market in general and in business in Cameroon. For the proper functioning and participation of all Cameroonians in the economic development of Cameroon, it is essential to nurture and encourage potential without gender discrimination.
Government policies, prejudices, traditions, and customs limit women’s employment in companies and promotion to managerial positions. Beyond these socio-cultural barriers are economic barriers, including a lack of equity and access to institutional credit, severely limiting women’s entrepreneurship in Cameroon. These barriers amply testify to the persistence of disparities in participation by gender in the labor market in general and in business in Cameroon (I.M.F. Report, 2015).
Public authorities have made efforts in favor of gender equality and the advancement of women to achieve not only Millennium Development Goals 1 and 3 (M.D.G.s) but, more generally, Objectives 5 and 101 of the Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.G.s) adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities between women and men in all sectors, particularly in the field of employment, despite a set of legal and regulatory mechanisms, consisting not only of national legislation but also of international and regional legal instruments aimed at promoting and protecting women’s rights in the labor market and income-generating activities. Professional equality remains challenging for Cameroonian authorities, who continue developing strategies to encourage more women to participate in business. From this perspective, an action plan for the development of female entrepreneurship (PAN-DEV) will be published under the aegis of the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Family, known by its French acronym (MINPROFF) (Efogo & Timba, 2015), meaning Ministere de Promotion de la femme et de la famile created in 2004 to encourage and promote women’s participation in the social, economic, and political life of the country, acknowledging their potential. In addition to these government structures, informal structures such as tontines (community, business, or friends) and professional environments (colleagues, customers, and suppliers) support female entrepreneurship in Cameroon. These initiatives are strictly private and benefit from little or no government support.
Based on the above statement, this study aims to investigate how gender discrimination affects corporate performance in Cameroon. The paper also aims to affirm the association between gender equality and corporate performance.
The following are the hypothesis statements of the study:
H1: If gender-based discrimination is resolved, corporate performance improves.
H2: Equal training and funding access for female entrepreneurs can improve corporate performance.
H3: Do female entrepreneurs perform better than male entrepreneurs at an equal level?
https://www.bpsu.edu.ph/index.php/component/jdownloads/send/902-volume2issue2-re/4427-2203-2024
