Selecting an Own Path: Gender Differences of Self-Employment by Major Industry Groups in Sri Lanka

Gender specific diversity of Self-employment is taking place in the labour market, including nearly sixty percent of the informal sector employment in Sri Lanka. Involvement in Self-employment is higher among males than the females, thus showing the general gender disparity in the Sri Lankan labour market. However, gender specific involvements differ by the nature of self-employment. This study examines the gender differences of self-employment by major industry groups in Sri Lanka, including agriculture, industry and services. The Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey (2018) conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics was used as the data source and nine binary logistic regression models were applied for the analysis. Results revealed that gender is a significant factor on self-employment choice in each sector. Women are less prone to be self-employed in the agricultural and services sectors while they are highly prone to be self-employed in the industrial sector. Occupational choices under self-employment also considerably differ for men and women. Gender specific policies were finally suggested to promote self-employment in each major industry groups in Sri Lanka by enhancing awareness, training opportunities and introducing educational reforms in both school and higher education.