A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CHOICE OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Different characteristics and different roles of both men and women affect the existing gender disparities in self-employment choice in Sri Lanka. This study mainly focuses on comparing the determinants of self-employment choice between men and women in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics in 2018 was used as the main data source. Three binary logistic regression models were applied for analyzing. Based on the results, it was revealed that being a female has a significant and negative impact on self-employment choice in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Moors and the disabled have a higher tendency while tertiary educated people have a lower tendency towards self-employment for both men and women. Other demographic and health factors including ethnicity, age, marital status, disability, household size, socio-economic factors including level of education, vocational training, family income, digital literacy, geographical factors including residential sector and residential province also affect the self-employment choice for men and women. Finally, gender specific policies were suggested to promote self-employment in Sri Lanka by enhancing awareness, developing infrastructure facilities,
introducing educational reforms and conducting training programmes at regional level.

Keywords: Choice of Self-employment, Gender Differences, Determinants of Self-employment, Self-employment Policies