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South Asian women suffer from 'marriage penalty' at work: study

A phenomenon known as “marriage penalty” hinder’s women’s employment in South Asia, a new World Bank study shows. The trend persists even without factoring in child-rearing, while men experience the reverse, dubbed as “marriage premium.”

What it is: “Marriage penalty” refers to the decline in women’s employment rates after marriage, largely driven by deeply-rooted gender norms. According to the study, the share of employed women in Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Nepal falls by 12% following marriage, while men benefit from a 13% increase known as “marriage premium.” The penalty appears to be more severe for women without secondary education or those married to less-educated men. The findings also show that the penalty persists for up to five years in India and Maldives, regardless of whether the women have children. The study, however, emphasizes that education can act as a buffer, with women who have completed secondary schooling, or those married to educated men, experiencing a smaller drop in labor force participation.
How the study was conducted: The study draws on data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in the four South Asian countries, focusing on women aged 15 to 45. Using a pseudo-cohort approach, the study compares labor force participation before and after marriage by matching women with similar demographic characteristics.
The big picture: Marriage penalty reflects entrenched gender inequality in the region, where female labor force participation is among the world’s lowest. As of 2023, only 32% of working-age women were in the labor force, compared to 77% of working-age men. The marriage penalty is a key driver of this disparity, reflecting how societal expectations on married women’s mobility play a major role in limiting their economic potential. The findings are highlighted in the World Bank’s October 2024 “South Asia Development Update” on “Women, Jobs and Growth.”