The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report

Unemployment Among Educated Sri Lankan Women and Underlying
Reasons
Mr. Nishan WIJETUNGE (Sri Lanka)

Figure 1 – A Sri Lankan university lecture room where female student representation is noteworthy
Source: Author

Sri Lanka is a nation that has historically set numerous examples in terms of women’s
preeminence – from its ruling queens to the first ever democratically-elected woman primeminister of the world. From neoliberal turn in 1977 to contemporary times, it can be claimed thatthe progressive disposition of the Sri Lankan working woman has reversed. The unemployment
rate of a nation, by definition, is the proportion of the unemployed population to the total labourforce. In Sri Lanka the overall unemployment rate reported for females in 2013 was 7%, and 3.3%
for males. For all considered age groups, the female unemployment rate was considerably morethan that of men (Figure 2). The statistics of 2015 did not yield better results (Figure 3).

Figure 2 – Table Extracted from Sri Lanka Labour Force
Statistics Quarterly Bulletin (Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey –2013)
Unemployment rate by age group and gender –First quarter 2013, Compiled by Department of Census andStatistics

Figure 3 – Chart Extracted from Sri Lanka Labour ForceStatistics Quarterly Bulletin (Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey –2015)
Unemployment rate by age group and gender –Third quarter 2015, Compiled by Department of Census andStatistics

The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report
In Sri Lanka, General Certificate of Education (G.C.E.) Ordinary Level (O/L) is a qualifying
examination for the highly-competitive General Certificate of Education (G.C.E.) Advance Level(A/L) examination that helps one to earn a place in one of the few state-sponsored tertiary
education institutions. Against this backdrop, according to statistics, the highest unemployment
rate was reported from the A/L and above group, which was 9.2% in 2013 (accounting for 6.1%
and 12.5% for males and females respectively) (Figure 4). In 2015, the overall rate had risen to10.1% (where males and females accounted for 6% and 14.1% respectively) (Figure 5). This affirmsthat the problem of unemployment is more acute in the case of educated females, and the factthat this gap is rapidly widening is alarming.

Figure 4 – Table extracted from Sri Lanka Labour Force
Statistics Quarterly Bulletin (Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey –2013)

Figure 5 – Table extracted from Sri Lanka Labour Force
Statistics Quarterly Bulletin (Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey –2015)

Unemployment rate by level of education – First quarter 2013,
Compiled by Department of Census and Statistics

Unemployment rate by level of education – Third quarter 2015,
Compiled by Department of Census and Statistics

The National Human Development Report (NDHR) 2014 on Sri Lanka mentions the stillprevailing stereotypical notions about the ‘right’ place of women in its society. Thus, even theeducated women – irrespective of the level of education – have been unable to escape thetraditional role of being the ‘home-maker’ in a patriarchal society. Educated and employed womenoften complain of prejudice against them at the workplace as well as at home.
While contributing to the nation’s workforce, it has been established by numerous sources
that, in many cases, females are deprived of equal access to jobs, and receive lesser wages.
Moreover, institutional restrictions on access to credit and properties deteriorate the situation.
In terms of university attendees in Sri Lanka, the bulk of them are beneficiaries of freetertiary education, and represent poverty-stricken rural areas. Against this backdrop, when there
are two or three unemployed people in a given family while only one person is earning, their percapita income turns out to be very low, according to a recent survey conducted by University ofKelaniya, Sri Lanka. This scenario, in fact, deteriorates when one or two members seek higher
education instead of employment. Although spending on education is an investment, if graduatesremain unemployed, the family runs the risk of falling into deeper poverty; since it has alreadyspent considerably on education. Moreover, the same research yielded other interesting results.
Although numerous employment opportunities are advertised in newspapers or on the internet,
not enough efforts are generally made by job-seekers to gain the needed qualifications relevantto the prevailing job market. The female graduates, especially, have the negative attitude oflooking only for white collar jobs, government jobs, jobs in a preferred field, or those available in
the immediate vicinity they live in.

The 27th Foreign Correspondent Report
Underemployment by definition occurs under three circumstances: when a highly-skilled
person works for a low salary, works in a low-skilled job, or a part-time worker prefers a full-time
opportunity. This phenomenon is a burning issue the world over, where female underemployment
is comparatively higher. This, in fact, is one of the reasons why women tend to leave the workforce,or remain unemployed voluntarily. Hence, it has become customary in Sri Lanka that educatedfemales take longer to seek for jobs.
Rural to urban migration, too, plays a vital role in this issue. Although young and single
women in the island opt to migrate to urban areas, married women are content to work closer totheir households. On the other hand, when people lack job satisfaction due to underutilization of
their skills, many try to engage in ‘shadow economic activities’. This phenomenon most educatedSri Lankan women partake is not counted as the nation’s economy, as it lies outside the taxsystem. Consequently, even the work contribution these women actually make is omitted in vain.