The commercial sex industry in Southeast Asia is flourishing to the point where it greatly contributes to the social, economic and political life in the region. The Sex Sector confronts the multiple and complex economic issues surrounding work in the sex business and the closely related issues of basic human rights, employment, working conditions, gender discrimination and exploitation. Using case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, the book shows how the sex sector has become a highly organized, sophisticated and diversified mechanism with powerful vested interests and tight links to the national and international economy, making it hard for governments to set policy. Millions of people in Southeast Asia earn their living off the sex industry. The study also explores the reasons women choose or are forced by others or by poverty to work in the sex industry.
Child prostitution is investigated as a separate issue and a much more serious problem.
The segregation of men and women into different occupations is one of the most important and enduring aspects of labor markets around the world. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the levels and recent changes in the sex segregation of occupations. It is based on a unique new ILO data set which contains detailed occupational data from 41 countries or territories from all regions of the world. This book analyzes the reality of women s position in Nordic labor markets and concludes that in spite of almost equal numbers of men and women in labor markets in Finland, Norway and Sweden, the sex segregation of occupations remains surprisingly high and a major hindrance to the achievement of gender equality. It offers statistical data totals and female and male on the labor force, employment, unemployment, underemployment, educational attainment of the workforce, wages and compensation, productivity and labor costs, and poverty and income distribution as market indicators.