Gender and underemployment in Cameroun 

This paper analyzes disparities in visible and invisible underemployment between men and women in Cameroon using data from the Employment and Informal Sector Survey conducted in 2010. The results indicate that a single woman is less likely to be visibly underemployed than a woman living in a couple; a high endowment of human capital, on the other hand, tends to increase this type of underemployment. Similarly, for women working in the informal sector, there is a lower probability of being invisibly underemployed than for women working in the formal public sector. We suggest: introducing positive discrimination in favor of women by, for example, imposing quotas when recruiting for formal public and private jobs; creating formal jobs in rural areas; and insisting on a school enrollment policy geared towards increasing female attendance. Jel: J13, J16, J22, J24, J78.