THE HOUSEHOLD CONTEXT AND WOMEN\u27S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN INDONESIA

The study examines an association between the household context and women\u27s work, based on the Indonesian experience. With a sexual division of labor, women take supportive roles and tend to work as secondary income earners if they are involved in economic activity. Family and social systems have a strong influence on women\u27s behavior, especially in confining women within the housekeeping and childcaring context. The Indonesian women, however, have high economic responsibilities, and Indonesia seems to be an unique example among Moslem countries. Nevertheless, the economic activity of Indonesian women is largely determined by family factors, particularly household economic pressure. The study concentrates on examining households in which women live. Among women, female heads have the highest economically active proportions, while wives are second. The status as a daughter in a male-headed household does not appear to entail much economic obligation, but a daughter in a female-headed household tends to take economic responsibilities comparable to those of the wife in a male-headed household. If household economic pressure is defined by number of children present in a household, it does not have a direct effect on women\u27s labor force participation. With a given household size and a given number of household member s employed, however, female labor force participation is positively associated with number of children. This pattern is true for all levels of urbanization. The household not only supplies its members to the labor force to earn income to satisfy its consumption needs, but also provides jobs to many of its members. A large part of the Indonesian economy consists of the traditional sector where most household heads are self-employed. Household members, especially females, tend to work at home as unpaid family workers. As a result, the head\u27s employment tends to have a significant impact on the employment structure of household members in general, and of female members in particular