Gender, education, and the labor market in Kinshasa

David Shapiro, Pennsylvania State University
Roger Pongi, University of Kinshasa
Mark Gough, Bates White LLC

This paper provides an overview of the labor market in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with emphasis on differences in outcomes by gender and education. We use data from a 2004 survey. Data analysis begins with an overview of labor force participation and labor force status (employed, unemployed, out of the labor force), highlighting differences by age and gender. We distinguish employment in the modern sector from employment in the informal sector. Following this overview, we examine differences in labor force participation and labor force status by educational attainment, again with emphasis on gender differences. And finally, we report and discuss results of multivariate analyses of employment status, with emphasis on schooling, age, gender, and migration status. Our results highlight the difficulties faced by well-educated individuals in finding employment in the modern sector, as well as gender differences in access to the modern sector.