Niveau et déterminants de l’insertion des femmes sur le marché du travail au Mali

The objective of this study is to identify factors that explain Malian women position in the labor market. We begin by presenting a theoretical framework that mobilizes three theories explaining women labor market integration: the feminist theory which shows that the disadvantaged women position in the labor market is an extension of their status in society, the theory of surviving strategies which postulates that the participation of women is strongly linked to households economic constraints and the standard human capital theory. Using data from the “Enquête Légère Intégrée auprès des Ménages” (ELIM) realized in 2003, we more or less validate the three theories: women from poor economic class are more actives. When the Malian women are educated, they have almost the same opportunity (or even more) than men to find their place in the cramped but protective public sector. A last, women with young children are more likely to be located into the informal sector.