Article ID: MTJPAM-D-25-00104

Title: Factors affecting women’s labour force participation: A comparison of factor analysis and regression models


Montes Taurus J. Pure Appl. Math. / ISSN: 2687-4814

Article ID: MTJPAM-D-25-00104; Volume 7 / Issue 2 / Year 2025, Pages 20-32

Document Type: Research Paper

Author(s): ‪Asude Ozturk a, Fusun Yalcin b

aGraduate Program of Mathematics, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Akdeniz University, TR-07058 Antalya, Türkiye

bDepartment of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Akdeniz University, TR-07058 Antalya, Türkiye

Received: 23 April 2025, Accepted: 25 October 2025, Published: 22 December 2025

Corresponding Author: Fusun Yalcin (Email address: fusunyalcin@akdeniz.edu.tr)

Full Text: PDF

Abstract

The employment of women in the labour force is of significance in several domains, most notably in social and economic spheres. The present study aims to analyse the importance of women’s labour force participation and related social attitudes with statistical methods. The survey data obtained from 402 respondents, who were selected by random sampling in Antalya province, were analysed using logit and probit models. The objective of this analysis was to investigate the level of support for women’s participation in business life, as well as the factors affecting this participation. Following a thorough examination of the available data, it was determined that the probit model provides a superior fit to the data set when compared with the logit model. Furthermore, the gender variable was identified as a statistically significant factor in supporting women’s participation in business life. Following the implementation of the factor analysis, the attitudes of women towards working life were subjected to further analysis, which resulted in the identification of three overarching factors. The following themes are to be explored in this study: firstly, attitudes towards women’s working life; secondly, the perception of equality and discrimination against women in working life; and thirdly, the protective role of working life. Furthermore, it was determined that female participants were more inclined to concur with the statement “I think that women should be given a place in working life” than their male counterparts. The objective of this study is to furnish policy makers and employers with a scientific foundation upon which to support women’s participation in the labour force and to overcome the obstacles that impede this participation.

Keywords: Woman, logistic regression, probit regression, factor analysis

References:
  1. Y. Algül and I. Y. Yarbaşı, The effects of employment and financial empowerment of women on domestic violence: The case of Turkey, Erciyes Univ. J. Fac. Econ. Admin. Sci. 59 (2), 197–220, 2021; https://doi.org/10.18070/erciyesiibd.935635.
  2. F. D. Blau and L. M. Kahn, The gender pay gap: Have women gone as far as they can?, Acad. Manag. Perspect. 21 (1), 7–23, 2007.
  3. A. Bordoloi, P. Goswami and L. B. Mahanta, Factors determining women’s empowerment in rural areas: An ordered logit model-based analysis, Glob. Sci. Acad. Res. J. Multidiscip. Stu. 3 (4), 11–19, 2024.
  4. N. Z. Çakır and D. Dereli, Analysis of female employment rates in Türkiye with duration variable spatial logit and duration variable spatial probit models, Sosyoekonomi, 32 (62), 95–114, 2024.
  5. M. T. Choudhry and P. Elhorst, Female labour force participation and economic development, Int. J. Manpow. 39 (7), 896–912, 2018.
  6. M. A. Desai, Hope in hard times: Women’s empowerment and human development, UNDP-HDRO Occasional Papers No. 2010/14, 2010; Available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=2351509, (Accession date: 18 Feb 2025).
  7. Ş. Durmaz, İşgücü piyasasinda kadinlar ve karşilaştiklari  engeller, Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 2 (3), 37–60, 2016 [in Turkish].
  8. I. Elouardighi and K. Oubejja, Can digital financial inclusion promote women’s labor force participation? Microlevel evidence from Africa, Int. J. Financ. Stud. 11 (3), 2023; Article ID: 87.
  9. W. Feller, An introduction to probability theory and its applications (Volume 2), John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1991.
  10. C. D. Goldin, The role of World War II in the rise of women’s employment, Am. Econ. Rev. 81 (4), 741–756, 1991.
  11. D. N. Gujarati and D. C. Porter, Temel ekonometri, (Translated by U. Senesen and G. G. Senesen), Literatür Yayincilik, 2020 [in Turkish].
  12. H. H. Harman, Modern factor analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1976.
  13. H. Kaya and M. Belke, Identification of factors determining female’s labour force participation in the World: A factor analysis approach, İstanbul İktisat Dergisi, 75 (1), 67–96, 2025.
  14. D. Kılıç and S. Öztürk, Türkiye’de kadinlarin işgücüne katilimi önündeki engeller ve çözüm yollari: Bir ampirik uygulama, Amme İdaresi Dergisi, 47 (1), 107–130, 2014 [in Turkish].
  15. S. Köseoğlu, Erkek üniversite öğrencilerinin kadinlarin çalişmasina yönelik tutum ölçeği, Kadin ve Hukuk, 303–312, 2017 [in Turkish].
  16. N. Lakshmi and V. Sai Prasanth, A study on work-life balance in working women, Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Sci. Res. 1.7, 76–88, 2018.
  17. C. Levent, M. A. Arvas and M. İ. Yenilmez, Kadinlarin işgücüne katilimini belirleyen faktörlerin probit model ile tahmini: Van ili örneği, Yüzüncü Yil Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 42, 245–270, 2018 [in Turkish].
  18. M. Mert, SPSS STATA yatay kesit veri analizi: Bilgisayar uygulamalari, Detay Yayincilik, Ankara, 2016 [in Turkish].
  19. M. K. Özçelik, Çalişma hayatinda kadinin yeri ve kariyer gelişim engelleri, J. Acad. Soc. Sci. 5 (52), 49–70, 2017.
  20. A. Ozturk and F. Yalcin, Logit regression modelling of the support for women in working life survey, In: Proceedings Book of the 7th Mediterranean International Conference of Pure & Applied Mathematics and Related Areas (MICOPAM 2024) (Ed. by Y. Simsek, M. Alkan, I. Kucukoglu and O. Öneş), Antalya, Turkey, October 26-29, 2024, pp. 44-46; ISBN: 978-625-00-1131-7.
  21. I. Petrakis, Determinants of female labour force participation: Evidence from Greece , Labour, 35 (4), 538–567, 2021.
  22. T. P. Schultz, Women’s changing participation in the labor force: A world perspective, Econ. Dev. Cult. Change, 38 (3), 457–488, 1990.
  23. M. Semyonov, The social context of women’s labor force participation: A comparative analysis, Am. J. Sociol. 86 (3), 534–550, 1980.
  24. O. Tasseven, D. Altas and T. Un, The determinants of female labor force participation for OECD countries, Int. J. Econ. Stud. 2 (2), 27–38, 2016.
  25. P. Ukil, Effect of fertility on female labour force participation in the United Kingdom, Margin: J. Appl. Econ. Res. 9 (2), 109–132, 2015.
  26. W. Uunk, Does the cultural context matter? The effect of a country’s gender-role attitudes on female labor supply, Eur. Soc. 17 (2), 176–198, 2015.
  27. F. Varol, The determinants of labor force participation of women in Turkey: A binary logit analysis, J. Hist. Cult. Art Res. 6 (2), 92–108, 2017.
  28. U. N. Women, Gender equality and women’s empowerment, Retrieved from UN Women, 2020.
  29. F. Yalcin, Examining the differences between the use of logit and probit regression models with the support for working women survey, In: Proceedings Book of the 7th Mediterranean International Conference of Pure & Applied Mathematics and Related Areas (MICOPAM 2024) (Ed. by Y. Simsek, M. Alkan, I. Kucukoglu and O. Öneş), Antalya, Turkey, October 26-29, 2024, pp. 134-137; ISBN: 978-625-00-1131-7.
  30. Peace Corps (Source), Global Issues: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Available at https://culturepop.com/hrblog/0ln8a7rkisttfmwvmgkop2jd8bp4t7, (Accession date: 18 February 2025).
  31. Atatürk Araştirma Merkezi, Atatürk’ün Söylev ve Demecleri, (Cilt III), 2024; Available at https://atam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ataturkun-Soylev-ve-Demecleri-C3.pdf, (Accession date: 8 Apr 2025) [in Turkish].
  32. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TURKSTAT), Cinsiyete göre işgücüne katilim orani, 2024; Available at https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Isgucu-Istatistikleri-2024-5405, (Accession date: 10 Apr 2025) [in Turkish].

Cite this article

How to cite this article: A. Ozturk and F. Yalcin, Factors affecting women’s labour force participation: A comparison of factor analysis and regression models, Montes Taurus J. Pure Appl. Math. 7 (2), 20-32, 2025; Article ID: MTJPAM-D-25-00104.