The effect of gender inequality on child employment in countries of the world

The struggle against child labor is still a crucial issue today, particularly for developing nations. In order to prevent child labor, it is necessary to identify the determinants of the problem correctly. Many studies have found an inverse relationship between the development level of countries and both child labor and gender inequality. On the other hand, no study has been found to directly determine the relationship between child labor and gender inequality. In this context, this study attempted to investigate the impact of gender inequality and its determinants on child labor (employment). For this purpose, correlation, independent two-sample t-test and multiple regression analyzes were performed. As expected, a positive relationship was found between child employment and gender inequality. Especially, gender inequality was also found to be higher, in countries with relatively high rates of child labor (employment), while these countries also had lower average of female education level. As a result of the multiple regression analysis, it was determined that child labor, which is the dependent variable, was negatively affected by the education level and representation level of women, as expected, and positively affected by women's participation in the labor force, contrary to expectations. It has also been determined that the prevalence of child labor rises along with adolescent birth rates. Due to the low salaries and high frequency of poverty in developing countries, there is a positive correlation between female labor force participation and child labor (employment). As a result, in order to combat child labor, it can be suggested that nations pay women the wages they deserve, improve the status of women's education and representation and prevent child marriage