The objectives and scope of the study

The main objective of this study is to explore and explain the process of 'decision-making' in women's work in a particular Indonesian setting. Women, unlike men, are more likely to have a choice as to whether to work in the market and whether to change their work status in response to seasonal changes or other social and economic factors. Men, by contrast, unless they are old, in school, disabled or independently wealthy, are expected to work in the market. Since women are more likely to have a choice, the study of women's work decisions is important. The term 'work decision' is used because the decision is not only related to the question of whether to participate in economic activity or not, but also involves a choice between market work outside the home (generally classified as 'economic activity'), market production work at home, and domestic work (generally classified as 'non-economic activity').

Women's work decisions are based on a complex set of social and economic factors. By studying the process of 'decision-making' relating to women's work (the 'how' question), the effect of these factors on women's participation in economic activity can be unravelled. It should also be possible to ascertain the direction of causal relationships, and how women's work decisions affect, or are associated with, various socio-economic and demographic factors. The study of women's work

decisions and their causal relationships with various factors will make it possible to predict more accurately the effects of socio-economic and demographic changes on women's employment in the future and vice versa.

The study will analyse three sets of data based on three different methods of data collection: indirect macro-level quantitative data from a national survey; direct and indirect quantitative data from a survey-type case study; and qualitative data from a micro-level case study. In designing this study, I initially thought that women's work decisions could be adequately explored by conducting a detailed quantitative case study, asking about the reasons for and determinants of women's

work decisions. Analysis of tiiese data, however, revealed that this approach could not adequately explain the context of women's work decisions. T h e decision to work is a complex one involving various interrelated factors. Simple questions on reasons for working could not reveal the complex web of factors and considerations that ultimately determine whether women work. The answers to simple questions depend heavily on the phrasing of the questions and the respondents' current situation (Hoffman, 1963: 22). For example, respondents of low economic status were more likely to give economic reasons for working; yet other women of similar economic status did not work. The response to simple questions could not reflect or explain how women decided to work, or even whether a single, conscious decision was involved. Such issues needed to be explored by a different approach in order to understand the context of women's work.

Dissatisfied with the case study survey results, I returned to the field to carry out a qualitative micro-level case study to explore the process of 'decision- making' in relation to women's work. The resultant different sets of data and methods of analysis provide a more complete understanding of women's work decisions and allow examination of both macro and micro level factors. The experience has also made me aware of the need for better methods for studying women's work.

The Special Capital Region of Jakarta (DKI Jakarta) was chosen as the study area. The 1985 Intercensal Survey (SUPAS 1985) for DKI Jakarta is the source of the macro-level, indirect data. For the quantitative and qualitative case studies, one kecamatan (district) in DKI Jakarta was selected as the study area. The survey case study was conducted in 1986 and the qualitative micro level case study in 1989. The reasons for choosing the data and study area will be discussed in later chapters.

Although the study is of a particular metropohtaii a r e a in Indonesia, it has wider significance and theoretical interest. T h e r e is considerable dissatisfaction with the definitions of and approaches to the study of women's work ( A n k e r , 1983; Blacker, 1977; Boulding, 1983; Dixon, 1982; Moir, 1980; Tinker, 1976). However, t h e r e have b e e n very few attempts to examine systematically the contributions of intensive surveys and qualitative approaches to re-defining the scope of women's work and analysing the 'decision-making' process involved.

1.6 Summary

W o m e n ' s work can be studied at the macro level using census or large-scale national survey data or at the micro level using case study data. Analysis of women's work based on census or national survey data is of limited value in explaining women's work decisions because it only provides indirect i n f o r m a t i o n and reflects the results of such decisions at a particular point in time. T h e d a t a yield information on women's participation in economic activity in relation to the various characteristics, such as age, marital status, education, income and

occupation that are included in the census or survey. T h e particular strengths of such data lie in their ability to describe the broad pattern of women's participation in economic activity, and the fact that results can be generalised to the national population. However, no direct information about the process is available. In analysing women's work decisions, the data only provide information on the different characteristics of economically active and inactive w o m e n . In addition, the strict definition of economic activity applied in the data collection results in categories that do not reflect the structure of women's work or choices.

T h e s e limitations of census and national survey data indicate a n e e d for other approaches to the study of women's work decisions. Using the case study approach, it is possible to collect more detailed information on the structure of women's work and more direct information on women's 'decision-making' in

on women's work decisions, but qualitative methods of d a t a collection and analysis are needed to provide depth to the analysis of the 'decision-making' process. Neither of these kinds of studies, unlike censuses or national surveys, can be conducted at the national level because they would be very expensive and time- consuming.

It is important to incorporate both macro and micro a p p r o a c h e s in analysing women's work decisions. Census or national survey d a t a used in the macro-level analysis have usually been collected based on standard concepts and procedures applied to both men and women. This is also the most widely available d a t a on women's work. However, because the nature of women's work is different f r o m that of men, analysis of different kinds of data using different m e t h o d s of analysis will be needed to complement each other and build up a clearer picture of the activity patterns of women and the issues they face in taking the decisions that p r o d u c e these patterns.

This thesis includes the analysis of macro and micro d a t a using b o t h quantitative and qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis. It consists of seven chapters. Chapter O n e provides a general introduction to the study. It discusses the importance of 'decision-making' in relation to women's work c o m p a r e d with men's work, the concepts used to define and m e a s u r e women's work and the importance of analysing women's work decisions, the d a t a that can be used to analyse women's work decisions, and the objectives of the study. C h a p t e r Two discusses the national data set, the 1985 Intercensal Survey (1985 SUPAS), used in the study, including the reasons for choosing the d a t a and general problems of collecting macro level data on women's economic activity. C h a p t e r T h r e e analyses indirect quantitative data on women's work decisions using the 1985 Intercensal Survey (SUPAS 1985) for DKI Jakarta. This conventional analysis of national data on women's labour force participation shows what can be l e a r n e d about women's work decisions from indirect quantitative data. C h a p t e r F o u r

presents a theoretical review of women's work deeisicms as a background to the analysis of women's work decisions based on the case study d a t a p r e s e n t e d in C h a p t e r Six. This chapter reviews women's work choices, the nature, and the process of 'decision-making' about women's work that cannot be o b t a i n e d f r o m indirect quantitative data. Chapter Five discusses the technical aspects of the case study design and data collection methods used in this study. C h a p t e r Six p r e s e m s an analysis of both quantitative (direct and indirect) and qualitative d a t a f r o m the case study. T h e analysis of the direct quantitative data obtained f r o m the conventional case study survey reveals the inability of such d a t a to adequately explain the nature of women's work decisions, work motivation and associated factors, despite the fact that the case study questionnaire was specifically designed to provide direct information on women's work decisions. T h e qualitative study of women's work decisions, based on the 1989 case study, focuses on the 'decision-

making' process in relation to women's work and explores the complex set of factors related to these decisions. Chapter Seven presents the conclusions of the thesis.

CHAPIER 2

THE 1985 INTERCENSAL SURVEY (1985 SUPAS) AS A SOURCE OF