International Women's Day 2011
Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March. The theme of this year's centenary celebrations is Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women. We present below a selection of recent Eurofound publications on women at work, gender and equality issues.
Women in the workforce
Changes over time – First findings from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey: Résumé
Examining how working conditions have changed (or remained the same) can shed light on what progress is being made towards European policy goals. These first findings from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) present an initial overview of some key changes in working conditions over time. Between 1990 and 2010, the employment rate for women rose from 50% to around 63%. More women are moving into supervisory roles. Increasingly, they manage other women. Women remain particularly dominant in services and tend to work. shorter hours than men. Women are more likely to work regular schedules than are men, and are less likely to work at nights, or on Saturdays.
Part-time work in Europe
Part-time employment has been increasing in Europe for the past two decades. Part-time work has a positive effect on the employment rate as it is understood to increase female participation in the labour force. The part-time rate has increased in the last two decades for both men and women at a similar rate. At the same time, the part-time rate for women (32%) is four times the part-time rate for men (8%). Across European companies, part-time is most common in education, health and social work, all of which are female-dominated sectors.
Employment and industrial relations in the health care sector
This report presents the findings of a study that assessed the contributions of employers, trade unions and professional organisations in achieving the recruitment and retention of staff (other than doctors) in the health care sector as it battles to overcome the challenges of an ageing population, budgetary constraints and skills shortages. The workforce in the health care sector is dominated by women with no less than 78% of workers being female. This share rose marginally in the EU15 from 79% in 2000 to 80% in 2006. In the new Member States, there was a small decline in the share of women in employment in the sector from 81% in 2000 to 80% in 2006 (European Commission, 2009).
Second European Quality of Life Survey: Family life and work
Demographic change and labour market developments impact significantly on the family life and work of Europeans. The policy approach in this area has in recent years focused on increasing the employment rates of women, finding ways for both men and women to achieve a better work–life balance and, more recently, promoting a rise in birth rates. This report explores the subject of work and family life across Europe, looking at ways to find a better balance between the demands of work and family responsibilities. The findings point to the need for measures to adjust working arrangements to the demands of family life and more equal sharing of care responsibilities between men and women.
Addressing the gender pay gap: Government and social partner actions - Executive summary available in 23 languages.
Women in Europe currently earn on average 17.5% less than men. The gender gap can in large measure be explained by the fact that women tend to engage more often in part-time work, take more and longer career breaks, and work in lower-paid industries and in low-paid sectors with less collective representation and bargaining power. It identifies policies and initiatives issued by the national governments and the social partners aimed at addressing the gender pay gap.
Pay developments
In this 2009 review of pay developments across Europe, the gender wage gap averaged 18% across the EU27 in 2008, a slight increase on the 17.7% recorded in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007 (Eurostat).
Working conditions and industrial relations (articles)
Gender pay gap narrows (UK)
The gender pay gap in the median hourly earnings of full-time UK employees shrank to a record low of 10.2% in the year to April 2010. The change reflects higher pay growth in the public sector where there is a heavier concentration of women workers and may be reversed next year as pay freezes affect the public sector.
Law amendment on income transparency to be implemented (Austria)
Austria has the third highest gender pay gap in the European Union. On average, women earn 25.5% less than men. Over 18% of the income gap can be ascribed to discrimination. An amendment to the Equal Treatment Act, stipulating the disclosure of average annual incomes by gender for companies employing more than 1,000 workers, will be implemented in 2011.
Equal opportunities policy from a gender perspective in Lithuanian enterprises (Lithuania)
In 2009, at the request of the United Nations Development Programme in Lithuania, market research company RAIT Ltd conducted a survey analysing the equal opportunities situation in Lithuanian enterprises. The survey showed that women were exposed to the risk of discrimination with regard to different aspects of employment more often than men. It also found that the surveyed enterprises did not have a robust system to ensure equal opportunities for men and women at work.
Women's employment advancement in public and political life (Cyprus)
A 2007 study looked at the working lives of women in key public sector posts in Cyprus, as well as female entrepreneurs and other prominent women. Based on in-depth interviews with a number of such women, the study gives an overview of the position of women in political, economic and social life. Inhibitors to women's advancement in public life are cited, along with factors that encourage and support women in their efforts to distinguish themselves in their areas of expertise.
Flexible working time arrangements and gender equality (EU Level)
A recent EU study looks at the incidence of flexible working time arrangements and their implication for gender equality in 30 European countries. It found wide diversity in the length of working time but an overall increase in its incidence. It also looked at flexibility in the organisation of working time, focusing on flexible schedules, working from home and atypical hours. There were some positive links with gender equality but some potentially more negative aspects.
50 years of change in employment (France)
The French workforce and employment structure has undergone considerable changes in the past 50 years. In the 1960s, the French workforce consisted mainly of low-qualified male workers employed on long-term contracts in large industrial companies. Today, although women have entered the labour market in massive numbers, gaining financial autonomy and personal recognition, they often face different employment conditions to men. They are more likely to be in part-time work, have employee status or hold an intermediary position.
Inequalities continue to blight workplaces despite anti-discrimination legislation (Ireland)
A new book, 'Making equality count', concludes that despite Irish and EU legislation outlawing discrimination, inequalities between groups appear to be an enduring feature of Irish and European societies. The final three chapters present empirical evidence on differential outcomes across groups, examining gender inequality, disability and the intersection between gender and disability.
Gender and ethnicity the main reasons for workplace discrimination (Denmark)
The majority of the 64 complaints about discrimination handled by the Danish Board of Equal Treatment in 2009 were related to gender and ethnicity. The board ruled in favour of the complainant in 34 of these cases. The board's annual report stresses that there are a number of difficulties associated with the handling of discrimination-related cases and that problems in measuring discrimination obscure the overall picture in Denmark as to its severity.
Gender wage inequality (Sweden)
A recent doctoral thesis examined the link between the gender composition of occupations and wage differences, testing the theory of devaluation which states that systematic devaluation of women's work can explain the gender wage gap. Empirical findings confirm that the relation between occupational gender composition and occupational prestige is non-linear, but that women's pay-off to prestige is lower, mainly due to unequal distribution of family obligations.
