The total number of women in employment (employees and self-employed) increased by more than 1.7 million in the period from 1995 to 2002, according to a study providing an overview of major labour market trends for the whole of Germany since unification in 1990, published by the German Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland, Destatis) in July 2003 (German labour market trends. In the spotlight [1], Destatis, 2003). At the same time, the share of women in overall employment has been growing constantly since the mid-1990s. The report argues that these increases reflect a general trend towards a decreasing gap between men and women in the German labour market, although the total female employment rate has not yet reached the male level. However, data from the 2002 EU Labour Force Survey indicate that regional discrepancies still prevail: in the western part of the country, about 46% of women aged between 15 and 65 were in employment (ie either self-employed or an employee), compared with 61% of men; while in the east of Germany, this difference was less pronounced with some 44% of the female population and 53% of the male population in employment.[1] http://www.destatis.de/download/e/veroe/labourmtrends.pdf
A study published by the German Federal Statistical Office in July 2003 shows that there has been a clear trend since the early 1990s towards a more equal distribution of employment between men and women in absolute terms, with more women entering employment and the employment rates of women and men (measured in terms of the number of people in employment) converging. However, according to another recent study from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), if the volume of work performed by men and women is taken into account, this more equal distribution of employment between men and women is less marked, with the average number of hours worked by women falling steadily.
The total number of women in employment (employees and self-employed) increased by more than 1.7 million in the period from 1995 to 2002, according to a study providing an overview of major labour market trends for the whole of Germany since unification in 1990, published by the German Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland, Destatis) in July 2003 (German labour market trends. In the spotlight, Destatis, 2003). At the same time, the share of women in overall employment has been growing constantly since the mid-1990s. The report argues that these increases reflect a general trend towards a decreasing gap between men and women in the German labour market, although the total female employment rate has not yet reached the male level. However, data from the 2002 EU Labour Force Survey indicate that regional discrepancies still prevail: in the western part of the country, about 46% of women aged between 15 and 65 were in employment (ie either self-employed or an employee), compared with 61% of men; while in the east of Germany, this difference was less pronounced with some 44% of the female population and 53% of the male population in employment.
Rising female employment has coincided with the growing economic significance of the service sector, or 'tertiarisation', that has occurred over recent years. The table below shows trends in employment by gender in the German service sector, highlighting the increase in women's share of service sector employment between 1992 and 2002, and the mounting dominance of service activities in total female employment, with four out of five women in employment now working in the service sector.
| Female employment in service sector as proportion of: | 1992 | 1997 | 2002 |
| % | |||
| - total female employment | 72.7 | 78.5 | 80.4 |
| - total employment in service sector | 53.0 | 54.0 | 55.0 |
* Results of EU Labour Force Survey, reference period April.
Source: Destatis.
Women's average working time falls
Though the total number of women in employment has grown in recent years, this does not mean that there are no longer quantitative and qualitative discrepancies between male and female employment. For example, part-time work may be unequally distributed among women and men, and this will show up in differences in the volume of work by gender. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that, according to the Federal Statistical Office, the rising number of women in the labour market 'does not allow for any statement about the quality of jobs that are occupied by women, implying that even if the quantity of female employment has grown, the qualitative discrepancies of the occupied jobs may prevail'.
Part-time employment is still dominated by women, even if the percentage of part-time workers who are male is gradually rising. In Germany in 2002, 84.6% of part-time employees were women, compared with an EU average figure of almost 80%. According to the German Statistical Office, the 'declining tendency from more than 89% in 1992 to the current figure nonetheless indicates that men are increasingly entering the part-time segment of the labour market'. However, it is not necessarily the case that the gap between the quantity of labour supplied by women and men has decreased fundamentally, because persistent differences between men and women in patterns of employment (eg due to gender differences in parental leave) and changes in the hours worked by men and women (ie their respective volumes of work) have to be taken into account.
A study published in August 2003 by the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Service (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung an der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, IAB) argues that counting employment in terms of absolute numbers of people employed overestimates systematically the share of the volume of work performed by women, as such calculations assume that men and women work, on average, for an equal number of hours. However, contradictory trends in full-time and part-time employment have been occurring in Germany since 1991: while the number of part-time employees rose steadily over the entire period until 2001, the number of full-time employees declined sharply. The aggregate volume of work performed by employees in Germany was 47.7 billion hours in 2001 - 7% lower than in 1991. This resulted from a 12% decline in the volume of full-time labour during this period and a 60% rise in the volume of part-time work. The 26% of employees who were part time in 2001 contributed about 12% of the total volume of work, as pointed out in another study by IAB. As, in contrast to men, the average number of hours worked by women fell steadily over 1991-2000, the volume of work performed by women rose by less than would have been the the case otherwise.
Furthermore, structural changes may occur that can again reinforce women's predominance in the part-time workforce. For example, according to Minister Ulla Schmidt of the Federal Ministry for Health and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit und sozialer Sicherung), 930,000 new low-paying jobs have been created since new regulations introduced in April 2003 freed employees earning up to EUR 400 a month from payroll taxes and social security contributions (DE0302105F). Ms Schmidt said that 67% of these new 'mini-jobs', which are mainly found in the service sector, are performed by women. Such part-time jobs will probably increase the number of women in the official labour market, but will further decrease the average number of hours worked by women.
To sum up, the IAB study on female employment finds that, in 2001, the female employment rate measured in terms of full-time equivalents was 24 percentage points lower than the male employment rate (although there was an average annual increase in female employment measured in full-time equivalents of 1.3 percentage points between 1997 and 2001). Measured in terms of numbers of people in employment, the gap between the female and male employment rate was only 14 percentage points. According to the study, this latter measurement of the female employment rate, which is most often used in academic reports and by the European Commission as an indicator of gender equality in the labour market, paints an unrealistically optimistic picture of the convergence of female employment with male employment. Therefore, it appears to be only a partially valid indicator of the equality of opportunities for women and men in the labour market, the study argues.
Commentary
A closer look at gender equality at the workplace is needed - for example, by analysing whether employers support gender equality at the firm level, as a result of initiatives (eg to improve the compatability of work and family life) either by companies themselves or by the social partners. Moreover, the data reported here does not attempt to analyse whether the rise in the number of women working part time is voluntary or not. In so far as part-time work is performed involuntarily (that is, if part-time workers would prefer to be working full time), the search for the causes of part-time work should not be restricted to labour market regulations alone, but should be broadened to consider all aspects of the welfare state, such as the lack of appropriate childcare facilities which reduces the opportunities for women to work full time. (Lothar Funk, Cologne Institute for Business Research, IW)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2003), Recent trends in female employment examined, article.
