Women’s access to top jobs at 20-year standstill
Published: 13 October 2009
In May 2009, the independent Greek research company Focus Bari Marketing Research Services [1] published a survey on ‘Women in leadership’. The survey examines important aspects of the development of female employment in Greece over a 20-year period between 1988 and 2008. Focus Bari carried out the survey using telephone interviews among a sample of women aged between 18 and 54 years.[1] http://www.focus.gr/default.asp?id=100000001&lcid=1032
The past 20 years have seen a significant improvement in women’s situation in the labour market and in society as a whole, according to a survey by the research company Focus Bari. The increase in working women is associated with a considerable improvement in their educational qualifications. However, women’s share in top-level jobs has remained unchanged since 1998, showing that there is still a long way to go before gender equality will be achieved in the Greek labour market.
About the survey
In May 2009, the independent Greek research company Focus Bari Marketing Research Services published a survey on ‘Women in leadership’. The survey examines important aspects of the development of female employment in Greece over a 20-year period between 1988 and 2008. Focus Bari carried out the survey using telephone interviews among a sample of women aged between 18 and 54 years.
Main survey findings
Labour market participation and educational qualification
Over the past 20 years – that is, between 1988 and 2008 – women’s participation in the labour market has increased significantly among all age groups examined in the survey. The greatest increase in the proportion of working women (by 34 percentage points) was recorded among those aged 45–54 years, while the smallest increase (six percentage points) was observed among those aged between 18 and 24 years (Table 1).
| Age group | 1988 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| 18–24 years | 26 | 32 |
| 25–34 years | 40 | 62 |
| 35–44 years | 35 | 64 |
| 45–54 years | 19 | 53 |
Source: Focus Bari, 2009
This positive development regarding women’s increased participation in the labour market is linked to the substantial improvement in their educational qualifications (Table 2). The most significant rise in the proportion of women attaining higher education occurred in the 18–24 years age group (by 31 percentage points). When including knowledge of a foreign language, the largest increase (by 24 percentage points) occurred among those aged between 25 and 44 years.
| Age group | 1988 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Higher education | ||
| 18–24 years | 26 | 57 |
| 25–44 years | 18 | 45 |
| 45–54 years | 9 | 29 |
| Higher education including knowledge of foreign language | ||
| 18–24 years | 73 | 85 |
| 25–44 years | 50 | 74 |
| 45–54 years | 27 | 45 |
Source: Focus Bari, 2009
Professional status
Although the important advance in women’s educational qualifications improved their access to the labour market and to ‘middle level’ jobs in particular, it did not succeed in breaking through the dividing line that continues to prevent women from reaching ‘top-level’ occupations (Table 3). Regarding ‘high level’ jobs, no increase in the proportion of working women reaching such positions has been observed in the period 1988–2008, with levels remaining at only 3%. Overall, women’s labour market participation has risen most significantly in the broad spectrum of occupations below the higher and middle levels, increasing by 13 percentage points.
| Level of profession | 1988 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| High level | 3 | 3 |
| Middle level | 10 | 20 |
| All other jobs | 20 | 33 |
Source: Focus Bari, 2009
Impact on families
However, women’s dynamic entry into the labour market does not appear to have been achieved without sacrifices. Given that the proportion of married working women with and without children has declined among all age groups between 1988 and 2008, it can be assumed that the age at which women marry and have their first child has increased considerably in relation to the past (Table 4).
| Age group | 1988 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Married | ||
| 18–24 years | 25 | 13 |
| 25–29 years | 75 | 44 |
| 30–34 years | 87 | 72 |
| 35–39 years | 89 | 81 |
| Married with children | ||
| 18–24 years | 15 | 9 |
| 25–29 years | 57 | 32 |
| 30–34 years | 68 | 62 |
| 35–39 years | 52 | 64 |
Source: Focus Bari, 2009
Commentary
Compared with previous decades, women’s status in the labour market, the family and society at large has noticeably improved in recent years. This move away from traditional gender roles has been a difficult struggle and not without sacrifices, often at the family’s expense. The improvement of women’s labour matket situation did not come about so much through an adaptation of working conditions to the characteristics of both genders as it was through women’s adaptation to the needs of a male-dominated labour market.
However, this only explains to a certain extent why more women have not accessed higher ranking jobs in 2008 than in 1998. Nowadays, so-called top-level jobs – such as executive and managerial posts, upper administrative jobs in the public sector and academic posts – are still held by men of an older generation, who preserve traditional structures and mentalities in the workplace. This means that they maintain mentor-pupil relationships, assign demanding work tasks to male subordinates and take an adverse attitude to maternity, by taking away responsibilities from working women, thereby pushing them to resign.
Up until now, the Greek labour market continues to adapt to this male-dominated model. As a result, despite their abilities and competencies, women refrain from seeking top-level jobs, refusing to adapt to the model of ‘successful professionals’ that is still imposed by a male-dominated society.
Reference
Kourtoglou, X. (ed.), Women on leadership, Focus Bari Marketing Research Services, March 2009.
Sofia Lampousaki, Labour Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE/GSEE)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2009), Women’s access to top jobs at 20-year standstill, article.
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