Women’s career span shorter by retirement age
Published: 8 October 2007
Women’s duration of active participation in the labour market is on average shorter than men’s. One explanation for this gender difference or ‘gender gap’ is that women are more likely than men to be engaged in unpaid household work and childcare, and are therefore more often under pressure to reconcile their family and working life. As a result, women tend more frequently than men to interrupt their career for family and care reasons.
A study analyses the gender differences in the total duration of active labour market participation among persons at retirement age in Luxembourg. Educational attainment and number of children have different effects on the careers of men and women. On average, 57–65 year old men have been employed for 38 years, compared with only 21 years for their female counterparts. The study concludes that more policies are needed to reconcile work and family responsibilities.
Women’s duration of active participation in the labour market is on average shorter than men’s. One explanation for this gender difference or ‘gender gap’ is that women are more likely than men to be engaged in unpaid household work and childcare, and are therefore more often under pressure to reconcile their family and working life. As a result, women tend more frequently than men to interrupt their career for family and care reasons.
The Luxembourg study Gender gap in the duration of active labour market participation at retirement age (280Kb PDF) analyses the gender differences in the career span among persons of retirement age, that is, aged 57 to 65 years (see below for details of survey methodology). The gender gap regarding total length of employment may be observed within different educational and parental categories of workers.
Educational attainment and number of children
On average, 57–65 year old male respondents have been employed for 38 years, compared with only 21 years for their female counterparts (see Table). The gender gap thus stands at around 17 years overall. The difference in duration of employment is highest in the category of men and women with lower levels of education: among this group, men work approximately 20 years more than women do. In the category of men and women with a secondary level of education, the difference amounts to about 19 years. This discrepancy diminishes in the category of men and women with a post-secondary level of education, where the gender gap declines to four years.
The gender gap is smallest among persons who have never been involved in childcare activities. Childless men count only four years more in their professional career than do childless women. In contrast, men with one child work on average 14 years longer than their female counterparts, and this difference increases to 21 years among those with two or more children.
| Average number of years spent in paid employment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Gender gap | |
| Total population* | 38.0 | 21.3 | 16.7 |
| Levels of education: Low Secondary Post-secondary | . 38.0 39.6 36.3 | . 18.5 20.8 32.0 | . 19.5 18.8 4.3 |
| Number of children: Childless 1 child 2 children 3 or more children | . 35.9 38.6 39.2 37.2 | . 31.9 25.1 17.8 19.6 | . 4.1 13.5 21.4 17.6 |
Note: *The survey population covers all those living in Luxembourg who have actively participated in the labour market for at least one year during their life.
Source: Living in Luxembourg socioeconomic panel (Panel Socio-Économique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg, PSELL-3), 2005
Effects on careers of men and women
Educational attainment and number of children affects the duration of men’s employment to a far lesser extent than that of women: differences in this regard among men with varying parental status are on average smaller compared with those observed among women (see Table). More specifically, the duration of employment among men with different levels of education varies between 36 and 39 years, a difference of just over three years. At the same time, the career span among women with different levels of education varies between 18.5 and 32 years, amounting to a difference of 13.5 years. Similar gaps in relation to each sex are also found with respect to the number of children.
Consequences for women’s position in labour market
The interruption of their professional career and shorter availability in the labour market can have negative consequences for women’s labour market position. Women who have interrupted their career are less competitive in the labour market (LU0702019I, LU0704039I), tend to earn less and receive smaller pensions than their male counterparts.
More women are joining the labour force while also continuing to be engaged in household work and childcare; therefore, policies are needed to reconcile work and family responsibilities. These include policies for maternity or parental leave, childcare policies and flexible work arrangements. Training programmes could also help women to re-enter the workforce after a prolonged absence.
About the survey
The study findings are based on data from the Living in Luxembourg socioeconomic panel (Panel Socio-économique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg, PSELL-3)/European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey, which was conducted in 2005. The target population consists of 57–65 year old residents who had actively participated in the labour market for at least one year during their life prior to the interview. The survey was carried out by the Centre for Population, Poverty and Socioeconomic Policy Studies (Centre d’Études de Populations, de Pauvreté et de Politiques Socio-Économiques/International Network for Studies in Technology, Environment, Alternatives, Development, CEPS/Instead), in cooperation with the National Service for Statistics and Economic Studies in Luxembourg (Service central de la statistique et des études économiques, STATEC).
Véronique De Broeck, Prevent
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2007), Women’s career span shorter by retirement age, article.
