Fewer women than men hold senior positions in the workplace
Published: 22 March 2007
The analysis reveals that women account for 40% of the working population residing in Luxembourg (see below for further details about the survey). They are mainly found in the services sectors, such as domestic household services, health and social work, education, and real estate, housing and business activities. Men work more in the gas, electricity and water production and distribution sector, construction, manufacturing, mining, transport and communication, agriculture, and public administration and defence (see Table).
Gender segregation in the labour market arises where there is a strong concentration of one gender in certain domains of the labour market. A recent study has analysed the degree of horizontal and vertical segregation among the working population residing in Luxembourg. The results show that women are mainly employed in the sectors of domestic household services, health and social work, education and real estate. They are also predominant in the categories of workers and employees without qualificatiosn, representing 66% of such workers. The study’s findings suggest that the probability for men living in Luxembourg to hold a senior position is twice as high as for women.
Sectoral segregation
The analysis reveals that women account for 40% of the working population residing in Luxembourg (see below for further details about the survey). They are mainly found in the services sectors, such as domestic household services, health and social work, education, and real estate, housing and business activities. Men work more in the gas, electricity and water production and distribution sector, construction, manufacturing, mining, transport and communication, agriculture, and public administration and defence (see Table).
| Sectors | Women (%) | Men (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 29 | 72 |
| Mining | 16 | 84 |
| Manufacturing | 13 | 87 |
| Electricity, gas and water | 2 | 98 |
| Health and social work | 71 | 29 |
| Construction | 7 | 93 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 44 | 56 |
| Transport and communication | 19 | 81 |
| Financial intermediation | 43 | 57 |
| Real estate, housing and business activities | 50 | 50 |
| Public administration and defence | 31 | 69 |
| Education | 60 | 40 |
| Collective, personal and social services | 41 | 59 |
| Domestic household services | 95 | 5 |
Source: Panel Socio-Économique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg, PSELL-3, 2006
Occupational segregation
Women represent 66% of all workers and employees without qualifications. They are also mainly found working as employees in shops, supermarkets and personal services (60% of women surveyed) and as administrative employees (51%).
Conversely, men appear to be dominant in higher level occupational categories, as members of executive and legislative bodies, and among skilled workers, agricultural workers and drivers.
Hierarchical segregation
The probability for men living in Luxembourg to hold senior positions is twice as high as for their female counterparts. In terms of job seniority or the likelihood of holding supervisory positions, it can be concluded that 34% of all male wage earners supervise other people, while only 16% of all female wage earners are in a similar position. The survey did not establish whether these women hold senior positions in the particular sectors in which women predominate.
Equally, men in Luxembourg are more likely to be employed in higher managerial posts than are women. In terms of degree of job seniority or the power to influence the salaries and career promotion of staff members, it appears that 46% of all men in supervisory positions have this authority while the same is true for only 37% of all women holding posts with supervisory responsibilities.
Profile of female managers
Women living in Luxembourg who hold posts with supervisory responsibilities are, in comparison to men, on average younger, better educated and less likely to be married and to have children.
More specifically, some 37% of women in senior positions are under 35 years of age, compared with 24% of men at the same managerial level. A total of 44% of these women hold a university degree, compared with 36% of men. Overall, 60% of women in senior positions are married, compared with 73% of men; and 22% of them have never been married, compared with 13% of men. Furthermore, 41% of these women have no children, compared with 28% of men. Those women in senior positions who do have children have fewer on average than their male colleagues do, at a value of 1.6 compared with 2.1 for men.
However, it should be noted that younger people tend to have a higher education, be more often single and have fewer children than their older counterparts. Hence, it is not very surprising that women in senior positions who are younger than their male colleagues also differ with respect to their educational attainment, marital status and number of children.
Survey methodology
The study findings are based on the Living in Luxembourg socioeconomic panel (Panel Socio-Économique Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg, PSELL-3) survey, carried out annually by the Centre for Population, Poverty and Socioeconomic Policy Studies (Centre d’Études de Populations, de Pauvreté et de Politiques Socio-Economiques)/International Networks for Studies in Technology, Environment, Alternatives, Development (CEPS/Instead). The survey is conducted, in cooperation with the National Service for Statistics and Economic Studies in Luxembourg (Service central de la statistique et des études économiques, STATEC), on a representative sample of the country’s resident population.
The objective of the survey is to assess the well-being of Luxembourg’s employees (LU0702029I). A total of 3,500 households receive a questionnaire, constituting 9,500 individuals.
Odette Wlodarski, Prevent
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2007), Fewer women than men hold senior positions in the workplace, article.
