Burchell, Brendan

Despite much legislative progress in gender equality over the past 40 years, there are still gender gaps across many aspects of the labour market. Inequalities are still evident in areas such as access to the labour market, employment patte...

This report outlines the current situation regarding work intensity, indicating a clear link between work intensity and poor working conditions, both physical and psychological. The analysis is based on findings from the fourth European Wor...

This report examines the extent of occupational segregation by gender and how it impacts on the quality of women’s and men’s working lives. The analysis is based on findings from the fourth European Working Conditions Survey carried out across 31 countries, including the 27 EU Member States. The report highlights differences between men and women in key aspects of job quality, such as working hours, job satisfaction, work–life compatibility and work-related health outcomes.

The Third European survey on working conditions was carried out in 2000 by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; information was collected on the working conditions, health and well-being of the people in paid employment in the 15 EU Member States. The information was collected from individual workers in face-to-face interviews, in which they were asked to describe a number of aspects of their work and workplaces through a series of structured questions. Two previous surveys were carried out in 1991 and 1995/6 that permit an analysis of trends in some working conditions, and this latest survey has been expanded to include a much wider range of issues. This summary relates some of the main findings of the third survey in terms of gender-related issues and relies on extensive secondary analysis of the third survey dataset. It is a synopsis of the report Gender, jobs and working conditions by Colette Fagan and Brendan Burchell.

The rising proportion of women in employment in recent decades has been one of the major changes affecting European labour markets. This report examines the gender pattern of differences and similarities. It also explains the reasons for the persistent gender segregation of the European labour markets and draws up policy recommendations for action aimed at providing decision makers with the relevant information they need.