Trends and differences in closing the gender gap in the EU Chiara Saraceno
The EU may help upward convergence,but • Country specific social, cultyral and family models are partly different • Globalization (including migration) reshuffles differences but also creates new ones • The EU has initiated a long process of redefinition of gender roles • But without touching important dimensions such as family legislation and partly also reproductive rights. • Austerity policies have also weakened policies aimed at rebalancing gender relationships and inequalities, with particularly negative consequences in the countries that were late come in the process
According to the 2013 EIGE report, because of the crisis • There has been a reduction of the gender gap in employment and wages, but because of a worsening of men’s conditions • Women have remained in the labour market • Austerity measures may worsen the work-family situation • In the large majority of countries no attention for the gender impact of austerity measures. But there are important cross country differences, also because of different starting points
Employment, unemployment, inactivity
With the crisis • Men’s employment has suffered more than women’s • Women are still more present among the inactive, but the increase has been higher among men • Unvoluntary part time has increased everywhere, and more so where it was already high. • Men loose their job more frequently, but find another one more quickly • “added worker” effect: dual workers couples have increased, and, to a lower degree, also couples in which only the woman works.
Poverty risk
• In most countries women have a higher risk of poverty than men, but • Due to the crisis, in many countries, men’s risk of poverty has increased (including in work poverty), causing a reduction in the gender gap without any improvement for women • the family status plays a different role in men’s and women’s risk of poverty
Work-family conciliation
Crucial dimensions pertain to • Work organization • Men’s behaviour • Time and services policies All three these dimensions show cross countries variation
• There is a positive correlation between women’s employment and men’s participation in paid work, at the country and at the individual level. • But with important cross countries differences (cultural models?)
Trends in social spending 2011-2012
Nursery school (0-3) and kindergarden attendance
Care for the frail old. Coverage rates through home and residential care, for the > 65 anni population 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% NO DK NL SE FI BE FR AU UK LU MT IE DE SI PT CZ ES HU IT SK EE PL EL LT BG RO % anziani in strutture residenziali % anziani che ricevono servizi domiciliari
Men and women in decision making
In the EU parliament Number of ME Ps Women: <20% 20-40% 40-60% >60% Men F I 62% 13 S I 50% 8 E E 50% 6 MT 50% 6 NL 46% 26 D K 46% 13 F R 46% 74 SE 45% 20 IE 42% 12 P T 41% 22 ES 41% 54 S K 38% 13 DE 38% 99 R O 36% 33 HU 36% 22 E U-27 36% 754 LT 33% 12 LV 33% 9 C Y 33% 6 BG 33% 18 E L 32% 22 BE 32% 22 AT 32% 19 U K 32% 73 IT 23% 73 P L 22% 51 C Z 18% 22 LU 17% 5 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Ministers with portfolio in national governments W omen: >40% 30-40% 20-30% 10-20% <10% Men 100% 80% 60% G ender balance zone 40% EU-27 average, 27% 20% 0% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 8 % 8 % 7 % 6 % % % % % % 9 % 4 % 4 0 8 7 3 8 8 8 0 9 9 7 4 1 0 8 8 8 5 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 6 8 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 4 2 1 S E FR DK FI AT B E NL DE IT E S LV LU BG SI P L UK RO CZ P T LT IE MT HU C Y EE S K E L IS NO LI R S HR MK TR
MPs in national parliaments 2013
In top position in public administration Women Men 100% Level 1 80% 60% 40% EU-27 average, 29% 20% 0% % % 8 % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 7 % % % % % 0 % % % % % % 0 9 2 6 1 6 0 7 6 0 9 9 5 3 2 3 0 2 2 3 4 3 5 4 1 5 0 3 3 5 0 2 5 3 4 4 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 4 3 3 1 5 SK SI LV BG R O E E SE E L LT FI PL P T ES IT AT C Y UK F R C Z MT N L IE DK H U DE LU BE LI N O MK H R R S IS T R
Men and women in administration boards. April 2013. Increasing, but..And still very few at the very top
Within the university, still far from balanced and cross country differentiation • From 36% in Romania to 20% in Italy and Sweden, to 17% in Austria, Estonia, Regno unito e Spagna, down to 15% in Germany and Denmark and 9% in Luxemburg.
Concluding remarks
Trends towards an upwards closing of the gender gap • Appear more, although still partially, in the higher section of distribution (administration boards, parliaments), less so for the majority of women. • Austerity policies, in so far they affect services and income transfers, are in contrast with gender equality goals and are likely to affect more negatively women in the middle and lower end of the distribution • The contrast is particularly evident in countries that were farther from those goals to begin with (see e.g. the Spanish case)
Furthermore, crucial issues for gender equality and women’s autonomy are left to national legislation and their differences, e.g.: • Contraception and abortion • Access to reproductive technology • Divorce • Marriage • Protection against violence
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