Gender discrimination and inequalities at work: some policy issues and challenges Manuela Tomei DECLARATION ILO Geneva 1
What is discrimination in employment and occupation? «Anydistinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation» (art. 1ILO Convention No.111) 2
Gender discrimination at work has a life-cycle dimension intersects with other forms of discrimination, such as age or race mirrors and reinforces discrimination in other social spheres,e.g. family, community, school and political arena 3
Gender inequalities at work Gender discrimination generates inequalities between men and women Despite women outperforming men in tertiary education enrollment, 3 universal barriers towards the achievement of gender equality at work persist: Gender segregation by occupation, industry and establishment Gender discrimination in remuneration (both direct and indirect) Unequal division of paid and unpaid work bewteen men and women 4
Graduation from Tertiary Education in 2001, % of Women for selected EU25 countries 80 70 60 50 40 Percent 30 20 10 0 Netherlands Austria Germany Hungary Slov enia Belgium Norway Malta Finland Czech Republic Finland United Kingdom Denmark EU25 Cyprus Cyprus Spain France Slovakia Estonia Sweden Poland Lithuania Ireland Italy Latvia Portugal Country Total Graduates In Science, Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction 5
Persistent barriers towards gender equality at work Gender segregation Under-representation of women in high-ranked positions (vertical segregation) Concentration of women in a narrower spectrum of sectors characterized by lower average levels of earnings (horizontal segregation) Concentration of women in smaller establishments with low levels of unionisation Over-representation in low-pay, low-status jobs and in atypical forms of employment 6
Occupational segregation by sex: Share of females in managerial positions, EU 25, (2005) 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 Percentage 15 10 5 0 Cyprus Malta Denmark Netherlands Greece Luxembourg Germany Austria Finland Sweden Ireland Czech Republic Slovakia Italy EU 25 Spain Poland Slovenia Belgium Portugal Hungary United Kingdom France Estonia Lithuania Latvia Country 7
Persistent barriers towards gender equality at work Gender discrimination in remuneration Similar jobs with different denominations, depending on the sex of the job-holder, and different pay, e.g. «librarian» and «information manager», «cook» and «chef» Jobs with a female denomination Typically female» jobs have lower pay than «typically male» jobs (invisibility of skills, efforts reponsibilities of women s jobs) 8
Persistent barriers towards gender equality at work Gender discrimination in remuneration The more an occupation becomes «feminized», the more the average levels of earnings decline, but men s pay declines less than women s The more education women achieve, the higher the pay gap The higher the age, the higher the pay gap, as well as the discrimination component of the pay gap A decline in the gender pay gap does not mean that the discrimination share of the gap is declining 9
The hourly pay gap by sex and age - selected EU 25 countries (2004) 35% 30% 25% 20% Percent 15% 10% 5% 0% EU 25 Spain Sweden Estonia Country Less than 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 10
Persistent barriers towards gender equality at work Unequal division of paid and unpaid work between men and women Women devote less hours to paid work than men Women devote more hours to unpaid work than men Overall women work more hours than men 11
Structure of Time Use by Women and Men, Ages 20-74, hours and minutes per day selected EU25 countries 06:00 04:48 03:36 Time 02:24 01:12 00:00 Belgium Germany Estonia Hungary France Slovenia Poland United Kingdom Countries Sweden Italy Spain Lithuania Latvia Gainful W ork/study (Men) Gainful W ork/study (W omen) D om estic W ork (M en) Domestic Work (Women) 12
Total Work (Paid and Unpaid) Done by Men and Women, ages 20-74 selected EU25 countries 09:36 08:24 07:12 06:00 Time 04:48 03:36 02:24 01:12 00:00 Belgium Germany Estonia Hungary France Slovenia Poland United Kingdom Country Sweden Italy Spain Lithuania Latvia Total W ork (Men) Total W ork (Women) 13
Gender segregation Gender discrimination in remuneration Unequal division of paid and unpaid work 14
Public policies explain differences in gendered labour market outcomes Gendered labor market outcomes vary significantly across EU 25 countries Differences in policy packages explain an important share of differences in labor market outcomes 15
Family friendly policies help boost both fertility rates and women s employment rates 2.5 80 70 2 60 1.5 1 Fertility Rate Employment Rate 50 40 30 0.5 20 10 0 Czech Republic Poland Latvia Slovakia Slovenia Lithuania Hungary Greece Spain Italy Germany Malta Estonia Portugal Austria Cyprus EU 25 Belgium Luxemburg Netherlands United Kingdom Sweden Denmark Finland France Ireland Country 0 Fertility Rate Employment Rate Linear (Employment Rate ) 16
Centralised collective bagaining and equal treatment of part-timers and full-timers help reduce the pay gap 30 80 25 20 15 10 5 70 % difference in men and women's earnings (hourly) women in part-time work as a share of total employment 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 Malta Portugal Belgium Italy Slovenia Greece Poland Hungary Ireland France Luxembourg EU 25 Latvia Spain Lithuania Denmark Sweden Austria Czech Republic Netherlands Finland United Kingdom Germany Estonia Slovakia Cyprus Country Gender Pay Gap Part-time employment 17
Key conditions for public policies to promote gender equality at work No single policy measure can effectively address gender discrimination at work A set of policy interventions is required that acts simultaneously upon: occupational segregation (positive action) discrimination in remuneration (pay equity) unequal division of paid an unpaid labor (reconciling work and family for both genders) The relative weight of each policy measure will depend on national circumstances These interventions have to be framed within a coherent national policy for gender equality A set of meaningful indicators must be put in place and regularly monitored 18