Review of the Implementation of the BPfA

Women and the Economy

Reconciliation of Work and Family Life as a Condition of Equal Participation in the Labour

Market

Report

October 20-21, 2011Krakow

The aim and main objectives of the Report

The aim: to review progress at EU and Member State levels in implementing objective 6 of Area F: Women and the Economy of the BPfA: Promote harmonization of work and family responsibilities for women and men.

The objectives: • to give an overview on recent legislative and

policy developments at EU level in the area; • to assess recent developments in the EU

according to the indicators chosen by the Polish Presidency;

• to give an overview on and evaluate the available data in this area at EU level;

• to produce a comprehensive report on developments in implementing the BPfA in Area F: Women and the Economy

Methodology • Literature review: reports, documents, secondary sources of

information. • Harmonized data sources collected and available at EU level:

Eurostat; Eurofound; MISSOC.• Other data sources: OECD, CoE, HETUS, SHARE, UNECE,

independent research.• Review of 7 adopted indicators, new indicators were not

foreseen.• There are no data specifically collected for the Beijing

indicators in the area of reconciliation of work, private and family life.

• The absence of a strategy in collecting data for monitoring the BPfA indicators.

• Lack of available data on EU level on the latest developments in the allocation of parental leave (mostly country-specific studies).

Indicators reviewedStrategic objective - promote harmonization of work

and family responsibilities for women and men.

Indicators:1. Employed women and men on parental leave (paid

and unpaid) – within the meaning of the Parental Leave Directive 96/34/EC

2. Allocation of parental leave between employed men and women as a proportion of all parental leave

3. Children cared for (other than by the family) as a proportion of all children of the same age group: before entry into non-compulsory pre-school system (during the day); in non-compulsory or equivalent pre-school system (outside pre-school hours); in compulsory primary education (outside school hours)

Indicators reviewed (cont’d.)4. Comprehensive and integrated policies, particularly

employment policies, aimed at promoting a balance between working and family life for both men and women.

5. Dependent elderly men and women (unable to look after themselves on a daily basis) over 75: living in specialised institutions; who have help (other than the family) at home; looked after by the family as a proportion of men and women over 75.

6 + 7 Total ‘tied’ time per day for each employed parent living with partner/living alone, having one or more children under 12 years old or a dependent: paid working time; travelling time; basic time spent on domestic work; other time devoted to the family (upbringing and care for children and care of dependent adults).

Employment rate by sex and gender gap in the EU27 (age group 20-64), 2000 and 2010

Employment target(Europe 2020)

0

10203040

50607080

90

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Employ

men

t rate,

percen

t

0

10203040

50607080

90

Gend

er gap

, perce

ntag

e points

Employment rate - men Employment rate - women Gender gap

Source: Eurostat, LFS

Part-time among women and men in the EU27 (age group 20-64), 2010

7,2

30,8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

BG SK HU LT CZ RO GR PL LV CY PT SI EE FI ES MT IT FR EU27 IE DK LU SE UK BE AT DE NL

Percentage

Men Women Source: Eurostat, LFS

Unemployment rate by sex and gender gap in the EU27 (age group 20-64), 2000 – 2010

-5

0

5

10

15

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Unem

ploy

men

t rat

e, pe

rcen

t

-5

0

5

10

15

Gend

er g

ap, p

erce

ntag

e poi

nts

Unemployment rate - men Unemployment rate - women Gender gap

Source: Eurostat, LFS

Gender Gaps in the Labour Market in EU*, 2006 and 2010

-25,0 -20,0 -15,0 -10,0 -5,0 0,0 5,0 10,0 15,0 20,0 25,0

Unemployment rates in age group 20-64

Inactive population in age group 20-64

Part-time employment in age group 20-64

Employment rates in age group 20-64

Gender gap in percentage points

2006

2010

Source: Eurostat, LFS

Note: A positive gap indicates higher rate for men in comparison with women, while the opposite is true for a negative gap.

Allocation of parental leave btwn men & women 2008, 2009, 2010 Countries (year of

collected data)Women Men

Czech Republic (2008) 98 2Estonia (2010) 93.1 6.9France (2010) 97 3Greece (2010) 85 15Ireland (2010) 84 16Lithuania (2010) 93 7Latvia (2010) 74.6 25.4Malta (2010) 98 2Romania (2010) 82 18Slovakia (2010) 99.8 0.2 Slovenia (2008) 96 4 Spain (2010)

96 4

Expenditure to compensate the parents for the loss of

earnings due to childbirth*, 2000 and 2008

Source: Eurostat, ESSPROS

Note: The expenditure on parental leave benefit and on income maintenance benefit in the event of childbirth are included.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

MT PL RO CY PT BE AT IT GR ES BG IE FR EU27 SK DE LV UK SI HU LT DK EE CZ FI SE LU

Purc

hasi

ng P

ower

Sta

ndar

d pe

r inh

abita

nt

2000 2008

Children cared for by parents by age groups: under 3 years and from 3 years to minimum

compulsory school age, 2009

Sources: Eurostat, EU SILC

51

10

0102030405060708090

NL PT DK CY GR SE RO UK LU SI EE FR ESEU27 IT IE BE CZ AT PL DE FI LV BG SK MT LT HU

Percen

tage

Less than 3 years From 3 years to minimum compulsory school age

Children under 3 cared for in formal childcare institutions, 2009

Barcelona target

14

13

01020304050607080

PL CZ SK RO HU BG MT AT LT GR LV DE IE CY EE IT FI EU27 SI BE LU UK PT ES FR NL SE DK

Percen

tage

1-29 hours 30+ hoursBarcelona target

Sources: Eurostat, EU SILC

Children between 3 and the minimum compulsory school age in formal childcare institutions, 2009

Barcelona target

40

44

0102030405060708090

100

PL BG LT GR RO CZ LU HU LV SK FI MT AT CY PT DK EU27 IE NL DE SI UK EE IT ES SE FR BE

Perc

entage

1-29 hours 30+ hoursBarcelona targetSources: Eurostat, EU SILC

A remarkable effort is visible (since French Presidency report (2008)):

• to improve access to childcare through increased offer of childcare facilities as well as increased childcare benefits

• to promote the use of paternity and parental leave (new leave entitlements, extension of coverage, encouraging men’s take up of leave, etc.)

• to promote female labour force participation and female entrepreneurship

The potential negative effects of the economic crisis need to be noted and assessed through the

gender equality perspective.

Comprehensive and integrated policies aimed at promoting a work-life balance for women and

men

Dependent elderly receiving formal (in institutions and at home) and informal care, 2007

14

27

59

0102030405060708090

100

DK MT NL SE GR AT IE FR BE LU DE CZ UK EU27 FI PT SI RO ES IT LT PL HU SK EE BG LV CY

Percen

tage

of total eld

erly

Receiving care in an institution Receiving care at home Relying only on informal (or no) care

Sources: EC, Ageing Report (2009)

Conclusions and recommendations• To different degrees, gender gaps reflecting

women’s disadvantaged position in employment, full or part time, unemployment and inactivity are still present in the labour markets of the Member States.

• The data for 2000 and 2008 on expenditure (purchasing power standards (PPS) per capita) on parental leave in EU Member States show that in 2008 the majority of Member States (23) increased expenditure on parental leave (through parental leave and income maintenance benefits).

• Women account for the majority of recipients of parental leave. The allocation of specific periods of leave only to fathers, establishing a premium for fathers’ take-up and implementing compensation via a dedicated paid leave system is suggested to be considered in national policies.

• It is important to focus on how to ensure the break up of the existing stereotypical cycle and attitudinal change. Family-related leave, taken by women or men, should not be seen to adversely affect career progression (especially by men).

Conclusions and recommendations (cont’d.)

• A percentage of children under 3 in formal care still fall short of the Barcelona target. Increasing the availability and the extension in the coverage of hours in childcare services is recommended at policy and implementation levels.

• Flexibility of childcare services refers to opening hours and to flexible use of the facility during the week or year. A low degree of synchronisation between formal childcare services and working hours brings a critical difficulty for the reconciliation of roles.

Conclusions and recommendations (cont’d.)

• Formal care for dependent older persons stay at low percentages. Care work, be it formal or informal, is carried out mainly by women. Measures to tackle the deficit of affordable and accessible formal care for older people and to break occupational segregation by gender within care sector are encouraged.

Conclusions and recommendations (cont’d.)

• Altogether, women work longer when paid and unpaid work is considered and do more unpaid work compared with men. Altering the traditional stereotype landscape where parenting and care work are considered a primary duty of women should be considered. Functioning approaches and good practices of behavioural change among men in relation to greater engagement in the unpaid family care work and parenting should be promoted and shared.

• Stronger gender mainstreaming is recommended in national and international statistical systems, in particular, by developing sex-disaggregated data necessary for policy development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Given the difficulties and the cost of collecting new data, a stronger cooperation among the key players in data collection is suggested.

Conclusions and recommendations (cont’d.)

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