Closing the Gender Gap
ACT NOW
Ana LLENA-NOZAL
Economist, Social Policy Division, OECD
27th February 2013
OUTLINE
• The economic costs of gender inequality
• Policies to promote gender equality
In labour force participation gender gaps persist
Gender gap in labour force participation (male rates minus female rates), population aged 15-64
2010
2000
1990
1980
Percentage points
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: OECD (2008), Growing Unequal?
12.0
14.0
Even larger gaps persist in other employment
outcomes: prevalence of part-time…
Percentage of men and women in part-time employment, 2010
Men
Women
Percentage points
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
7.3
8.2
… career progression in the private sector…
Women’s shares in the labour force and senior management, 2010
%
Senior manager share
Labour force share
60
50
40
31.6
30
20
10
0
32.0
Gaps in employment outcomes are reflected in the
gender pay gap…
Gender pay gap for full-time workers
The gender pay gap increases with age and
during childbearing…
Gender pay gap by presence of children, 25-44 years old
Differences in take-home pay are even larger
because women work fewer hours…
Gender pay gap for full-time and all workers (part-time and full-time)
%
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Full-time workers
All workers
And pay gap contributes to lower
pensions
Gender pension gap, mandatory schemes, selected OECD countries, 2009
2. Policy considerations
Policy levers
•
•
•
•
•
Gender equality policies.
Family policies
Tax/benefit policies
Monitoring
Cooperate with developing and emerging countries to
address the gender dimensions of poverty through
women’s economic empowerment
Provide paid employment-protected parental
leave and promote more equal use among
parents
•
Provide paid parental leave. Evidence
suggests that :
–
–
•
extending parental leave
entitlements had a small positive
effect on the female-to-male
employment ratio but only up to two
years of leave; a longer leave has a
negative effect on both the female
employment rate;
extending paid parental leave had a
small positive effect on weekly
working hours among women but it
was associated with an increase in
the gender pay gap among full-time
workers;
Encourage fathers to take available
parental leave, also by reserving part
of the parental leave entitlement for
the exclusive and non-transferable
use by fathers.
Paid parental leave (supplementary to paid
maternity leave), 2008
Gender pay gap age 30-34
%
30
R² = 0.604
SVK
AUT
JPN
25
CZE
20
15
FIN
CAN
KOR DEU
USA
AUS
DNK
NOR
GBR
IRL
10
BEL
5 NZL
0
0
50
100
150
Number of paid weeks of parental leave
200
Invest in childcare
The OECD gender report shows
that:
•
Higher enrolment in formal
childcare increases female
employment on a full-time
and part-time basis, and
reduces pay gaps.
Gender pay gaps and enrolment rates in
formal childcare 2008
Gender pay gap age 30-34
%
30
SVK
JPN
AUT
25
CZE
FIN
20
DEU
15
CAN
KOR
USA
AUS
IRL
10
R² = 0.564
GBR
NZL
NOR
DNK
BEL
5
0
0
80
60
40
20
Enrolment rates of children in formal care, 2008 %
Sources: OECD Family database
(www,oecd.org/els/family/database) and OECD
Earnings database.
Increase the representation of women in
decision-making positions
 Tools:
 corporate governance codes, target-
Share of women on boards in
listed companies, 2009
setting for leadership positions,
disclosure and monitoring of progress
in both public and private sectors;
 Some countries have introduced
quotas for women in executive and
supervisory boards of listed and public
companies;
 campaigning and raising awareness to
encourage greater participation and
representation of women in politics.
Source: OECD (2012), Closing
the Gender Gap Act Now.
(www.oecd.org/gender)
THANK YOU and FURTHER READING!
“Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now”
(17 December 2012 at www.oecd.org/gender)