More Women in the Workforce –
Making sense for business and the Economy
Irish Presidency 2013 - Gender Equality Conference
Dublin Castle 29-30 April
Willem ADEMA
Senior Economist, Social Policy Division, OECD
Gender gaps in educational attainment have closed
and/or reversed)in OECD countries but…
Proportion of men and women who have a tertiary degree 2010, by age group
60
male 25-34
female 25-34
50
40
30
20
10
0
60
male 55-64
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: OECD (2012), Education at a Glance
female 55-64
... despite gains in education, gender employment gaps
continue to persist, also through the crisis.
Employment rates by age group and gender,
quarterly from 1st quarter 2007 to last quarter 2012
OECD – Working age pop.
Men
OECD - Young people
Men 15-24
Women
Source: OECD Gender Data Portal, www.oecd.org/gender/data
Q3-2012
Q1-2012
Q3-2011
Q1-2011
Q3-2010
Q3-2012
Q1-2012
Q3-2011
Q1-2011
Q3-2010
Q1-2010
Q3-2009
Q1-2009
Q3-2008
Q1-2008
Q3-2007
Q1-2007
60
Q1-2010
65
Q3-2009
70
Q1-2009
75
Q3-2008
80
Q1-2008
85
Q3-2007
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
Q1-2007
90
Women 15-24
Women continue to have slower career progression …
Women’s shares in the labour force and senior management in the private sector, 2010
%
60
Labour force share
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
Senior manager share
… be predominantly employed in certain economic
service sectors…
Feminisation rates of service activities
%
Transport, storage and communication
25
Public administration and defense
46
Other community activities, private
household with employed persons
58
Education
70
Finance, intermediation, real estate,
renting and business activities
45
Health and social work
78
Whole and retail trade, hotels and
restaurants
50
0
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
20
40
60
80
100
… are less likely to be entrepreneurs...
Employers as a proportion of the employed, by gender, 2010
%
12
Women
10
8
6
4
2
0
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
Men
… and have lower earnings.
Gender pay gap in earnings for full-time employees, 2000 and 2010
2010
%
30
20
10
0
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
2000
Policy levers
•
Women are better educated and occupy more highly skilled,
better paid jobs than before. It would be more efficient if
economies and societies made better use of this through by:
-
Labour market institutions that allow swift adjustments of work
patterns
-
Combined with family-friendly policies (e.g. childcare)…
-
Assessment and monitoring
… while encouraging more equal gender sharing of paid and
unpaid work (tax/ben policy, family policy)
Men could do more at home
Unpaid work and female employment rates, recent years
Minutes of unpaid work per day
500
Female: R² = 0.43
400
TUR
MEX
PRT
ITA POL
300
200
MEX
TUR
ZAF
AUS
IRL
EST
SVN NLDGBR NZL
JPN
ESP
CAN
FRA
SWE
AUT
DEU
BEL
KOR
NOR
FIN CHN DNK
USA
DNK
POL
ESP EST SVN USA AUS FIN CAN
SWE
DEU NLD
NOR
BEL
NZL
GBR
FRA
AUT
IRL
HUN
PRT
CHN
JPN
KOR
HUN
ZAF
100
Male: R² = 0.21
ITA
0
20
30
40
50
60
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap Act Now. (www.oecd.org/gender)
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
70
80
Women employment rate, %
Provide paid employment-protected parental leave and
promote more equal use among parents
•
Paid parental leave, Evidence suggests :
–
–
•
extending parental leave entitlements had a
small positive effect on the female-to-male
employment ratio but only up to two years of
leave;
extending paid parental leave is 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 their exclusive and nontransferable use.
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
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
Closing the gaps in participation can help sustain labour
force and gdp growth
No change scenario
Convergence in participation rates
Convergence in intensity of labour market participation
42 000
United Kingdom
38 000
34 000
30 000
47 000
Germany
43 000
39 000
35 000
Source: OECD (2012), Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now
THANK YOU and FURTHER READING!
www.oecd.org/gender