TRANSFER OF INNOVATION, MULTILATERAL PROJECTS, LEONARDO DA VINCI
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (2007-2013)
WORK-HARMONY
Organizational Model and Methodology for Promoting the Conciliation of Worker’s
Professional and Personal Lives in Enterprise
GLOSSARY
DEFAMILIARIZATION: Substantial proportion of care-giving work assumed by public
services.
DEFAULT FAMILISM: Commitment of the care-giving to the family without any
particular support from public and / or governmental institutions
DESEGREGATION OF THE LABOUR MARKET: Policies aimed at reducing or
eliminating gender segregation (vertical/horizontal) on the labour market.
DIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION: When a person is treated less favourably because of
her/his sex.
DIVISION OF LABOUR (BY GENDER): The division of paid and unpaid work between
men and women in their private and public lives.
DUAL EARNER FAMILY MODEL: Model in which men and women are both
producers of income in the family. This model has been developed more extensively
in Scandinavian countries, where a series of social policies has allowed particularly
women to be engaged in their work (both with the formula of part-time contracts as
well as of permanent work contracts).
EMPOWERMENT: The concept derives from the movements of struggle for peace in the
USA. After the VI Women World Conference, organized by the UNO at Beijing in 1995, the
principle of “empowerment” has developed inside the European Institutions. Generally for
empowerment we mean a principle of autonomy, of strengthening of capacities and
opportunities of being, knowing and doing. It’s a process aiming at bringing a person to
become aware of her/his situation, of her/his role and at strengthening her/his skills, of acting
to reduce inequalities and disparities.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICIES: The main objective of the policies of equal
opportunities between genders is to assure the possibility of access to equal results in the
labour market and in the political representation to women and to men, removing the effects
of discrimination and inequality created or perpetuated by the present rules, breaking the
professional segregation, decreasing the unemployment gap and pay gap, promoting
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TRANSFER OF INNOVATION, MULTILATERAL PROJECTS, LEONARDO DA VINCI
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (2007-2013)
systems of personal and professional competence assessment in work and social
environments.
FAMILY FRIENDLY DISTRICT: Network of small enterprises that adopt measures
and tools to make easier and less costly the implementation of practices for
reconciling family and work time, for the balancing of roles, for the management of
part-time work.
FLEXITIME: Flexible hours, allowing the workers to start and end the working day at
a time chosen by the employees (usually the start time is established within a time
period, for example, you can begin work between 8 and 10 a.m.), provided, however,
that every day the working hours agreed upon in the contract are performed. Very
popular in Anglo-Saxon countries, is now spreading in Italy. Flexitime (or flextime,
flexi-time, originally derived from the German word Gleitzeit which literally means
"sliding time") is a variable work schedule, in contrast to traditional work
arrangements requiring employees to work a standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day. Its
invention is usually credited to William Henning. Under flextime, there is typically a
core period (of approximately 50% of total working time / working day) of the day,
when employees are expected to be at work (for example, between 11 a.m. and 3
p.m.), while the rest of the working day is "flexitime", in which employees can choose
when they work, subject to achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours due for
what the employer expects, and subject to the necessary work being done.
GENDER BALANCE: Gender-based assessment of budgets, incorporating a gender
perspective at all levels of the budgetary process and restructuring revenues and
expenditures in order to promote gender equality.
GENDER EQUALITY: The concept means that all human beings are free to develop their
personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by strict gender roles and that
the different behaviour, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered, valued
and favoured equally.
GENDER EQUITY: Fairness of treatment by gender, which may be equal treatment or
treatment which is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits,
obligations and opportunities.
GENDER GAP: The gap in any area between women and men in terms of their levels of
participation, access, rights, remuneration or other benefits
GENDER INDICATORS: Indicator in statistical terms is a quantitative or qualitative
measure, the result of the ratio between two variables that represent a phenomenon or a
trend. The indicator is a datum that, according to the meaning we give it, can evaluate the
results of activities and policies.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING: The systematic integration of the respective situations,
priorities and needs of women and men in all policies with a view to promoting equality
between women and men and mobilising all general policies and measures, specifically for
the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly taking into account, at the planning
stage, their effects on the respective situations of women and men in implementation,
monitoring and evaluation
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TRANSFER OF INNOVATION, MULTILATERAL PROJECTS, LEONARDO DA VINCI
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (2007-2013)
GENDER PAY GAP: Wage differential for men / women. It is usually calculated,
considering the "rough" wage differentials per hour worked. That is to say: we
consider the average hourly wage of men and women and the difference is
calculated and expressed as a percentage of men's hourly wage. The descriptive
statistics is used by the European Commission to compare the gender pay gap in the
EU countries. According to this measure, we have that, on average, women earn for
each hour worked the 17% less than men (Eurostat data reported in 2009 looking at
the 27 member countries of the EU).
HORIZONTAL SEGREGATION: The concentration of women and men into different
sectors and jobs (see JOB SEGREGATION/EMPLOYMENT SEGREGATION).
INDIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION: When a law, regulation, policy or practice, apparently
neutral, has a disproportionate adverse impact on the members of one sex, unless the
difference of treatment can be justified by objective factors
JOB SEGREGATION/EMPLOYMENT SEGREGATION: The concentration of women
and men in different types and levels of activity and employment, with women being confined
to a narrower range of jobs (HORIZONTAL SEGREGATION) than men, and to the lower
grades of work (VERTICAL SEGREGATION).
JOB-SHARING: Employment contract which allows more people, but usually two, to
divide the same job. It has a concrete example in Italy with a legislative decree of
2003 commissioned by Marco Biagi, which regulates the division of a job in order to
allow greater flexibility. The workers are linked by a bond of solidarity that determines
the number of working hours assigned to them. Job sharing is designed to improve
the quality and welfare of workers as shift workers or caregivers and drivers. The
worker has exactly the same rights as any other normal worker and his/her duties
and rights are governed by the collective labor agreement in use in the company that
proposes the job. The meaning of "job sharing" then goes beyond the ability to
allocate a full time job between several people, but provides companies with a tool of
great flexibility and the employee with an extra opportunity. It is important to note
that, in case of withdrawal of one of the two workers the other one have the option to
get the entire amount of working hours available. The job sharing contract has
equivalents in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
MALE BREAD WINNER FAMILY MODEL: model in which the family man is the real
earner of the income and his wife possibly plays a secondary economic function of
supportive type. (Fordism and industrialization)
MATERNITY LEAVE: Leave provided to women which give them the right for a continuous
period granted before and/or after childbirth, in accordance with national legislation and
practices
ORGANIZATIONAL WELLNESS: Capacities of a labour organization to promote
and maintain the physical, psychological and social wellness of workers for all levels
and roles. Studies and researches about organizations have demonstrated that the
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TRANSFER OF INNOVATION, MULTILATERAL PROJECTS, LEONARDO DA VINCI
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (2007-2013)
most efficient structures are those with satisfied employees, and a peaceful and
participatory "indoor climate". Motivation, collaboration, involvement, a correct
circulation of information, flexibility and confidence of people are all factors that lead
to improve the mental and physical health of workers, the satisfaction of customers
and users and, finally, to increase productivity..
PARENTAL LEAVE: The individual right to get a leave, in principle on a non-transferable
basis, available for both male and female workers after the childbirth or adoption of a child, in
order to enable them to take care of children
PATERNAL LEAVE / PATERNITY LEAVE: A fixed amount of leave the father of a child
can enjoy at the time of childbirth, or fixed amounts of time which may be taken in any year
or period of years for reasons concerning the care responsibilities of a father for his child.
SEXISM: Individual, cultural and social attitudes and practices aimed at discrediting one sex
and at favouring t he other one are defined sexist. The most suitable example is that of the
Italian language, where nouns defining, for example, prestigious professions or elective
offices aren’t declined into the feminine gender, even if the subject is a woman.
SUPPORTED FAMILISM: Supports (i.e. more or less generous leaves) so that one
or more members in the family shall provide for the care of children and / or elderly
TELEWORKING: Way of working independent from the geographical location of the
office or company, facilitated by the use of computer and ICT tools and characterized
by the flexibility both in the organization, and in the way of working progress.
UNINTENTIONAL PART TIME: Condition of part-time work in the absence of
opportunities for full-time employment. In Italy, for women there is the extreme
difficulty of the reversibility of the decision to work part-time and therefore to remain
in a part-time job as the only solution.
VERTICAL SEGREGATION: The concentration of women and men in different grades,
levels of responsibility
SEGREGATION)
or
positions
(see
JOB
SEGREGATION/EMPLOYMENT
WELFARE: The set of social protection policies aimed at ensuring to all citizens,
especially those considered most vulnerable, the use of those social services
considered indispensable..
WORKING AND PROFESSIONAL SEX-TYPING: Professional discrimination linked
to sex. In particular, it refers to the process of feminization of certain professions that
have fueled and still promote the persistence of a sexed vision of labor and
professions and a gender division in the labor market
WORK-LIFE BALANCE: The focus on the person and well-being in different
relational contexts (working and personal). David Clutterbuck definition (see:
“Managing Work-Life Balance”, 2003): “a state where an individual manages real or
potential conflicts between different demands on his or her time and energy in a way
that satisfies his or her needs for well-being and self-fulfilment”.
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