Zitatform

Gerecke, Megan (2013): A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries. (International Institute for Labour Studies. Discussion paper 215), Genf, 74 S.

Abstract

"Over the past 15 years, important gains have been made in gender equality. Gender gaps in educational attainment have shrunk substantially. In fact, in many high-income countries, young women's educational attainment now exceeds that of young men. At the same time, most countries have seen a significant increase in female employment rates - a trend which slowed only with the recent financial crisis." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Triventi, Moris (2013): The gender wage gap and its institutional context. A comparative analysis of European graduates. In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 27, H. 4, S. 563-580. DOI:10.1177/0950017012460322

Abstract

"This article examines whether there is a gender gap in monthly wages among recent graduates in 11 European countries, and which variables account for it. We extend previous works considering a broader range of variables including perceived skills, responsibility at work, family obligations and attitudes to family and work. Regression analyses applied to data from the 'Research into Employment and professional FLEXibility' (REFLEX) survey (2005) show that in all countries there is a significant 'raw wage gap', but with noticeable cross-country variation. Decomposition analyses show that the 'residual wage gap' (discrimination) is lower in Nordic countries and higher in the Czech Republic, with the United Kingdom, continental and southern European countries placed in between them. Employment characteristics and working hours are the most important factors accounting for the gender gap. Wage discrimination is lower in countries with high trade union density, centralized collective bargaining, family-friendly policies, and high level of women's empowerment in society." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mandel, Hadas (2012): Winners and losers: the consequences of welfare state policies for gender wage inequality. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 28, H. 2, S. 241-262. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcq061

Abstract

"Cross-national studies of the impact of welfare states on gender inequality tend to overlook socio-economic divisions among women. This article challenges the implicit assumption that welfare states have uniform effects on the economic attainments of women, arguing that the impact of state intervention is necessarily conditioned by women's relative advantage or disadvantage in the labour market. Based on Luxembourg Income Study microdata for 21 advanced countries, the paper analyses gender wage gaps among highly skilled and low skilled men and women. The findings suggest that welfare state policies interact with socio-economic position: they limit the economic rewards of highly skilled women, but do not adversely affect, and by some measures actually benefit, those who are less skilled. Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of social policies for different groups of women, the article concludes that more research is needed to explore differentiated approaches to reconciling work and family, rather than addressing universal work - family tensions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Olivetti, Claudia & Barbara Petrongolo (2011): Gender gaps across countries and skills. Supply, demand and the industry structure. (CEP discussion paper 1093), London, 42 S.

Abstract

"The gender wage gap varies widely across countries and across skill groups within countries. Interestingly, there is a positive cross-country correlation between the unskilled-to-skilled gender wage gap and the corresponding gap in hours worked. Based on a canonical supply and demand framework, this positive correlation would reveal the presence of net demand forces shaping gender differences in labor market outcomes across skills and countries. We use a simple multi-sector framework to illustrate how differences in labor demand for different inputs can be driven by both within-industry and between-industry factors. The main idea is that, if the service sector is more developed in the US than in continental Europe, and unskilled women tend to be over-represented in this sector, we expect unskilled women to suffer a relatively large wage and/or employment penalty in the latter than in the former. We find that, overall, the between-industry component of labor demand explains more than half of the total variation in labor demand between the US and the majority of countries in our sample, as well as one-third of the correlation between wage and hours gaps. The between-industry component is relatively more important in countries where the relative demand for unskilled females is lowest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Napari, Sami (2010): Is there a motherhood wage penalty in the Finnish private sector? In: Labour, Jg. 24, H. 1, S. 55-73. DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00471.x

Abstract

"This paper investigates the effects of children on women's wages in the Finnish private sector. The paper finds evidence of the motherhood wage penalty, the penalty varying with the length of the child-related career break. Mothers staying at home no longer than for 2 years face considerably smaller penalties than mothers spending longer periods at home. The negative wage effects of children decrease, however, quickly with time. For example, mothers who experience a career break of 2 years or less do not lag behind non-mothers in terms of wages after the second year from the return to employment. There is also variation in the motherhood wage penalty across the wage distribution. The penalty is higher at the top of the distribution than in the middle of it, especially in the cases of prolonged child-related career breaks." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Damme, Maike van, Matthijs Kalmijn & Wilfred Uunk (2009): The employment of separated women in Europe. Individual and institutional determinants. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 25, H. 2, S. 183-197. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcn042

Abstract

"Studies on the economic consequences of divorce for women have paid little attention to changes in employment. In this article, we investigate changes in employment for separating women and the impact of individual and institutional factors on these changes using data on 13 countries from the European Community Household Panel (1994-2001). Our dynamic analyses of the odds of employment entry and exit, and changes in working hours demonstrate that European women only modestly increase employment after separation, although in some countries this change is larger than in others. Important individual-level determinants of employment changes are education and labour market experience (positive effects), health (positive effect), and the presence of young children (negative effect). Institutional factors have opposing influences: more generous public childcare provisions encourage the employment of separated women, whereas more generous allowances for single parents discourage employment. The results underline the importance of distinguishing between income- and employment-related institutions in studying outcomes of union dissolution." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Dieckhoff, Martina & Nadia Steiber (2009): In search of gender differences in access to continuing training. Is there a gender training gap and if yes, why? (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung. Discussion papers SP 1 2009-504), Berlin, 35 S.

Abstract

"Geschlechterunterschiede im Zugang zu beruflicher Weiterbildung gelten weiterhin als wichtige Ursache weiter bestehender Ungleichheiten zwischen den Geschlechtern in Bezug auf deren Chancen am Arbeitsmarkt und deren beruflichen Erfolg. Allerdings schaffen empirische Studien bis dato keine Klarheit darüber, ob bzw. welche Geschlechterunterschiede im Weiterbildungsverhalten tatsächlich bestehen. Die vorliegende Analyse untersucht, auf Basis harmonisierter Survey-Daten des European Social Survey 2004, berufsbezogene Weiterbildungsaktivitäten in Europa und testet eine Reihe von mikroökonomischen und soziologischen Theorien (z.B. Humankapitaltheorie, Geschlechtersegregation am Arbeitsmarkt, Diskriminierung durch den Arbeitgeber etc.), die häufig zur Erklärung von Geschlechterunterschieden in der Teilnahme an Weiterbildung herangezogen werden. Der Beitrag untersucht die Mechanismen, die einem potenziell geschlechtsspezifischen Teilnahmeverhalten an beruflicher Weiterbildung zugrunde liegen. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse zeigen, dass männliche Arbeitnehmer, ceteris paribus, häufiger an berufsbezogener Weiterbildung teilnehmen als weibliche Arbeitnehmer. Als Fazit kann festgestellt werden, dass die vorherrschenden theoretischen Ansätze mehr Erklärungskraft für das Weiterbildungsverhalten von Männern als für jenes von Frauen haben. Vor allem in Bezug auf weibliches Weiterbildungsverhalten bei Präsenz von Betreuungspflichten für kleine Kinder zeigen sich vorherrschende Erklärungsmodelle als wenig valid." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Lohmann, Henning, Frauke H. Peter, Tine Rostgaard & Stephen P. Jenkins (2009): Towards a framework for assessing family policies in the EU. (OECD social, employment and migration working papers 88), Paris, 94 S. DOI:10.1787/223883627348

Abstract

"This report presents the results of a first attempt to create a framework for assessing the performance of national family policies. The report is part of a joint EU and OECD project, which aims to help the EU Government Expert Group on Demographic Issues in evaluating national family policies. The idea behind the framework is that it allows individual countries to compare their overall performance in the area of family policies with the performance of other countries. The main focus of the report is policies for families with smaller children. The framework provides a set of cross-nationally comparable indicators on contexts, policy measures, and outcomes, organised on a systematic basis. The policy measure indicators presented in the report cover leave schemes, early childhood education and care, family benefits and workplace policies. The indicators build upon, interalia, previous work by the OECD in various studies on family-friendly policies that were carried out on a cross-national basis using different sets of indicators. Most of these indicators are today available in the OECD Family Database. Wherever the OECD Family Database contains indicators for the majority of EU member states and OECD countries, these data have been used in the present study. Otherwise, data from other cross-national databases have been included. Each indicator in the framework is presented as a single-standing indicator in the general absence of scientific consensus on different aggregation weights. In the report no explicit ranking of countries has been attempted, instead the relative position of countries has been illustrated with the help of standard deviation scores. In the last part of the report the linkages between policy aims and the various context, outcome and policy measures are indicated, which help construct 'score cards'. This 'score card-approach' is illustrated for three countries: Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The report offers tools for assessment that may be developed further, and should offer an approach to using the OECD Family Database, acknowledging this unique data source for cross-country comparisons in the field of family policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Takhtamanova, Yelena & Eva Sierminska (2009): Gender, moentary policy, and employment. The case of nine OECD countries. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 15, H. 3, S. 323-353. DOI:10.1080/13545700902893122

Abstract

"In many countries, low and stable inflation is the focus of monetary policy. Recent empirical evidence from developing countries indicates, however, that the costs of reducing inflation are disproportionately borne by women. This paper seeks to determine whether a similar pattern is evident in nine Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) countries, using quarterly data for 1980-2004. The study examines economy-wide and sectoral employment effects by gender by utilizing two methodologies: single equation regression and vector autoregression analysis. Results indicate that the link between monetary policy instruments (short-term interest rates) and employment in the industrial countries under investigation is weak and does not vary by gender." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Casarico, Alessandra & Alessandro Sommacal (2008): Labor income taxation, human capital and growth. The role of child care. (CESifo working paper 2363), München, 32 S.

Abstract

"This paper studies the implications of introducing child care in the human capital production function when assessing the effects of labor income taxation on growth. We develop an OLG model where formal schooling and child care enter the human capital production function as complements and we compare it with a model where only formal schooling matters for skill formation. Using a numerical analysis we find that, depending on the quality of child care services relative to parental care, the omission of child care from the technology of skills' formation can significantly bias the results related to the effects of labor income taxation on growth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Moss, Peter & Marta Korintus (Hrsg.) (2008): International review of leave policies and related research 2008. (Employment relations research series 100), London, 383 S.

Abstract

"This report is about leave entitlements, mainly for workers with dependant children. As the report shows, working parents today in most countries are entitled to a range of different types of leave, going under a variety of different names. Moreover, in a number of countries the distinction between types of leave is increasingly blurred. This report is produced by an international network on leave policy and research, consisting of over 40 experts from 24 countries, mostly in Europe. The network covers policies for parents and others with care responsibilities, including for adult relatives, as well as policies available to the whole population such as life course career breaks and time accounts. But initially, priority is being given to leave policies focused on the care of children. Among the purposes of this network are: the exchange of information about policies, both in individual countries and by international organisations, and research on leave policies; the provision of a forum for the cross-national discussion of issues and trends in policy and research; and providing a source of regularly updated information on policies and research, including:
- the three-year leave period: too long or not?
- employers' perspectives and involvement and
- policies to increase fathers' use of leave." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Schmitt, Christian (2008): Gender-specific effects of unemployment on family formation. A cross-national perspective. (DIW-Diskussionspapiere 841), Berlin, 75 S.

Abstract

"This paper investigates the impact of unemployment on the propensity to start a family. Unemployment is accompanied by bad occupational prospects and impending economic deprivation, placing the well-being of a future family at risk. I analyze unemployment at the intersection of state-dependence and the reduced opportunity costs of parenthood, distinguishing between men and women across a set of welfare states. Using micro-data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), I apply event history methods to analyze longitudinal samples of first-birth transitions in France, Finland, Germany, and the UK (1994-2001). The results highlight spurious negative effects of unemployment on family formation among men, which can be attributed to the lack of breadwinner capabilities in the inability to financially support a family. Women, in contrast, show positive effects of unemployment on the propensity to have a first child in all countries except France. These effects prevail even after ontrolling for labour market and income-related factors. The findings are pronounced in Germany and the UK where work-family conflicts are the cause of high opportunity costs of motherhood, and the gender-specific division of labour is still highly traditional. Particularly among women with a moderate and low level of education, unemployment clearly increases the likelihood to have a first child." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Arnkil, Robert, Germana Di Domenico & Regina Konle-Seidl (2007): Joblessness as a major challenge for public employment services. Country reports from Germany, Finland and Italy. In: Fondazione Marco Biagi (Hrsg.) (2007): The global workplace : learning from each other. Paper presented at the 5th International Conference in commemoration of Marco Biagi "The global Workplace" at the University of Modena, 19-23 March 2007, S. 1-33.

Abstract

Die wachsende Internationalisierung und Globalisierung der Wirtschaft zusammen mit einer ständig alternden Gesellschaft erhöhen den Druck auf die Staaten, nicht nur die Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit zu bekämpfen sondern auch bislang inaktives Arbeitskräftepotenzial zu mobilisieren. Gerade Länder, die in den vergangenen Jahren die Erwerbsbevölkerung abgebaut haben, sehen sich nun vor der Aufgabe, das Arbeitskräftepotenzial, das von passiven Sozialleistungen lebt, neu zu aktivieren. Im internationalen Vergleich lassen sich zwei Ländergruppen unterscheiden: 1. Länder, in denen die Nachfrage nach Arbeit in der Vergangenheit nicht ausreichend hoch gewesen ist und in denen die Leistungen aus der Arbeitslosenversicherung häufiger in Anspruch genommen werden als andere Sozialleistungen. Typisch für diese Länder ist ein hoher Stand an Langzeitarbeitslosen (Frankreich, Finnland, Deutschland, Italien). 2. Länder mit einer hohen Nachfrage nach Arbeit aber gleichzeitig einem umfangreichen Angebot an Sozialleistungen für Inaktivität aus verschiedenen Gründen wie Behinderung, Krankheit, Vorruhestand etc. (Dänemark, Niederlande, Großbritannien, Schweden, Norwegen). Die Studie untersucht, welche strukturellen und organisatorischen Konsequenzen sich für die öffentlichen Arbeitsvermittlungen der Länder bei unterschiedlichen Ausgangspositionen aufgrund der sich verbessernden Arbeitsmarktsituation mit steigender Arbeitsnachfrage ergeben. (IAB)

Zitatform

Figari, Francesco, Herwig Immervoll, Horacio Levy & Holly Sutherland (2007): Inequalities within couples. Market incomes and the role of taxes and benefits in Europe. (IZA discussion paper 3201), Bonn, 41 S.

Abstract

"In spite of there being few elements of tax or cash benefit systems in developed countries that are any longer explicitly gender-biased in a discriminatory sense, it is well recognised that they have significant gender effects. To the extent that women earn less than men on average under tax-benefit systems that are progressive, there is some redistribution from men to women overall. However, an aggregate perspective is insufficient for understanding how earning opportunities and public policies affect living arrangements at the family level in general and the circumstances of men and women in particular. Arguably, it is within the household that a gendered division of labour is most relevant. It is difficult to observe how income and other resources get allocated within households. We can, however, observe the incomes brought into the household and to what extent taxes and benefits mitigate (or indeed exacerbate) any inequality of income between men and women. We explore the effects of tax and benefit systems on differences in income and in incentives to earn income between men and women within couples in a selection of the member countries of the European Union (EU) using EUROMOD, the EU tax-benefit microsimulation model. This comparative perspective allows us to establish the relative effects of different policy regimes, given the underlying characteristics of each national population, using a consistent approach and set of incidence assumptions across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Sigle-Rushton, Wendy & Jane Waldfogel (2007): The incomes of families with children. A cross-national comparison. In: Journal of European social policy, Jg. 17, H. 4, S. 299-318. DOI:10.1177/0958928707082474

Abstract

"Using data on seven countries, we estimate trajectories in family incomes for families with and without children following several stylized life-courses. Focusing mainly on women with a medium level of education, we find, in general, that gaps in family income are smallest in the Nordic countries, intermediate in the Anglo-American countries, and largest in the continental European countries. Our findings are similar to patterns observed in the literature on family gaps in women's earnings and suggest that differences in earnings and labour market participation between women with different family histories are the major driver in the gaps in gross and disposable incomes that we observe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Sigle-Rushton, Wendy & Jane Waldfogel (2007): Motherhood and women's earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic Countries. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 13, H. 2, S. 55-91. DOI:10.1080/13545700601184849

Abstract

"The earnings of mothers make up an important, but difficult to quantify, component of parental expenditures on children. This paper compares the long-term earnings of women with children, women without children, and men. The study conducts separate analyses for less educated, moderately educated, and highly educated people in eight Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic countries. The study finds that, for the most part, these countries cluster into three groups, with mothers in the Continental European group experiencing the largest earnings differentials, mothers in the Nordic group experiencing the smallest, and mothers in the Anglo-American countries occupying the middle position." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"The Global Employment Trends for Women Brief 2007 focuses on whether the tendency toward increased participation has continued more recently and whether women have found enough decent and productive jobs to really enable them to use their potential in the labour market and achieve economic independence. The approach is based on updates and analysis of a number of major labour market indicators. These include: labour force participation; unemployment; sector and status of employment; wages/earnings; and education and skills. Taken together, they show whether women who want to work actually do so, whether women find it harder to get a job than men, differences in the type of work done by women and men and equality of treatment in areas ranging from pay to education and training." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"90 Prozent aller Mitgliedsstaaten der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation (ILO) haben inzwischen die Kernarbeitsnormen gegen Diskriminierung ratifiziert und sich damit zur Verabschiedung entsprechender Gesetze verpflichtet. Doch Gesetze allein reichen nicht aus, um Diskriminierung wirksam zu bekämpfen. Der Bericht lenkt die Aufmerksamkeit von Regierungen und Sozialpartnern auch auf neue Formen der Diskriminierung, die noch zu wenig Beachtung finden - beispielsweise aufgrund von Alter, HIV/AIDS, eines ungesunden Lebensstils oder der Wahrscheinlichkeit bestimmter genetischer Krankheiten. Die meisten Fälle von Diskriminierung aber betreffen nach wie vor Frauen. Die ILO betont in ihrem Bericht daher die herausragende Bedeutung von Maßnahmen zur besseren Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf. So sollten familienfreundliche Maßnahmen nicht nur Frauen, sondern auch Männern offen stehen. In einigen Ländern, wie Island und Dänemark, wurden bestimmte Maßnahmen gezielt für Männer vorgesehen, beispielsweise ein besonderer Kinderbetreuungsurlaub nur für Männer. Nur wenn deutlich gemacht werde, dass die Wahrnehmung von Familienpflichten durch Männer sozial gewollt und akzeptiert wird, könne ein notwendiger Umdenkprozess stattfinden. Auch die Sozialpartner könnten durch entsprechende Ausgestaltung von Tarifverträgen einen Beitrag leisten, etwa indem Erziehungspausen nicht zu einer niedrigeren Einstufung führen. In Deutschland werden Frauen immer noch weniger eingestellt, rücken seltener in Führungspositionen und verdienen deutlich weniger als Männer. So beträgt das Lohngefälle zwischen Frauen und Männern laut dem Gleichstellungsbericht der EU-Kommission 22 Prozent, womit Deutschland in der EU auf dem viertletzten Platz landet. Auch die EU nennt die schlechte Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf als zentrales Hindernis auf dem Weg zu mehr Gleichberechtigung.
Weitere Empfehlungen der ILO zur Bekämpfung der Diskriminierung weltweit:
- Gesetzgebung, die nicht nur Diskriminierung verbietet, sondern aktiv Ziele zur Förderung der Gleichberechtigung setzt;
- Unterstützung der Sozialpartner, um Gleichstellungsfragen in der Tarifpolitik zu verankern;
- gezielte Arbeitsmarktpolitik zur Förderung und Einbindung benachteiligter Gruppen;
- Bindung der öffentlichen Auftragsvergabe an die Einhaltung des Diskriminierungsverbots;
- Einrichtung von Antidiskriminierungskommissionen beziehungsweise Kommissionen für Lohngleichheit;
- Förderung der Lohngerechtigkeit auf betrieblicher Ebene durch 'Kartierung' der Lohnstruktur, um Lohndiskrepanzen sichtbar zu machen und abzubauen;
- Einbindung von Gleichstellungsmaßnahmen in die Länderprogramme der ILO für menschenwürdige Arbeit ebenso wie in die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, die staatliche Kreditvergabe und Investitionsförderpolitik." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Zitatform

Datta Gupta, Nabanita, Nina Smith & Mette Verner (2006): Child care and parental leave in the Nordic countries. A model to aspire to? (IZA discussion paper 2014), Bonn, 58 S.

Abstract

"The Nordic countries have remarkably high participation rates of mothers and a moderate decrease of fertility rates compared to other western countries. This has been attributed to the fact that the welfare state model and, especially, the family friendly policies chosen in the Nordic countries are unique. The availability of generous parental leave schemes including high compensation rates makes it possible for mothers to take a considerable time out of work in connection with childbirths and to return to their previous jobs afterwards, thanks to the high provision of public daycare. In this paper we evaluate family-friendly policies in the 'Nordic model' with respect to the two modes of child care i.e. either parental care facilitated by maternal and parental leave schemes or non-parental publicly provided care. Our questions for discussion are: Is there a 'Nordic model', and is it worth the cost if effects on child development and welfare are included? Is there a trade-of! f between family-friendly policies and family welfare, and are there serious negative boomerang effects of family-friendly policies on women?s position in the labor market? Is the 'Nordic model' a model to aspire to?" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Mandel, Hadas & Moshe Semyonov (2006): A welfare state paradox. State interventions and women's employment opportunities in 22 countries. In: American Journal of Sociology, Jg. 111, H. 6, S. 1910-1949.

Abstract

"This study explores the role played by the welfare state in affecting women's labor force participation and occupational achievement. Using data from 22 industrialized countries, the authors examine the consequences of state interventions for both women's employment patterns and gender inequality in occupational attainment. The findings reveal a twofold effect: developed welfare states facilitate women's access into the labor force but not into powerful and desirable positions. Specifically, nations characterized by progressive and developed welfare policies and by a large public service sector tend to have high levels of female labor force participation, along with a high concentration of women in female-typed occupations and low female representation in managerial occupations. The findings provide insights into the social mechanisms underlying the relations between welfare states' benefits to working mothers and women's participation and achievements in the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))