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Aumayr-Pintar, Christine, Anna-Karin Gustafsson, Anna Savolainen & Carsten Jørgensen (2018): Pay transparency in Europe. First experiences with gender pay reports and audits in four Member States. (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 18 S. DOI:10.2806/577051

Abstract

"In light of the limited action in many Member States to introduce or review gender pay transparency instruments as recommended, in November 2017 the European Commission announced the possible need for further targeted measures at EU level. This report reviews experiences in four Member States - Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland - based on their company-level gender pay reports and audits. Evaluations point to a 'bumpy ride' in terms of compliance - at least in the initial phase of rolling out the instruments in some countries - and highlight room for improvement in engaging employee representatives and in raising employees' awareness. The need to tackle knowledge gaps around the instruments right from the start is a lesson to be learnt from the experiences of the first movers. Soft measures to accompany enforceable mandatory requirements seem to be in demand and to be working well. Ultimately, the success of the instrument depends on the attitudes of the actors, the extent to which they acknowledge the existence of unjustified gender pay gaps and their willingness to engage in a meaningful dialogue and follow-up." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Castellano, Rosalia & Antonella Rocca (2018): Gender disparities in European labour markets. A comparison between female and male employees. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 157, H. 4, S. 589-608. DOI:10.1111/ilr.12052

Abstract

"In recent decades, the dramatic increase in female labour force participation was connected to significant changes in the economic opportunities reserved to women. However, gender disparities in the labour market still persist in many forms.
In this study we want to verify if in the European labour markets higher gender differentials are directly connected with bad economic conditions. Starting from the GGLMI, a composite indicator designed and developed by the authors in a previous study, besides updating the results, we construct other three composite indicators analysing separately female and male conditions in the labour market and the gender gap." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dahl, Malte & Niels Krog (2018): Experimental Evidence of Discrimination in the Labour Market. Intersections between Ethnicity, Gender, and Socio-Economic Status. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 34, H. 4, S. 402-417. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcy020

Abstract

"This article presents evidence of ethnic discrimination in the recruitment process from a field experiment conducted in the Danish labour market. In a correspondence experiment, fictitious job applications were randomly assigned either a Danish or Middle Eastern-sounding name and sent to real job openings. In addition to providing evidence on the extent of ethnic discrimination in the Danish labour market, the study offers two novel contributions to the literature more generally. First, because a majority of European correspondence experiments have relied solely on applications with male aliases, there is limited evidence on the way gender and ethnicity interact across different occupations. By randomly assigning gender and ethnicity, this study suggests that ethnic discrimination is strongly moderated by gender: minority males are consistently subject to a much larger degree of discrimination than minority females across different types of occupations. Second, this study addresses a key critique of previous correspondence experiments by examining the potential confounding effect of socio-economic status related to the names used to represent distinct ethnic groups. The results support the notion that differences in callbacks are caused exclusively by the ethnic traits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grigoli, Francesco, Zsóka Kóczán & Petia Topalova (2018): Drivers of labor force participation in advanced economies. Macro and micro evidence. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 265), Maastricht, 39 S.

Abstract

"Despite significant headwinds from population aging in most advanced economies (AEs), labor force participation rates show remarkably divergent trajectories both across countries and across different groups of workers. Participation increased sharply among prime-age women and, more recently, older workers, but fell among the young and prime-age men. This paper investigates the determinants of these trends using aggregate and individual-level data. We find that the bulk of the dramatic increase in the labor force attachment of prime-age women and older workers in the past three decades can be explained by changes in labor market policies and institutions, structural transformation, and gains in educational attainment. Technological advances such as automation, on the other hand, weighed on the labor supply of prime-age and older workers. In light of the dramatic demographic shifts expected in the coming decades in many AEs, our findings underscore the need to invest in education and training, reform the tax system, reduce early retirement incentives, improve the job-matching process, and help individuals combine family and work life in order to alleviate the pressures from aging on labor supply." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Matteazzi, Eleonora, Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz (2018): Part-time employment, the gender wage gap and the role of wage-setting institutions. Evidence from 11 European countries. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 24, H. 3, S. 221-241. DOI:10.1177/0959680117738857

Abstract

"We examine how far the over-representation of women in part-time jobs can explain the gender gap in hourly earnings, and also investigate how far wage-setting institutions are correlated with the overall gender wage gap and the female part-time wage gap. Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2009 data for 11 European countries, we implement a double decomposition of the gender wage gap: between men and women employed full-time and between full-time and part-time working women. This shows that the wage penalty of women employed part-time occurs mainly through the segregation of part-time jobs, but the full-time gender pay gap remains mostly unexplained. At the macro level, the gender wage gap tends to be higher in countries where part-time employment is more widespread. Some wage-setting institutions seem to reduce the female full-time/part-time pay gap and the gender gap among full-time workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Sundsbø, Astrid O. (2018): Parenting support in Europe's North. How is it understood and evaluated in research? In: Social policy and society, Jg. 17, H. 3, S. 431-441. DOI:10.1017/S1474746418000027

Abstract

"Parenting support in the Nordic countries builds upon a century-long tradition of controls and services run by municipalities and county councils (Hagelund, 2008; Danielsen and Mühleisen, 2009; Lundqvist, 2015). However, with the introduction of structured parental guidance programmes from the 1990s onward (mainly based on research insights and experiences from the US and UK), new elements have been added to the former policy legacy (Lundqvist, 2015)." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, commonly known as the Nordic countries, have been leaders in the development of modern family and gender policy, and the explicit promotion of gender equality at home, at work, and in public life. Today, on many measures, they boast some of the most gender-equal labour markets in the OECD.
This report shows that improvements in gender equality have contributed considerably to economic growth in the Nordic countries. Increases in female employment alone are estimated to account for anywhere between roughly 0.05 and 0.40 percentage points to average annual GDP per capita growth - equivalent to 3 to 20% of total GDP per capita growth over the past 50 years or so, depending on the country.
The Nordic countries are closer than most to achieving gender equality in the labour market. But the last mile may well prove to be the longest one. To make further progress, a continued assessment of the effectiveness of existing public policies and workplace practices is needed. Only with resolve and a continued focus can Nordic countries ensure that men and women contribute to their economies and societies in gender equal measure." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Albrecht, Clara, Anita Fichtl & Peter Redler (2017): Fathers in charge? Parental leave policies for fathers in Europe. In: ifo DICE report, Jg. 15, H. 1, S. 49-51.

Abstract

"Despite the fact that most parental leave policies in European countries have also entitled men, take-up rates by fathers have been low. In turn, the traditional male breadwinner model has prevailed in the EU, even though the level of education of men and women has converged fully. At the same time, fathers do want to spend time with their newborn children (Huerta et al. 2013). A trend towards the implementation of parental leave policies for fathers - also known as 'daddy months' or 'daddy quotas' - has emerged. The potential goals of these policies are greater gender equality, both in the family and in the labour market, a better work-life-balance for families and stronger bonding between father and child. Encouraged by state regulations and the EU-Directive 2010/18/EU2 parental leave take-up rates have been rising over the past decade, but still remain low." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Castellano, Rosalia & Rocca Antonella (2017): The dynamic of the gender gap in the European labour market in the years of economic crisis. In: Quality and Quantity. International Journal of Methodology, Jg. 51, H. 3, S. 1337-1357. DOI:10.1007/s11135-016-0334-1

Abstract

"Closing the gender gap in the labour market is one of the main goals of European Union and part of a wider effort to eliminate social inequalities. In recent decades, all developed countries have suffered a deep global economic crisis, that has increased social and economic inequalities. In Europe, the crisis involved problems of European stability and growth, but the crisis did not affect the euro-area countries to the same extent, and the consequences and recovery were correspondingly asymmetrical. In this paper, we analyse the changes that occurred in the gender gap in the European labour markets from 2007 to 2012 to understand if the recession has further increased or reduced the gender differentials. At this aim, we combine the use of two different statistical methodologies. Through the composite indicator methodology, we test how the rank of countries in relation to gender equality has changed in these years. In addition, the Dynamic Factor Analysis allows us to identify the factors that drive these changes. Moreover, the contextual analysis of the measures that were utilized to face the crisis could give policy makers some useful suggestions on the most efficacious actions to take." (Author's abstract, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Dolado, Juan J., Cecilia García-Peñalosa & Linas Tarasonis (2017): The changing nature of gender selection into employment. Europe over the Great Recession. (IZA discussion paper 10729), Bonn, 40 S.

Abstract

"The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role played by selectivity issues induced by nonemployment in explaining gender wage gap patterns in the EU since the onset of the Great Recession. We show that male selection into the labour market, traditionally disregarded, has increased. This is particularly the case in peripheral EU countries, where dramatic drops in male unskilled jobs have taken place during the crisis. As regards female selection, traditionally positive, we document mixed findings. While it has declined in some countries, as a result of increasing female LFP due to an added-worker effect, it has become even more positive in other countries. This is due to adverse labour demand shifts in industries which are intensive in temporary work where women are over-represented. These adverse shifts may have more than offset the rise in unskilled female labour supply." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Foster, Liam, Ruby Chau & Sam Yu (2017): The impact of defamilisation measures on gender and pensions. A comparison between the UK and seven other European countries. In: The journal of poverty and social justice, Jg. 25, H. 3, S. 199-217. DOI:10.1332/175982717X14999284090397

Abstract

"This article uses individual-based and state-led care-focused defamilisation indices to explore women's employment opportunities and experiences and their implications for pension contributions. These two types of defamilisation indices are applied to eight European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK) which shows that the UK has less generous defamilisation measures than its European counterparts. It indicates that the use of defamilisation measures along with pension policies which are not based on the male breadwinner ideology have the capacity to moderate economic inequalities between men and women in older age." (Author's abstract, © 2017 Policy Press) ((en))

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Grönlund, Anne, Karin Halldén & Charlotta Magnusson (2017): A Scandinavian success story? Women's labour market outcomes in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In: Acta sociologica, Jg. 60, H. 2, S. 97-119. DOI:10.1177/0001699316660595

Abstract

"In current research, the extensive family policies of the Scandinavian countries have been problematized and described as hampering women's careers. However, mechanisms have been little investigated and the Scandinavian countries are often regarded as a single policy model. Based on an account of institutional variety we study gender gaps in hourly wages and access to authority positions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and explore the importance of segregation, skills and work interruptions. The analysis uses pooled cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 2004 and 2010. The results show that gender gaps vary both in size and regarding the mechanisms producing them. In particular, we find that gender segregation has a radically different impact in the four countries. The analysis suggests that the mechanisms linking family policies to labour market outcomes are more complex than envisaged in the current debate and point to the importance of comparing seemingly similar countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hauret, Laetitia & Donald R. Williams (2017): Cross-national analysis of gender differences in job-satisfaction. In: Industrial relations, Jg. 56, H. 2, S. 203-235. DOI:10.1111/irel.12171

Abstract

"Research over the past two decades has found significant gender differences in subjective job satisfaction, with the result that women report greater satisfaction than men in some countries. This paper examines the so-called 'gender paradox' using data from the European Social Survey for a subset of fourteen countries in the European Union. We focus on the hypothesis that women place higher values on certain work characteristics than men, which explains the observed differential. Using estimates from Probit and ordered Probit models, we conduct standard Blinder - Oaxaca decompositions to estimate the impact that differential valuations of characteristics have on the gender difference in self-reported job satisfaction. The results indicate that females continue to report higher levels of job satisfaction than do men in some countries, and the difference remains even after controlling for a wide range of personal and job characteristics and working conditions. The decompositions suggest that a relatively small share of the gender differential is attributable to gender differences in the weights placed on working conditions in most countries. Rather, gender differences in job characteristics contribute relatively more to explaining the gender - job satisfaction differential." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Javornik, Jana & Anna Kurowska (2017): Work and Care Opportunities under Different Parental Leave Systems. Gender and Class Inequalities in Northern Europe. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 51, H. 4, S. 617-637. DOI:10.1111/spol.12316

Abstract

"This article analyses public parental leave in eight northern European countries, and assesses its opportunity potential to facilitate equal parental involvement and employment, focusing on gender and income opportunity gaps. It draws on Sen's capability and Weber's ideal-types approach to analyze policies across countries. It offers the ideal parental leave architecture, one which minimizes the policy-generated gender and class inequality in parents' opportunities to share parenting and keep their jobs, thus providing real opportunities for different groups of individuals to achieve valued functionings as parents. Five policy indicators are created using benchmarking and graphical analysis. Two sources of opportunity inequality are considered: the leave system as the opportunity and constraint structure, and the socio-economic contexts as the conversion factors. The article produces a comprehensive overview of national leave policies, visually presenting leave policy across countries. Considering policy capability ramifications beyond gender challenges a family policy-cluster idea and the Nordic-Baltic divide. It demonstrates that leave systems in northern Europe are far from homogenous; they diverge in the degree to which they create real opportunities for parents and children as well as in key policy dimensions through which these opportunities are created." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Jensen, Per H., Rasmus Juul Møberg, Ralf Och & Birgit Pfau-Effinger (2017): Explaining differences in women's working time in European cities. In: European Societies, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 138-156. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2016.1268700

Abstract

"Women's work-time pattern in Europe is highly heterogeneous; some women work short or long part-time hours, while others work full-time. Few studies, however, have analysed the factors constituting women's work-time pattern. The article aims to explain why women's working time differs in five relatively big European cities, which represent an urban environment that is particularly supportive to women's employment, and the study is based on a new original telephone survey from 2013 among women 25 - 64 years of age. It is hypothesized and analysed how women's work-time pattern is the result of women's family-cultural orientation, individual and family characteristic, the gendered division of household task, women's position in the vertical and horizontal division of labour, and city of residence. Findings support the theoretical assumptions that there is a significant relationship between family-cultural orientation and work practices." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Kanji, Shireen & Robin Samuel (2017): Male breadwinning revisited. How specialisation, gender role attitudes and work characteristics affect overwork and underwork in Europe. In: Sociology, Jg. 51, H. 2, S. 339-356. DOI:10.1177/0038038515596895

Abstract

"We examine how male breadwinning and fatherhood relate to men's overwork and underwork in western Europe. Male breadwinners should be less likely to experience overwork than other men, particularly when they have children, if specialising in paid work suits them. However, multinomial logistic regression analysis of the European Social Survey data from 2010 (n = 4662) challenges this position: male breadwinners, with and without children, want to work fewer than their actual hours, making visible one of the downsides of specialisation. Male breadwinners wanting to work fewer hours is specifically related to the job interfering with family life, as revealed by a comparison of the average marginal effects of variables across models. Work - life interference has an effect over and beyond the separate effects of work characteristics and family structure, showing the salience of the way work and life articulate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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O'Brien, Margaret & Karin Wall (Hrsg.) (2017): Comparative perspectives on work-life balance and gender equality. Fathers on leave alone. (Life course research and social policies 06), Cham: Springer London, 266 S., Anhang. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-42970-0

Abstract

"This book portrays men's experiences of home alone leave and how it affects their lives and family gender roles in different policy contexts and explores how this unique parental leave design is implemented in these contrasting policy regimes. The book brings together three major theoretical strands: social policy, in particular the literature on comparative leave policy developments; family and gender studies, in particular the analysis of gendered divisions of work and care and recent shifts in parenting and work-family balance; critical studies of men and masculinities, with a specific focus on fathers and fathering in contemporary western societies and life-courses. Drawing on empirical data from in-depth interviews with fathers across eleven countries, the book shows that the experiences and social processes associated with fathers' home alone leave involve a diversity of trends, revealing both innovations and absence of change, including pluralization as well as the constraining influence of policy, gender, and social context. As a theoretical and empirical book it raises important issues on modernization of the life course and the family in contemporary societies. The book will be of particular interest to scholars in comparing western societies and welfare states as well as to scholars seeking to understand changing work-life policies and family life in societies with different social and historical pathways." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Riekhoff, Aart-Jan & Noora Järnefelt (2017): Gender Differences in Retirement in a Welfare State with High Female Labour Market Participation and Competing Exit Pathways. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 33, H. 6, S. 791-807. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcx077

Abstract

"In this article, we analyse whether and how, in the context of high female labour market participation and competing exit pathways, Finnish women's retirement differs from men's. We test for the influence of gendered life courses, social stratification, late career vulnerability, and sector. Using data from the Finnish Centre for Pensions, we created individual sequences of monthly income statuses between ages 57 and 65 for a cohort born in 1948 (N?=?55,971). Following sequence analysis, we identified eight distinct trajectory clusters that represent the variety of labour market withdrawal through the competing exit pathways. We linked these clusters to a set of sociodemographic background variables from Finnish Longitudinal Employer - Employee Data. We find that women's retirement trajectories do not differ substantially from men's, but that the factors affecting the take-up of those trajectories show significant differences. Marital status, education, income, and especially public sector employment play a greater role in determining the timing and mode of women's retirement. The findings suggest that women's retirement is different because their marital status, education, and income have a stronger effect on their attachment to the labour market and because they work in particular female-dominated occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Schleutker, Elina (2017): Women's work-life preferences. Reconceptualization and cross-country description over time. In: European Societies, Jg. 19, H. 3, S. 292-312. DOI:10.1080/14616696.2017.1290266

Abstract

"According to Hakim's preference theory, women can be divided into three groups based on their work - family preferences: home-centered, adaptive and work-centered. Here it is argued that Hakim's conceptualization of the adaptive women is unsatisfactory, as it does not take into consideration how the adaptive women want to combine work and family. The paper offers a reconceptualization of the adaptive group. Based on when women want to return to employment after childbirth, and how many hours they would like to work, three types of adaptive women are distinguished: the home-oriented adaptive women, the truly adaptive women and the work-oriented adaptive women. To demonstrate the fruitfulness of the reconceptualization, a cross-sectional descriptive study of women's preferences over time is conducted by employing data from International Social Survey Programme." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bertram, Hans (2016): Die Rushhour des Lebens: Auswege und Lösungsmodelle. In: Archiv für Wissenschaft und Praxis der sozialen Arbeit, Jg. 47, H. 2, S. 16-33.

Abstract

"Aus der Rushhour des Lebens, in der berufliche Anforderungen und die Fürsorge für Kinder vereinbart werden müssen, gibt es keine einfachen Auswege. Viele Lösungsmodelle scheitern daran, dass die notwendige Zeit für Kinder nicht beliebig disponibel ist und dass noch immer strukturelle Einkommensunterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen bestehen. Zudem benachteiligen sie Alleinerziehende. In diesem Beitrag werden die zeitlichen Belastungen von Eltern im europäischen Vergleich untersucht und auf dieser Grundlage flexible Arbeitszeiten im Lebenslauf als mögliche Lösung vorgestellt." (Autorenreferat, © Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge e.V.)