by Pamela Readhead
Women, who account for more than half of university-level students in almost all EU nations, earn 15 per cent less than men once they join the workforce, according to a report published to mark International Women's Day on March 8. The study, which compares the lives of men and women in the EU, was prepared by the EU's Luxembourg-based statistics office, Eurostat.
The report found that women in the European Union work more hours, live longer, are better educated and earn less than men. Women work more hours per day - including paid employment, study and household work - in every country surveyed except Sweden. The statistics also reveal that more than 40 per cent of women work in education, health or public administration, compared to less than 20 per cent of men. Part-time work accounts for over 32 per cent of women’s jobs, but only 7 per cent for men.
The EU statistics are in line with the conclusions of a report on equality launched in Britain by the Women and Work Commission last week. The government-commissioned inquiry into the UK's gender pay gap said that the economy was losing up to £23bn a year because women's talents were being wasted.
'A culture change is needed in order to challenge the assumptions about the types of jobs women and men can do.'
The report laid much of the blame for the pay gap on poor careers advice to girls. It says that although girls perform better at school, they tend to follow traditional routes in education and training and are being paid less as a result. 'Many women are working day in, day out, far below their abilities,' said the commission chairwoman, Lady Prosser. 'A culture change is needed in order to challenge the assumptions about the types of jobs women and men can do.'
ESRC funded research at the Institute of Education's Centre for Longitudinal Studies says that this is only part of the story. The findings show that women in full-time jobs - who are disproportionately likely to be teachers, nurses, social workers and office staff of all grades, with men more likely to be managers, engineers and skilled manual workers - find the pay gap widens as they get older.
...the economy was losing up to £23bn a year because women's talents were being wasted.
Heather Joshi, Professor of Economic and Developmental Demography, who contributed evidence to the Women and Work Commission report, said, 'Women have benefited enormously from access to education and training, but this is not reflected in their pay. Our analysis shows that despite their educational qualifications and experience, as women with full-time jobs, such as get older the pay gap with their male colleagues increases.'
Professor Joshi's research (joint with Professors Makepeace and Dolton from Cardiff and Royal Holloway respectively) for the ESRC's Gender Equality Network (GeNet), suggests that this is partly because women tend to be less successful at negotiating pay rises, promotions and better paid new jobs. 'Domestic responsibilities - either actual or assumed by employers - also reinforce slower pay growth for women', says Heather Joshi. 'Focusing on initial access to higher paid jobs is not enough to achieve equality. Policy must look at the factors that make it easier for women to sustain their position as time goes by. Measures such as flexible employment, job shares, parental and maternity leave and access to retraining are important here, as well as equal opportunity practices on promotion.'
A number of other GeNet researchers submitted evidence to the Women and Work Commission. A study by Professor Rosemary Crompton of City University found that although many barriers to women's employment have been removed, women tend to make progress only if they conform to masculine employment norms, such as working full time and/or long hours. This topic is the subject of an ongoing GeNet project, which will examine a range of employment sectors and professions, which have adapted to women's entry in terms of career development and work-life integration.
Other GeNet projects are looking at public policy and mothers' work trajectories. In a submission to the Women and Work Commission, Fran Bennett said that there did not seem to be much evidence from previous research that the tax/benefit system encourages people to move from full-time to part-time work. But the current system does appear to create disincentives for some 'second earners' in couples. Fran Bennett, Prof Sue Himmelweit and Prof Holly Sutherland are involved in another GeNet project which will explore how policy changes in tax credits and benefits may affect gender roles and relationships.
The GeNet network, which is co-ordinated by Professor Jacqueline Scott at the University of Cambridge, brings together nine major projects, spread across eight institutions and involving some twenty researchers from a wide range of disciplines.