1. Gender equality and working time in Europe
Dr Agnieszka Piasna
Senior Researcher
European Trade Union Institute

2. Women and men in the labour market: still worlds apart

3. Employment gap

4. Change in gender composition
Gender segregation
Change in gender composition
, EU28
Source: Eurostat, own calculations

5. Educating for jobs of the future
Tertiary education graduates by field of study
EU28 average (2016)
Source: Eurostat

6. But STEM is a ‘leaky pipeline’
Employment by occupational group
EU28 average (2017)
Source: Eurostat
% of STEM graduates working in an occupation matching their educational qualification (2014)
Source: EIGE

7. Gendered growth in non-standard work

8. Gender pay gap Gender pay gap in unadjusted form 2006 = 17.7%
% of average gross hourly earnings of men (2016)
2006 = 17.7%
2016 = 16.3%
Source: Eurostat, based on the Structure of Earnings Survey

9. “The solution to (nearly) everything: working less”
Rutger Bregman

10. General working time reduction is already happening

11. Driven by the rise of part-time, short-hour jobs
Source: Eurostat

12. Part-time increasingly employer-driven solution
De Spiegelaere S & A Piasna (2017) The why and how of working time reduction, Brussels: ETUI.

13. What is the impact?

14. Employer-driven fragmentation of working time
A close link between reductions and adjustments/flexibility of working hours
Aim to maximise staffing efficiency and achieve a better match between the number of working hours, staffing levels, and workloads
Removing ‘slack’ time from paid work hours
Risks and costs shifted on workers

15. Individual WTR: reinforcing existing economic and gender inequalities
Source: Eurostat

16. The downsides of part-time work: segmentation and inequality, entirely paid by workers
De Spiegelaere S & A Piasna (2017) The why and how of working time reduction, Brussels: ETUI.

17. The downsides of part-time work: job prospects
De Spiegelaere S & A Piasna (2017) The why and how of working time reduction, Brussels: ETUI.

18. The downsides of part-time work: employment conditions
Fixed-term contract
Agency work
Other non-standard
De Spiegelaere S & A Piasna (2017) The why and how of working time reduction, Brussels: ETUI.

19. What is the objective?

20. Long hours have significant negative effects on wlb
Work-life conflict
How do your working hours fit in with your family or social commitments outside work? % of responses “Not very well” / “Not at all well”
Notes: Data from EWCS. Sample: employees, EU28, data weighted,

21. Individual preferences converge towards short full-time
Gap between desired and actual hours of
work of involuntary part-timers (2015)
Source: Living and Working in Europe 2017, Eurofound. Based on data from European Labour Force Survey.

22. Gendered division of unpaid work
Gender differences in time spent on childcare and household activities
Employed people only with at least one child living in the household EU 28 (2015)
De Spiegelaere S & A Piasna (2017) The why and how of working time reduction, Brussels: ETUI.

23. Unsocial hours of work and work-life balance
Work-life conflict
How do your working hours fit in with your family or social commitments outside work? % of responses “Not very well” / “Not at all well”
Notes: Data from EWCS. Sample: employees, EU28, data weighted,

24. Flexibility and work-life balance
Work-life conflict
How do your working hours fit in with your family or social commitments outside work? % of responses “Not very well” / “Not at all well”
Employer flexibility
Working time set by employer and employer-led changes to schedule occur (beyond control of a worker)
Flexibility for employees
Choice between several fixed schedules, or can adapt within certain limits, or hours entirely determined by worker
Regular hours
Working time set by the employer and no changes to schedule occur
Notes: Data from EWCS. Sample: employees, EU28, data weighted,

25. How can we achieve it?

26. Working time reduction for greater gender equality
Redistribution through part-time is socially unequal and gender-biased, mostly employer driven
There is no one-size-fits-all solution but organised, negotiated and collective reductions ensure positive outcomes for all
A reduction in working time could improve gender equality:
By increasing the participation of women in the labour market
By putting women on a more equal footing with men on the labour market
By facilitating a redistribution of caring and household tasks
Supply-side and women only policies not an answer (blaming the unsuccessful)
Focus on the design of policies and the role of employers

27. Voluntary, max 10% a year as extra leave. Partial wage decrease
Wage increases + Working time
28h/week up to 2 years with only partial compensation; bonus 8 free days (2 paid by employer)
37.5h, constant wages