1. TAKING FORWARD THE KEY LESSONS FROM THE REPORT ON LABOUR ACTIVATION AND THE G20 AGENDA ON EMPLOYMENT POLICIES G20 Task Force on Employment Sydney, 5-7 February 2014 Stefano Scarpetta, Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs OECD

2. We recognize the importance of ensuring that underrepresented and vulnerable groups are given both incentives and support to find productive and rewarding jobs. Special attention must be given to those groups facing the greatest barriers to finding or remaining in employment such as youth, women, long-term unemployed, low skilled workers, single parents, people with disabilities and older workers. We are committed therefore to develop and strengthen tailored activation strategies for these groups that combine income support for those out of work with measures to improve their employability through job search assistance, work experience, public employment programs, hiring subsidies, conditional transfers and training as well as reduced obstacles for employment as per country's circumstances. 2 G20 Leaders Declaration, St Petersburg, 2013

3. Large variation across G20 countries in under- utilisation of potential labour resources Countries are shown by ascending order of the labour force participation rate. *: Selected urban areas. 1.15 and over for India and Indonesia. 2.2010 for China; 2011-12 for India; Q3 2012 for Saudi Arabia; Q4 2012 for the Russian Federation; Q1 2013 for Indonesia; Q2 2013 for Argentina and South Africa; Q3 2013 for Australia, Brazil, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom; and Q4 2013 for Canada and the United States. Source: OECD Short-Term Labour Market Statistics Database, ILO ILOSTAT Database, Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH) for Argentina, 10% sample of Census data for China, and results from the National Sample Survey (NSS) for India. Participation rates as a percentage of the working-age population (aged 15-64 1 ), latest values 2 Participation rate vary widely: From a low of about 53- 55% (India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa) To 75-80% (Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom, China, Germany and Canada) This underscores country differences in scale and scope of the activation challenge

4. Countries are shown by ascending order of the total employment rate. 1.2010 for China and 2011-12 for India. 2.Older workers refer to person aged 55 and over and total to persons aged 15 and over. 3.Selected urban areas only. Source: OECD Labour Force Statistics Database and national labour force surveys. But labour market participation of women is still weak Employment rate by gender and age groups, as a percentage of the population of the indicated group, 2012 1 4

5. Countries are shown by ascending order of share of employers among employed women Source: OECD Closign the Gender Gap – Act Now 2012 Gender differences in entrepreneurship are pronounced Share of employers among employed, by gender, 2010 5 Women are far less likely than men to be entrepreneurs. The incidence of entrepreneurship among employed men is more than double that of women in all countries for which data is available.

6. Countries are shown by ascending order of proportion of men aged 25-34 who completed tertiary education Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 2013 In many countries women are reaching higher level of educational attainment Share of men and women with completed tertiary education, 2011 6 In a number of G20 countries, adult women (age 25-64) are more likely than adult men to have a tertiary degree. Gender gaps are even larger for younger generations (25-34 age group).

7. Why is activation needed for women? 7 An important aim is to improve utilization of female labour force - Higher participation - More productive use = less concentration of women in part-time, low- paid and sometimes informal jobs Efforts are needed to activate groups with weak attachment to the labour market Stronger trend growth requires better utilization of labour

8. Greater gender equality can strengthen labour supply… No-change scenario : Male and female participation rates remain at their 2010 levels over the whole period; c onvergence in participation rates : Female participation rate increases over the period to the 2010 male participation levels by 2030; and, convergence in intensity of labour market participation : Female full-time equivalent participation rate increases to equal the 2010 full-time equivalent rate for men by 2030. Source: OECD (2012), Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Projected number of persons aged 15-64 in the labour force, thousands, 2011-2030

9. … and promote economic growth No-change scenario : The gap between male and female labour force participation rate remains at the levels observed in 2010. Gender gaps reduce by 50% : The gap between male and female labour force participation levels observed in 2010 is reduced by 50% by 2030. Convergence in participation rates : The gap between male and female labour force participation levels observed in 2010 disappears by 2030. Source: OECD (2012), Gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship, OECD publishing, forthcoming. Projected size of the economy in GDP, USD 2005 PPP, in billions, 2011-2030

10. Policy measures for promoting labour force participation among women: rationale Gender gaps are a mixture of economic and social factors As set out, for example, in the OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship G20 could also consider setting specific targets or benchmarks Narrowing them will require a comprehensive approach

11. Recommendation of the OECD Council on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship Ensure equal access to education Reduce direct and indirect costs of schooling. Improve quality and safety of schools; promote awareness campaigns. Make curricula relevant for labour market. Help parents reconcile work and family commitments Ensure availability of affordable good-quality childcare, including out-of-school hours Provide employment-protected paid maternity and paternity leave to working parents Avoid too long leave periods and encourage fathers to share leave Design specific initiatives and schemes for women in informal employment Provide men and women with similar financial incentives to work Design tax-benefit systems so that men and women have similar financial incentives to participate in paid work Increase women’s representation in decision-making positions Encourage measures that enhance gender diversity on boards and senior management of listed and public sector companies and in all level of politics Eliminate the discriminatory gender gap Strengthen the legal framework, promote pay transparency; tackle stereotypes, segregation and indirect discrimination in labour market Promote gender equality in entrepreneurship Ensure equal access to finance for women entrepreneurs Reduce barriers to (female) entrepreneurship and administrative burden on firms Support training programs, awareness campaigns and networks for female entrepreneurs

12. Activating women: policy examples Making some transfers conditional on work availability and job search Country experiences: United States; Australia; United Kingdom; Japan Key to success: individualisation of benefits strengthens work incentives of spouses; need to be combined with access to affordable childcare Basic social protection measures can assist women in accessing earnings opportunities Country experiences: e.g. South Africa Child Support Grant Key to success: transfers help mothers in poor households overcome liquidity constraints and hence enables them to engage in active job search and employment Affordable and good-quality childcare plays an important role in supporting women participation… Country experiences: e.g. Mexico Programa de Estancias Infantiles para apoyar a Madres Trabajadoras ; Argentina; Brasil Rio de Janeiro public day-care programme Key to success : Childcare programmes can provide an essential contact point and a gateway for delivering support and services targeted at children and mothers in particular …as parental leave policies also do Country experiences: e.g. Australia; Argentina; Brazil Key to success : maximum duration should be limited in order to avoid long periods of inactivity; fathers should be enabled and encouraged to take such leaves in order to reduce gender inequalities and discrimination in the labour market

13. Countries are shown by ascending order of share of employers among employed women Source: OECD Closign the Gender Gap – Act Now 2012 Possible steps moving forward Share of employers among employed, by gender, 2010 13 Women are far less likely than men to be entrepreneurs. The incidence of entrepreneurship among employed men is more than double that of women in all countries for which data is available. E.g.: the key principles of the Recommendation of the OECD on Gender Equality; also under consideration as part of a Gender Pillar under G20 National Growth Strategies in 2014. Such principles could be considered for endorsement by the G20 countries. The taskforce could agree to some key principles on participation policy for consideration by G20 Labour and Employment Ministers G20 countries could agree on specific actions and targets, which would be implemented according to specific domestic conditions and priorities. International organisations could support the G20 review process in promoting gender equality. Targets

14. 14 Thank you Contact: Stefano.Scarpetta@oecd.org OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, via www.oecd.org/els OECD Migration, via www.oecd.org/migration OECD Employment, via www.oecd.org/employment OECD Social Policy, via www.oecd.org/els/social @OECD_Social