Can the state set decent
standards for gender equality?
Jill Rubery
European Work and Employment Research Centre
Manchester Business School
University of Manchester
The importance of the public sector
for gender equality
• Source of employment opportunities and source
of support services for employment integration
(only effective alternative to female domestic
labour)
• Potential for protection in pay and employment
practices from discrimination/ from organisation
of labour market around male lifecourse
• Space for alternative social values- social choice
over how to value care work, for example
Gender equality and the public sector
Employment
Working Conditions
Active Promotion of
Gender Equality
Employment Concentration of
quantity
women’s
employment
Work-life balance
options to facilitate
employment
continuity
Childcare to facilitate
labour market
participation
Employment Concentration of
quality
women graduates
Pay and pension
premiums especially
for lower skilled
Specific duties and
policies or more effective
implementation of
national policies
Female employment in the public sector (NACE O, P, Q), 2010
France Germany Hungary Sweden
Share of the public sector:
in total employment
in female employment
in high-educated female
employment
in medium-educated female
employment
in low-educated female
employment
Share of women in total public
sector employment
Source: ELFS
UK
30
42
48
25
36
56
22
33
56
32
51
66
28
43
59
39
31
24
45
37
37
26
23
33
31
67
66
69
76
70
Work–life balance options in the public sector
France
Germany
Right to work 50 per cent to 90 per cent time; r those on 50 per cent time
e paid at 60 per cent. Also right to return to full-time work. No maternity
leave ceiling unlike private sector. 12 days rather than 3 days sick child
leave.
Right to work part-time for family reasons and to return to full-time work
plus opportunities for flexible distribution of hours and for combining
part-time work with the parental leave allowance.
Hungary
Civil servants have rights for more flexible working when children young
but rarely used .
Sweden
Collective agreement in public sector provides top ups to parental leave
pay; encourage take up by fathers.
UK
31% public sector compared to 11% private sector provide additional
maternity leave pay, opportunities for job sharing and flexitime and
requests for part-time or flexible hours granted more often.
Source: adapted from Rubery (2013: table 2.6).
Women in most but not all countries paid more in public than
private sectors
All males
All
Male full- Female
females time
full-time
France
Germany 0.95
1.04
Hungary
1.24 (CS)
0.85
1.21(CS)
0.90
Sweden
0.98
0.96
UK
1.17
1.29
Female
part-time
1.10
1.13
1.22
0.95
1.01
1.08
1.15
1.25
1.44
Public-private gaps in average pay in five countries, national data
2010
But pay premium disappears if
compare to male private sector pay
1.3
1.2
1.1
Private sector male
average earnings
FRANCE
HUNGARY
GERMANY
SWEDEN
UK
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
Public and private sector pay for men and women relative to average
male earnings in the private sector, 2010
Lower paid fare better in public sector but part-timers also have
better career opportunities
Interdecile - P90/P10
France
Male FT
Female FT
Female PT
Sweden
All
UK
Male FT
Female FT
Female PT
All
P10/Male private
P50*
Public Private
P90/Male private
P50*
Public Private
Public
Private
2.59
2.17
2.78
2.71
2.51
3.12
0.74
0.69
0.58
0.69
0.61
0.46
1.90
1.50
1.60
1.88
1.53
1.43
1.77
2.17
0.73
0.72
1.30
1.56
3.17
2.83
3.39
3.34
4.16
3.47
2.36
4.04
0.75
0.70
0.54
0.63
0.56
0.51
0.48
0.49
2.37
1.97
1.83
2.02
2.35
1.77
1.13
1.98
. Inter-decile wage ratios in the public and private sectors, five
countries, 2010
High degree of social choice over pay for professions- very low
pay in feminised public professions in eastern Europe
Lower secondary teachers’ statutory pay
France
Germany
Hungary
Sweden
UK
As % pay of all full year workers with
tertiary education 2009
0.85
0.97
0.45
0.75
0.81
145
129
110
113
109
109
0.73
0.79
0.73
1.00
0.89
0.96
1.43
1.26
1.31
Trends in real pay (2000=100)
2008
2009
Trends in pay compared to GDP per
capita
2000
2008
2009
Comparative levels of teachers’ pay
Source : OECD (2011a, 2012).
91
91
1.27
1.05
1.06
No data
No data
1.71
Pensions in public compared to private sectors:
importance depends on statutory system
Pensions in public compared to private sector
France
Final salary compared to career average and high
minimum entitlements but bonuses not includedcontribution rates now harmonised.
Germany
Better occupational pensions and 100% coverage
compared to 48% in private sector
Hungary
No difference
Sweden
Better than average top ups to statutory pensions
UK
Extensive defined benefits pensions- important as state
pension low, private sector has closed schemes and
women less covered in private sector
Gender equality policy programmes and trade union equality campaigns
in the public sector
Childcare provision Public sector employer
(under 3s)
equality policies
Public sector trade union
equality campaigns
Germany
Low enrolment
Affordable
Failed Ver.di campaign for gender
sensitive job evaluation
France
Medium/high
enrolment
Affordable
Low enrolment
Affordable
High enrolment
Affordable
Hungary
Sweden
UK
Medium enrolment
Not affordable
Specific Federal Equality
Act -gender equality in
recruitment and promotion
Gender parity in
recruitment committee;
2008 equality charter No employer initiatives
Both public and private
sectors must have a gender
equality plan
From 2007 gender duty in
public sector . Voluntary
equal pay audits (40 per
cent of public bodies).
No trade union campaigns
No trade union campaigns
Some policies to reduce low pay r
Single pay spines based on gender
sensitive job grading in local
government, the NHS and
universities.
Source: adapted from Anxo et al. (2010) and Rubery (2013: box 2.1 and box 2.2).
Variations in the contribution of the public sector to gender equality
Employment opportunities
Quantity
Quality
Total for employment
Working conditions
Work-life balance
policies
Pay and pensions
Total for working
conditions
Active promotion of
gender equality
Child care provision
Gender equality policies
Total for active promotion
Overall total score
Germany
France
Hungary
Sweden
UK
1
3
4
2
2
4
1
3
4
3
3
6
2
3
5
3
3
2
3
3
3
6
2
5
1
3
2
5
3
6
1
2
3
13
3
2
5
14
1
1
2
9
3
3
6
17
1
2
3
14
Public sector adjustment and implications for gender equality
Type of adjustment
Cuts to public sector employment
•Reduced employment
•Higher work intensity
Change to contracts
•Reduced job security
•More internal differentiation
More outsourcing
•Lower pay and conditions
Pay cuts/freezes/reforms
•Wider gender pay gap
•More managerial discretion
Changes to pensions
•Wider gender gap
Freezing promotion opportunities
•Affects women’s careers
Changes to working time
•Reduced work life balance
Changes to equality policies
•Reduced attention in public and
private sectors
Country examples
Employment cuts in UK. Restrictions on vacancy
filling in France.
↑ non civil service in France- more women -lower
benefits/ work life balance options.
Increased outsourcing in UK, Germany and Sweden –
lower pay in UK, Germany.
Pay cuts in Hungary, pay freezes in UK, France, long
term ↓ Germany and France, stability Sweden
Major changes to public sector pension cuts in UK
Failure to appoint to higher grades in Germany
↑in full-time working hours in Germany plus ↑ in
part-time work. ↑unpaid overtime in France.
End to equality reviews, equality duty likely in UK