Swedish Presidency
of the European Union
Division for Gender Equality
Conference report “What does gender
equality mean for economic growth
and employment?”
Table of contents
Introduction ............................................................................................... 3
Opening session………………………………………………........................ 5
Plenary session 1: Introduction…………………………………………........ .6
The Economic case for gender equality .................................................. 6
Gender equality, economic growth and employment .............................. 6
Links between gender equality, economic growth and employment........ 7
Plenary Session 2: Does work pay for women?..………………………....... 8
Plenary Session 3: It must be possible to participate under reasonable
conditions’.................................................................................................. 9
Plenary Session 4: Social norms and the (re)production of gender
inequalities and gender segregation......................................................... 10
Plenary session 5: The economic recession and its impact on gender
equality, and on women’s employment and self-employment................... 11
Panel discussion on the economic recession: Avoiding the risks to, and
seizing the opportunities for gender equality............................................ 12
Closing by speech by Nyamko Sabuni..................................................... 13
Closing by speech by Bibiana Aido Almagro............................................ 14
High-Level Meeting with EU Ministers...................................................... 15
Appendix I: Table of participants at the High-Level Meeting……………… 16
Introduction
Ms Nyamko Sabuni, Swedish Minister for Gender Equality and Cecilia
Malmström, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs, invited representatives from
the Member States, candidate and EES-countries, civil servants from
European Institutions, the social partners, other relevant NGOs and
researchers to the Conference What does gender equality mean for
economic growth and employment? on 15–16 October 2009 in Stockholm.
The aim of the conference was to deepen and to reinforce the arguments
for strengthening the gender equality dimension in the EU 2020 Strategy. A
key question in this discussion was how to prevent a backlash for gender
equality in times of economic crisis. Mr Niall Crowley, independent
equality expert from Ireland, was conference moderator.
Ms Nyamko Sabuni, Ms Cecilia Malmström and Ms Belinda Pyke, Director
at the European Commission, gave opening addresses.
Three background papers were presented in the introductory session,
exploring the links between gender equality, economic growth and
employment. They were presented by keynote speakers; Mr Mark Smith,
Grenoble Ecole de Management, France; Ms Åsa Löfström, Umeå
University, Sweden and Ms Béatrice Ouin, European Economic and Social
Committee. Comments on the presentations were made by Mr Xavier Prats
Monné, Director at the European Commission.
Four thematic sessions then followed. The first focused on gender
differences in terms of work attachment and labour incomes across
countries. It discussed some of the main driving factors of those patterns
with a particular focus on tax and transfer policies. The second session
highlighted the importance of social infrastructures, such as child care,
elderly care and parental leave for women’s and men’s labour market
participation. Plenary session three focused on how social norms present
obstacles to gender equality and serve as a barrier to economic
development. The last thematic session concentrated on the impact of the
economic recession on the labour market situation of women and men in the
short and long term.
Parallel to the conference, on the second day, a separate high-level meeting
took place. Ministers for gender equality and national Lisbon co-ordinators
from the current and upcoming trio Presidencies (FR, CZ, SE, ES, BE HU),
4
Commissioner Vladimir Špidla and Ms Eva-Britt Svensson, Chair of the
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the European
Parliament, participated at the meeting.
The final agenda point of the conference was a joint plenary session for
high-level and conference participants. The United Kingdom’s Minister for
Women and Equality, Ms Harriet Harman, European Commissioner for
Employment and Social Affairs, Mr Vladimir Špidla and the Swedish
Minister of Finance, Anders Borg, all participated in a panel discussing the
economic recession. This session was chaired by Ms Belinda Pyke, Director
at the European Commission.
During the closing session, Ms Nyamko Sabuni, Minister for Gender
Equality, Sweden, presented her conclusions from the conference
discussions. Ms Bibiana Aido Almagro, Minster for Equality, Spain, closed
the conference.
Full length speeches and expert papers can be found on the conference web
page: www.se2009.eu/gendergrowth
Opening session
Nyamko Sabuni, Minister for Gender Equality, Sweden
Ms Sabuni stated that Europe today faces many challenges, such as; the
financial crisis; climate change; security threats; and institutional
challenges. Hence the need for gender equality is more urgent than ever.
Europe has achieved a lot during the last century but during this time access
to education and employment has to a large extent been the privilege of
men. What if, Ms Sabuni asked, women, the other half of the population,
had had the same access to knowledge, education and employment? Where
would we be today? The increase in female employment in the rich world
has been the main driving force of growth in the past two decades. Ms
Sabuni concluded that the conference aims at reaching a vision of a Europe
where both women and men have the possibility to develop their abilities
and compete for the same jobs and there is no time to waste.
Cecilia Malmström, Minister for EU-affairs, Sweden
Ms Malmström stated that it has been a mistake not to connect gender
equality with economic growth and development. Figures show, Ms
Malmström said, that women’s increased participation on the labour market
has accounted for a quarter of the economic growth in Europe since 1995. In
the long run, viewing equality as an investment in our economic future is
inevitable. It requires constant awareness and policy actions. Development
can only come through determined work, together with a shift in social
norms.
Belinda Pyke, Director, Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs
and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
Ms Pyke expressed that the contribution of gender equality to economic
growth and development is a vital subject and needed in the current
reflection of the Lisbon strategy. DG Social Affairs and Employment firmly
believes in an economic case for gender equality. It is important that this
conference triggers a dialogue between governements, researchers, social
partners and non governmental organizations.
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Plenary session 1: Introduction
This session focused on how gender equality should be considered a
significant variable for achieving sustainable economic and employment
growth in the EU. Three background documents were presented.
The Economic case for gender equality
Mark Smith, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France
Gender equality, Mr Smith stated, is widely accepted as a socially important
goal but not necessarily in line with economic goals but rather a constraint
or a cost. Therefore there is a need to recognise the costs of non-equality
and start viewing gender equality as an investment. It is both a productive
factor that can be leveraged and it exploits the full productive potential of
the labour force. Gender equality means utilisation of all human capital
investments, access to a full range of skills and it returns on personal
investment in human capital. There is a need to increase the labour supply
and make use of the investment. We must also focus on the link between
gender equality and fertility rates. In countries with little support for
working women we see lower fertility rates. Therefore, gender equality can
be seen as a tool for sustainable demographic development and states. With
ageing populations rising dependency ratios is at hand. There is a need of
recognising the value of unpaid and informal work. There is also a need for
modern fiscal systems that avoid thresholds for job creation and household
disincentives. The financial gains of integrating women into employment
more than cover investment in social infrastructure. Mr Smith concluded.
Gender equality, economic growth and employment
Åsa Löfström, Umeå University, Sweden
Ms Löfström informed the participants of a positive correlation between
gender equality and economic growth, which she has found by using gender
equality indexes. Countries in Europe that rank high on gender equality also
have high GDP-levels. The conclusion is nevertheless that women’s
employment is lower than men’s everywhere. Women are paid less by
average due to low paid jobs and due to different kinds of discrimination.
By doing a simple calculation, Ms Löfström showed the approximate size
of the economic gains in an EU gender balanced labour market. By
assuming that gender equality in the labour market is recognised by the
broad definition below, GDP levels would rise 27 per cent on EU-average,
most of which is due to rise in employment rate:
Women and men
(i) have the same employment rate (plus the same amount of part-time
work)
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(ii) have the same occupational breakdown including the same share of
entrepreneurs/self-employed
(iii) and have the same level of productivity.
Ms Löfström listed five areas of concern in order to achieve gender equality
and to boost the female labour supply: economic incentives, social
infrastructure, norms and attitudes, flexicurity and equality and lastly equal
power between women and men in political and business life.
Links between gender equality, economic growth and employment
rates, Opinion by the European Economic and Social Committe
Beatrice Ouin, European Economic and Social Committee
Ms Ouin underlined that a lot has been achieved in the field of gender
equality and economic growth. When mothers started to work outside the
household consumption of goods and services increased, she said. This
helped markets grow and jobs were created. Care for elderly also became an
employment arena when this was no longer done for free in the home.
Ms Ouin also stressed that we need to work on changing mind sets. Young
women face problems getting into the labour market. When they wait until
after they have children their career chances are reduced. The share of care
and household duties are key to this, Ms Ouin underlined. In previous times
men contributed with money to the household and women with their time.
Now also women contribute with money but men are not increasing their
time contribution. There is a need, according to Ms Ouin, for re-thinking
pension systems, the time off during active working life and the value of
care work. Why should care work for children and elderly who we hold
precious belong to the lowest paid types of jobs?, Ms Ouin asked.
The discussion following the interventions
In the discussion that followed the issues of how to calculate the gender
equality contribution to GDP and the life cycle approach to gender equality
were raised. Ms Ouin expressed concern that the fight for gender equality
has gone on for a long time and other pressing issues such as poverty and
climate change risk to be seen as more urgent. She stressed the need for
more men to be involved in issues regarding gender equality. Ms Löfström
commented on the life cycle approach and said that pension systems have
changed now signaling to women the need to work in order to get a pension.
Jobs related to services and the home will always be the responsibility of
women as long as they are unpaid, Ms Löfström stressed. Mr Smith stated
that 20 per cent of the difference between GDP levels in the EU and the US
is due to a higher degree of women’s participation in the labour market in
the US. Mr Smith stressed that men have to take responsibility for care on
8
the same level as women and that marketization of household products
needs to be supported by the state.
Comments by Mr Xavier Prats Monné, Director, Directorate-General
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Mr Prats Monné asked why, if the economic case for gender equality is as
clear as the previous presenters indicated, it is not happening? His own
answer was that it is not enough to have a case but you have to put it to the
right people. This issue needs to be more visible through gender
mainstreaming. The European discussion underplay diversity in an
unfortunate manner. There is an extraordinary degree of differences in
gender equality in EU Member States. The ratio of women’s employment
range from above 70 per cent to 40 per cent. Mr Prats Monné took Spain as
an example were women were the key to the country’s economic success
but they are not recognized for it. Gender equality, he stressed, can not be
made on the “back of immigrant women from developing countries”, they
will then be discriminated twice.
Mr Prats Monné outlined the challenges of today as being too low female
employment, too high female part-time employment, the persistent gender
pay gap, that women are at a greater risk of poverty than men and the lack
of women in decision making. Care is at the core and summons up this
challenge, he stressed. The EU is in need of skills, productivity and human
capital. It’s reservoir lays with European women. Therefore gender equality,
Mr Prats Monné stated, need to be at the core of the agenda and more
visible in the Lisbon post 2010 strategy.
Plenary session 2: Does work pay for women?
This presentation summarized gender differences in terms of work
attachment and labour incomes across countries. It discussed some of the
main driving factors of those patterns, with a particular focus on tax and
transfer policies.
Herwig Immervoll, Head of Employment-Oriented Social Policies, OECD
Mr Herwig Immerwoll started by linking female employment to poverty,
showing that families with two income earners were less vulnerable to
poverty than families with only one income. But women have lower salaries
than men. Long career breaks can be costly even if an employmentprotected leave facilitates a return to work. It can be difficult for mothers to
catch up on salaries and women’s careers can suffer as they are expected to
take long leaves. Mr Immerwoll stated that work does pay for women - but
substantial inequalities remain and work pays less well than for men. There
9
is both a gender employment gap and a gender wage gap. Women’s work
may not even pay off if the cost for child care is high. The cost for quality
child care is always high, Mr Immerwoll stated, but it need not to be born
by the parents. Making work pay for women requires incentives to share
work more equally. Mr Immerwoll suggested that the following issues
should be addressed to make work pay for women:
• Earnings potential by education, anti-discrimination measures and
addressing problems of labour market segmentation.
• Facilitate return to work for mothers by maternity and parental-leave
arrangements and childcare and other care policies.
• Redistribution policies by removing barriers for second earners and
recognising extra burdens for two-earner families.
Mr Immervoll’s presentation was followed by comments on policy
initiatives in Germany (changed policy on parental leave insurance) and the
Netherlands (abolishment of the general tax credit).
Comments by Catelene Passchier, Confederal Secretary, ETUC
Ms Passchier stated that the question was not if work pays for women but if
we pay women enough? Quality has been lost to quantity in the Lisbon
strategy. High wages and better jobs bring growth in fertility which Europe
needs. Ms Passchier called for men to be involved in and share the burden
of household duties. Unfortunately there are too few incentives for men to
change. The image of a good worker as a committed worker should be
changed to someone who also cares and the traditional bread winner model
should be replaced with a modern life-course model. Gender equality should
be integrated into the Lisbon strategy and should not be seen as a luxury in
times of crisis, Ms Passchier concluded.
Plenary session 3: It must be possible to participate in the labour
market under reasonable conditions
This session highlighted the importance of social infrastructures such as
child care, elderly care and parental leave for women’s and men’s
participation on the labour market.
Marta Szebehely, Stockholm University, Sweden
Ms Szebehely focused her presentation on care needs for elderly people,
which she stated is much less in focus than childcare as a facilitator for
employment, especially female employment. There are not only “working
mothers” but also “working daughters”. The employment rates of middle
10
aged women, 55-64 years old, 2007 are further away from meeting the
Lisbon goals than female employment rates in general. It is especially low
for women with low education. To increase women’s employment, Ms
Szebehely pointed out, it should also be made possible for less educated
women to work. Care services are crucial to boast employment. The more
developed elderlycare services the more middle aged women in paid work.
Informal care carries with it a penalty regarding labour market attachment in
all countries. Part-time work or non-employment due to care responsibilities
is more common in countries with less developed care services. The longer
leave, the larger pay gap is stated Ms Szebehely who stressed that there
should be a right to care without a care-penalty. She also underlined that
there should be decent pay for care-workers to avoid that a caring mother is
replaced by a caring immigrant woman with low pay.
Ms Szehebys presentation was followed by a country example on elderly
care from Spain, and on child care from Slovenia.
Comments by Ms Therese Murphy, EWL Vice President
Ms Murphy described unpaid care as an expression of the interdependency
in peoples lives. Women often have to justify why they take up paid work
but this does not apply to men. As long as care giving is described as being
natural to women it is given a low status. By opening up care giving to the
market it both liberates women to take up jobs and the job supply expands.
More and more men take care of children but do not contribute as much to
other household duties. Ms Murphy also stressed that decision makers
should make it easier for employees to combine work and family life.
Plenary session 4: Social norms and the (re)production of gender
inequalities and gender segregation
This session focused on how social norms present obstacles to gender
equality and serve as a barrier to economic development.
Janneke Plantenga, Utrecht School of Economics, University of Utrecht,
Netherlands
There are costs involved in gender inequality. Today the adult worker model
has replaced the male bread winner model but the division of paid and
unpaid work still remains, Ms Plantenga discussed. The new norm of the
adult worker is deeply surpressed by traditional norms. The labour market is
very segregated and female employment is more concentrated to a limited
number of occupations than male employment. The consequences of a
gender segregated labour market are gender inequality due to different
levels of payment and career possibilities and economic inefficiencies.
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Gender segregation in the labour market contributes to a suboptimal
allocation of skills and talents. The remedy for this is for example to invest
in educational programs designed to positively encourage atypical choices
among young boys and girls and to promote new role models. A focus on
organizational practices like standardized, transparent procedures for
selection, hiring and promotion have proven to reduce bias against women.
The most effective way to attract men to women’s work is to increase the
payment.
Representatives from Austria and Norway commented on measurements to
attract women to technical fields (Austria) and to attract men to primary
school teaching (Norway).
Comments by Marco Perolini, Policy Officer Human Rights, European
Youth Forum
Mr Perolini focused on education and the need to close the gender gap in
education since it leads to gender segregation in the labour market. He also
noted that despite the fact that women are educated to a higher degree than
men, low educated women are less educated than low educated men. He
stressed that there are good initiatives regarding non formal education put in
place by youth organisations in the EU and also highlighted the need for
more men to fight for gender equality.
Plenary session 5: The economic recession and its impact on gender
equality, and on women’s employment and self-employment
This session focused on the impact of the economic recession on the labour
market situation of women and men in the short and long term.
Fransesca Bettio, University of Siena, Italy
Recessions have developed women’s role throughout history. However, the
current recession bears more risks for women who are involved in
employment to a higher degree than during earlier recessions. There are
61 per cent of dual earner families on average in Europe today, the highest
being Sweden with 77 per cent. Therefore, equal pay is more important in
this recession than before. If the husband looses his job and the wife has a
low-income job there is little left for the family to live on. So far women
have been less effected than men but there has been a remarkable drop in
employment rates. There is an unprecedented loss in jobs in public
administration, especially in new Member States – a sign that protection is
fading for women. We also have to take into account the unpaid work which
tends to rise during recession when households tend to have less money to
12
buy services. So even if women are relatively sheltered from job losses the
unpaid work grows.
The World Value Survey that showed a strong support for the view that
when jobs are in short supply it is more legitimate that they go to men,
42 per cent supported this argument. Growth in involuntary part time can
disguise a growth in unemployment for women. Women also get less
unemployment benefits since they have lower earnings. Ms Bettio ended her
presentation by stating that there now is a policy opportunity to involve
women in the solution. Her recommendations were to enforce gender impact
assessment for any recovery measure; revise the unemployment benefit
system; use leave provisions during low demand to encourage the sharing of
household duties and to invest in social infrastructure.
UK and Iceland commented on the situation in their countries focusing on
the need to reach out with information to women (UK) and the need to
change culture more than structures (Iceland). Comments were also made by
UEAPME, CEEP and BUSINESS EUROPE.
Ms Anu Sajavaara from Business Europe concluded the session by saying
that women are in a perfect position to drive the return of the recession.
Education is no longer the challenge for women but is becoming a challenge
for men. Men fall behind in communication skills and have higher drop out
rates. Why do not men see the relevance of education? Youth
unemployment is higher among men than among women.
Panel discussion on the economic recession: Avoiding the risks to,
and seizing the opportunities for gender equality
Ms Belinda Pyke, Director, Directorate-General Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission, introduced the
panel by stating that there is an economic case for gender equality and that
gender equality is a prerequisite for economic growth.
Mr Anders Borg, Minister of Finance, Sweden, stressed that there is
always a political starting point to any discussion on gender equality.
Gender equality is a political goal regardless of what other effects it has.
According to Mr Borg, efforts in four main areas are required to help
increase gender equality. These are; access to child care of a high quality;
the abolition of joint taxation of spouses, which places an extra high tax
burden on women’s work; reforms of the social security system such as
parental insurance; and the promotion of women’s enterprise. Mr Borg
underlined that lack of gender equality is a reason to why Europe lags
behind and there is no other area of reform with a higher potential.
13
Ms Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, UK, stated that
equality and fairness are the very hallmarks of a modern and confident
society looking to the future in which everyone is able to play their part.
Across Europe more women are going out to work. Their income is vital for
their household and there is not a sector of the economy or any area of
services which would survive if women did not work. In this global
economic downturn we must protect the jobs of women as well as men and
we must look to the role that women as well as men will play in contributing
to recovery and growth in the future. Ms Harman stressed that we need to
acknowledge that these points are not shared by everyone.
Mr Vladimir Spidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal opportunities, stated that in many countries there is a
clear connection between high GDP per capita and high employment levels
among both women and men. The economic crisis must not be used as an
excuse to lower our ambitions when it comes to gender equality. On the
contrary, it is more important than ever that we mobilise efforts to promote
the active participation of women in working life. Our economies must reap
the full potential of all our talents if we are to face up to global competition.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental right, but is also good for
business. Mr Spidla concluded saying that he was convinced that by having
more women in the labour market will contribute to lasting economic
growth.
Closing speech by Nyamko Sabuni
Ms Sabuni stated that the conference has shown that a gender perspective on
economic policy can have a big impact, and that a lack of gender equality
comes at a cost. Tax and social protection systems in many Member States
are still creating economic disincentives for women’s employment. These
tax and social protection systems reinforce the gendered division of paid
and unpaid work. Many women continue to carry a high and
disproportionate level of care responsibilities in terms of family care and
care for older or disabled relatives. Available and affordable child care, and
gender sensitive public policies to meet the need for care of older people are
all powerful tools to enhance female employment without creating a “care
deficit” in society. Social norms and gender stereotypes present obstacles to
gender equality and, thus, serve as a barrier to economic development.
These social norms and gender stereotypes shape decisions made by women
and men in relation to their participation in the labour market.
Three key messages emerged from the conference debates, Ms Sabuni said:
1.
Economic growth requires gender equality
14
2.
3.
There are opportunities to advance gender equality in a time of
economic recession and
The post-2010 Lisbon agenda for economic growth, needs to
integrate a strong focus on gender equality, if it is to provide an
effective response to economic recession.
Closing speech by Bibiana Aido Almagro
Ms Aido Almagro emphasised that people must see the economic crisis as
an opportunity to introduce a stronger gender equality perspective and to
create a sustainable, long-term model for economic growth. We cannot
continue with an old model, we need a new, modern and rational model,
based on knowledge, she stressed. Economic growth is a tool for well-being
and not a goal in itself. She also stated that gender equality will be a
fundamental theme during the Spanish Presidency which will follow the
Swedish Presidency at the turn of the year. She emphasised that the key to
success is shared responsibility for the home and children, since this has
such a great impact on opportunities for equal terms in the labour market. It
is up to us to decide that this era will be noted as the beginning of a new
age, with a new social and economic model which is based on gender
equality.
15
High-Level meeting with EU ministers
A high-level meeting took place on the morning of 16 October. Ministers of
gender equality and national Lisbon co-ordinators from the current and
upcoming trio Presidencies (FR, CZ, SE, ES, BE HU), Commissioner
Vladimir Špidla and Ms Eva-Britt Svensson, Chair of the Committee on
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the European Parliament,
participated at the meeting. 1
The theme of the meeting was the same as of the conference. Background
documents had been prepared and distributed to the participants. They
discussed what incentives would be needed to make work pay for both
women and men. Many raised the issue of equal pay for women and men in
this discussion. They also spoke about the main challenges in meeting the
need for care facilities and involving men in care work and then they briefly
described the current situation in their respective countries.
When discussing what new strategies for gender equality are needed in
the successor to the Lisbon Strategy, they all agreed that equality between
women and men is essential to meet the common challenges we face in
bringing about long-term sustainable economic growth and employment in
Europe. A clear message from the meeting was that Europe cannot afford to
let women remain outside the labour force and thus miss out on the
economic potential that Europe’s women represent.
1
See appendix 1 for list of participants.
Appendix 1:
Participants at the High-Level Meeting on 16 October 2009
France
Czech Republic
Ms Nadine Morano, Secretary of State for Family and
Solidarity
Mr Michael Kocáb, Minister for Human Rights
Mr Richard Kadlcak, Director of the European Policies
Department at the Office of the Government
Sweden
Ms Nyamko Sabuni, Minister for Integration and Gender
Equality
Ms Cecilia Malmström, Minister for EU Affairs
Spain
Ms Bibiana Aído Almagro, Minister for Equality
Mr Javier Vallés, Director of the Economic Bureau of the
Prime Minister
Belgium
Hungary
The European
Commission
The European
Parliament
Ms Laurence Weerts, Adviser at the Prime Minister’s
Office.
Ms Caroline Ven, Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s
Ms Edit Rauh, Secretary of State responsible for Equal
Opportunities
Mr Sándor Lakatos, Director of Corporate Social
Responsibility of the Ministry of National Development
and Economy
Mr Vladimir Špidla, European Commissioner for
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Ms Iva Lanová, Member of the Cabinet of Vladimir
Špidla
Ms Eva-Britt Svensson, Chairwoman of the Committee of
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality