Equal opportunities for women and men
in Europe?
Eurobarometer 44.3 - Results of an opinion survey
Equality between women and men
European Commission
Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations
and Social Affairs
Unit V/D.5
Manuscript completed in December 1996
This report was financed by and prepared for the use of the European Commission,
Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs. It does not necessarily
represent the Commission's official position.
Report compiled by N. Malpas, NM Consultants
Cover picture: © SIMON Graphisme
Layout: Tangram
Rewriting: P. Brau
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1998
ISBN 92-828-5236-9
© European Communities, 1998
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EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
Equal opportunities
for women and men
in Europe?
Introduction
5
Chapter I. THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
7
1. MARITAL SITUATION
8
2. SOCIAL AND FAMILY SITUATIONS
9
3. FINANCIAL MEANS AND HOUSING
11
4. DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD TASKS
13
5. SATISFIED WITH LIFE?
15
Chapter II. INEQUALITY AT WORK !
19
1. THE PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN WORK IS INCREASING
20
2. THE EMPLOYMENT OF MEN AND WOMEN IN EUROPE
23
3. VIEWS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
26
4. INEQUALITY ... AT WORK
30
5. PROBLEMS SPECIFICALLY AFFECTING WOMEN
33
6. IS THERE A THREAT TO THE WELLBEING OF THE FAMILY ?
39
4
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
Chapter III. WORKING LIFE / AND FAMILY LIFE
41
1. CHILDREN AND/OR A JOB ?
42
2. HOW TO RESOLVE THE WORK/FAMILY DILEMMA
44
3. SABBATICAL LEAVE
46
Chapter IV. WOMEN AND DECISION-MAKING
49
1. WHERE THERE'S A WILL
50
2. POLITICS, A MAN'S WORLD ?
51
3. THE SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE
53
4. THE BURDEN OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES
55
Chapter V. TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
59
1. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: A PRIORITY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION
60
2. A LACK OF AWARENESS OF MEASURES TO PROMOTE EQUALITY
61
3. HOW CAN INEQUALITIES BE ELIMINATED ?
64
4. PRIORITIES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY
67
5
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1 European men and
women.
A comparative study
of socio-political attitudes, Commission of
the European
Communities,
Brussels, December
1975.
2 European men and
women in 1978. A
comparative study of
socio-political attitudes, Commission of
the European
Communities,
Brussels, February
1979.
There is still considerable discrimination between
men and women in Europe in a number of areas.
Women have a higher unemployment rate than
men (12.5% and 9.5% respectively). Their jobs are
often unskilled, badly paid and insecure, and discrepant pay levels are still a fact of life in most
regions of the Union. Women's access to decisionmaking positions and their participation in political and social life are, moreover, still lagging
behind. It was against this background that the
Commission presented its fourth medium-term
Community action programme on equal opportunities for women and men. This new programme, drawn up for a period of five years (19962000), aims to concentrate its action and
resources into the following few clearly defined
objectives:
1. "mobilising all the actors in economic and
social life to promote equal opportunities ;
2. promouvoir promoting equal opportunities
as a means of adjusting working life to the
changes taking place, particularly through
use of the Structural Funds ;
3. encouraging a policy to reconcile family and
working life for men and women;
4. promoting a gender balance in decision
making ;
5. ensuring that conditions are more conducive
to women who are nationals of or resident in
the Union exercising active citizenship ;
6. supporting implementation, monitoring and
assessment of activities conducted in order to
achieve the above aims ».
The Spring 1996 Eurobarometer survey was
drawn up with these objectives in mind. Its main
aim was to form a clearer picture of the attitudes
and opinions of men and women in Europe on
the question of women working and the obstacles
they encounter at work, to establish how progress
on equal opportunities is perceived, and on this
basis to identify the priority areas for action.
Surveys since 1975
This survey follows on from other large-scale surveys on the same theme. In 1975, to coincide with
Women's Year, the Commission of the European
Communities (now the European Union) carried
out a survey in the then nine Member States
aimed at identifying men's and women's attitudes to certain social questions. This was a
European first(1). The interest raised by this initial
study prompted the Commission to undertake a
new survey in 1977 based on a similar sample t2).
As well as investigating in more detail certain
aspects which had been rather sketchily covered
in 1975, such as how the fact of working affects
the development of women's socio-political attitudes, the report was intended to assess, in the
light of the first election of the European
Parliament by direct universal suffrage (June
1979), whereabouts in the Community women
were most likely to vote.
Over the years that followed, the European
Commission, Parliament, and the specialised
commissions in each Member State implemented
an information policy for women and drafted
legislation to improve equal opportunities. The
continuation of the research programme on
Europeans' attitudes with a new opinion survey
in Spring 1983, adhering strictly to the conditions
of the previous two surveys, was therefore a logical next step. Some of the topics covered by the
1983 survey, such as participation in social and
political life, women working, role-sharing or
attitudes to equal opportunities, are directly relevant to our project, since similar questions were
asked in the Spring 1996 Eurobarometer.
6
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. Duflos, C, Dufour,
A. and A.-D.
Kowalski,
Prestations familiales, modes de
garde et relations
parents/grands
enfants (Family
benefits, forms of
childcare and
parent/adult - child
relationships) in
Credoc survey
"Conditions de vie
et aspirations des
Francais" (Living
conditions and aspirations of the
French), December
1994,210 pages.
Berthuit, F. and
Dufour, A.,
Opinions sur les
prestations familiales et sur la conciliation vie professionnelle et vie
familiale (Opinions
on family benefits
and on reconciling
work and family
life) in Credoc survey "Conditions de
vie et aspirations
des Francais",
December 1993
2. Bozon, M., Laufer,
). and VilleneuveGokalp, C., "Quelle
place pour les
femmes ? Une
enquete aupres des
jeunes adultes"
(What place for
women ? A survey
of young adults) in
Revue francaise des
affaires sociales. Du
cote des femmes.
Conferences, institutions recherches,
Special issue,
August 1995.
3. European network
of public opinion
survey and market
research institutes.
Less detailed than the 1975, 1977 and 1983
reports, the inclusion of results drawn from different Eurobarometers and published in the
"Women of Europe" Supplements (1985, 1987,
1991) broadens the perspective and enables developments in the attitudes and opinions of men
and women in Europe to be traced, at least on
certain topics. The questionnaire for the Spring
1996 survey drew substantially on these previous
experiences, as well as on the Credoc surveys on
reconciling work and family life ll) and the survey
on the position and role of women in France
launched at the initiative of the French coordinating body for the 4th World Conference on
Women (Beijing 1995)(2).
The sample
The Eurobarometer surveys have been carried out
for the EU Commission's Directorate-General for
Information, Communication, Culture and
Audiovisual Media every Spring and Autumn
since September 1973, and by INRA (Europe)
since 1989 (3). They are conducted in all the
Member States of the Union, including Greece
since Autumn 1980, Portugal and Spain since
Autumn 1985, the former GDR since Autumn
1990 and Austria, Finland and Sweden since
Spring 1995. The same set of questions is put to
representative samples of the population aged 15
or over in each of the Member States. The regular
sample in standard Eurobarometer surveys is
1 000 people per country, with the exception of
Luxembourg (500) and the United Kingdom
(1 000 in Great Britain and 300 in Northern
Ireland). Since Autumn 1990, the German
sample has comprised 2 000 people - 1 000 in
the former FRG and 1 000 in the former GDR (in
this report we have presented the totals for the
former East and West Germany next to the combined total). The total sample therefore comprises
15 800 people. The interviews are held face-toface at the individual's home. Multi-stage, random sampling is the system applied in all
Member States. In each country, a number of
sampling points are drawn with probability
proportional to population size and density, to
ensure total coverage of the country. At the
request of the Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs,
a sample of unemployed was added to the standard sample described above, bringing the total
population interviewed to 21 300. The interviews
were held simultaneously in the 15 Member
States of the European Union between
27 February and 3 April 1996 under the general
coordination of INRA (Europe) - European
Coordination Office, in Brussels.
Five chapters
To reflect current preoccupations more closely,
the questions were divided into different subject
categories corresponding to the objectives
denned in the fourth action programme. The
first chapter sets the scene by establishing the
characteristics of the sample. The second investigates the position of women on the labour
market, with emphasis on analysing how the
question of women working is perceived. The
rather negative reaction to mothers with young
children going out to work leads on to the third
chapter, with its central theme of reconciling
work with family life. Chapter four focuses on
women and decision-making. The final chapter
looks specifically at equal opportunities and the
measures to be taken to reduce or eliminate
existing inequalities between men and women,
the type of action needed and the role which
could be played by the European Union.
7
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION
INTERVIEWED
What is the family and work
situation of the women in the
survey? Two thirds of them are
married or living with their partner,
39% of them work. But factors such
as age, dependent children, level of
education or disposable income also
affect daily life. A third of European
women perceive their economic
situation as difficult. Of those living
with their husband/partner, two out
of three consider that household
tasks are unevenly distributed.
General satisfaction with life appears
to be higher in the private sphere
and in the northern countries.
8
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. MARITAL SITUATION
In 1996, as in 1983, 64% of European women
aged 15 or over were married or lived with their
partner. Single women, those who were divorced
or separated, and widows accounted for 36%.
Almost two fifths of respondents (39%) worked.
This figure subdivides into 28% who had a husband or partner and 11% who did not. Nonworking women with a husband/partner represented 36% of the total sample; unattached
non-working women 25%. Looking at the occupational status of the husbands or partners,
40.5% of the total female population interviewed had husbands/partners who were working
and 23.5% had husbands/partners who were
not.
Comparing these with the figures from the
March-April 1983 survey reveals that more
women are now working (22% more than in
1983).
64% of women live with their husband or
partner...
• In 22.5% of coses, both the woman and her
husband/partner work.
In 1996, this was the biggest subgroup, mainly
comprising young women: 51% were aged between 15 and 39. Their level of education was
above the Community overage (32% had
remained in education beyond the age of 20, as
1. SITUATION OF EUROPEAN WOMEN
Sources: European men and women in 1983, p. 8; Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1986.
opposed the Community average of 19%). One
in two women in this category had children
under the age of 15. The fact that two salaries
were coming into these households obviously
had a positive impact on income. Over a third
of the women in this group (35%) were in the
highest income category and just over a quarter (28%) were in the middle income category,
resulting in a total for the two categories combined of twice the European overage (63% as
against 32%).
• 5% work and have a husband/partner who
does not.
Two-thirds of this group were aged over 40,
which suggests that they were probably living
with men who had retired, either early or at
normal retirement age. Almost a third still had
at least one child at home. Their level of education, lower than that of the preceding group,
was, on the whole, above the European average - a third had left school by the age of 15,
two fifths had left school between 16 and 19
and a quarter had remained in education
beyond the age of 20, the respective figures
being 36%, 37% and 19% for the European
Union as a whole.
• 18% do not work, while their husband or
partner does.
Over half this group (53%) were aged over 40.
Their level of education was, generally spea-
9
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
king, considerably lower than that of the first
group, twice as many having left school before
the age of 15. This group also had the highest
proportion of women with children aged under
15 at home (54% as against 50% in the first
group). Their income was lower than that of
the women with working husband or partner,
but slightly higher than the European average.
• In 18% of cases, neither partner works.
This group mainly comprised elderly women.
74% were aged over 55. Most had a low level of
education, almost two thirds (62%) having left
school before the age of 15. 16% still had a
child aged under 15 at home. This group had
the highest proportion (47%) in the lowest income categories.
36% of women do not live with a partner...
• 11% work.
lust over a quarter of this group (28%) was
aged under 25. Although not married or living
with a partner, a fifth of these respondents had
children aged under 15. This group contained
the highest proportion of women having completed higher education (35%). A quarter of
them, however, were in the lower income
bracket.
• 25% do not work.
This group comprised the oldest and youngest
respondents. The over-55s represented the biggest subgroup (49%) and the under-25s just
over a third of the total in this category (35%).
29% were still studying, while just over a third
had left school before the age of 15. Over four
fifths no longer had or did not yet have children aged under 15 at home. Over two fifths
(41%) were in the lowest income category.
2. SOCIAL AND FAMILY SITUATIONS
Table 1 showed that 39% of the women interviewed worked, while 61% did not. Table 2
below goes into more detail and illustrates the
wide disparities in occupational status between
women and men. One and a half times as
many men as women said they worked full
time either on an employed or self-employed
basis (75% as against 52% and 20% as against
14% respectively). Six times as many women,
on the other hand, said they were employed
part time (30% as against 5%).
The "not working" category comprised more
women than men in absolute terms (6 699 of
the European sample as against 4 167). The
reasons for not working were, however, distributed differently between the sexes. 45% of
men were retired, 28% unemployed and 21%
studying. For women, these figures were 34%,
18% and 14% respectively. But the main difference lay in the fact that almost a third of the
women (32%) considered themselves "housewives", whereas barely 1% of men regarded
household responsibilities as their main occupation. Permanent incapacity for work affected
5% of men and 2% of women.
How children affect the situation
Of the people with children aged under 15 at
home, more men than women were in employment. By contrast, three times as many women
2. OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF MEN AND"
WOMEN
Men
(6153)
Self-employed
Employed, full-time
Employed, part-time
Unpaid worker in family business
Other unpaid worker
On maternity/paternity leave
Women
(4167)
20.2
14.5
74.6
51.6
4.6
30.2
0.1
0.8
0.1
0.3
-
2.2
0.4
0,4
Working/training as part
of a government scheme
for the unemployed
'
EU l5+. Q.8 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
10
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
as men who were not working had children
aged under 15 at home. Working people with
children aged under 6 were, obviously, in the
younger age bracket: 70% of the women and
54% of the men in this category were aged
under 35. The parents of children aged between
6 and 15 were, on average, over 40 (average for
women: 42, for men: 44). Of the employed
people with no children, half were aged under
35 and a fifth under 25. The majority of nonworkers without children were in the student or
pensioner categories (see Table 3).
Income and level of education
Table 3 below shows that a third of the
Europeans interviewed left school before the
age of 15, almost two fifths between the ages of
16 and 19, and one fifth remained in education
beyond the age of 20. 8% said they were still
studying. The fact of not working tends, on the
basis of the figures, to be associated with the
lowest level of education, and mainly applies to
women. Of the non-working women with children aged between 6 and 15, almost half (49%)
had left school before the age of 15, as had 45%
of non-working women with no children. In the
latter group, however, this was more a question
of generation, as this category included both
the youngest age group, who were still studying, and the oldest age group, among whom
a lower level of education was the norm. Of the
working people of both sexes, an average of
80% had stayed in education beyond 16.
Working women with children aged under 6
and working women with no children were the
two categories with the highest proportion of
graduates who had stayed in education beyond
the age of 20; at 37% and 33% considerably
higher than the equivalent proportions of men
in the same groups (30% and 27%).
On the question of income, 30% of those working and not working refused to reply. One sixth
3. DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING TO OCCUPATIONAL STATUS, CHILDREN, LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND INCOME
MEN
WOMEN
n
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
4. REPLY TO THE QUESTION :
"DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT/EASY TO
MAKE ENDS MEET ?"
EU 15+. Q 84 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Thinking about your current
financial situation in general, would you say it is very difficult, quite difficult, neither easy nor difficult, quite easy
or very easy to make ends meet ?"
put themselves in the higher income category,
just under one fifth in the upper middle category and over a third in the two lowest categories.
Over 40% of the childless men and women who
were not working were in the lowest income
categories. Over half the working men and
women with children were in the upper income
categories.
3. DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING
TO OCCUPATIONAL STATUS,
CHILDREN, LEVEL OF EDUCATION
AND INCOME
Less than a quarter of the people interviewed
found it "quite easy to make ends meet" (see
chart 4). Of these, only 5% said it was "very
easy". At the other end of the scale, over a
third (36%) found it "quite difficult" to get
through the month, and for 11% it was "very
difficult". Women (12%) were more likely than
men (10%) to say that it was very difficult,
irrespective of age. Men over 55 were the most
likely to say their financial situation was comfortable, while women aged between 15 and
24 experienced the most financial difficulties
(17%). The survey also confirmed that the
lower the level of education, the greater the
financial difficulties. Those in the most comfortable situation were most often those in a
professional occupation who had remained in
education beyond the age of 20.
There is a clear difference in economic situations
between countries. In total, over 37% of
European women found it "quite" or "very" difficult to make ends meet. Over half the French and
Portuguese women were in this category, and
over two fifths of the Greek and Irish women.
Less than a quarter of women in Denmark, the
Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg, however,
described their financial situation as "quite difficult". With the exception of the Irish and
Italians, the situation of European women was
generally less favourable than that of European
men. The widest gaps between the replies from
men and women were in
Denmark (7 points difference),
Germany (6 points), Sweden
and France (5 points) and
Portugal, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands (4 points). In the
other countries, there was little
difference between the two.
Owner or tenant ?
EU 15+ Q 84 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the replies "quite difficult" and "very difficult"
and the replies from women.
In response to the question on
housing, a sixth of the interviewees said they lived with
their parents, 47% were homeowners and just under a third
were tenants. Of these, four
out of ten were in public
12
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
6. EUROPEANS AND THEIR HOUSING (OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS)
Men
Living with your parents
or with your partner's parents
Living in a house
or flat which you own or are
in the process of buying
Living in a house
or fiat rented from
a public authority
Living as a tenant
in a house
or flat rented privately
Sharing rented
accommodation with friends
or acquaintances
Living in lodgings
Other
Women
15-24
(1904)
25-39
(3077)
40-54
(1850)
55+
(2474)
Total
(10231)
15-24
(1811)
25-39
(2972)
40-54
(2448)
55+
(3805)
Total
(11037)
TOTAL
(21357)
66.7
19.0
5.6
2.5
20.0
57.1
12.1
4.0
2.3
14.3
17.1
5.4
36.9
63.1
69.2
46.3
7.7
43.2
62.0
60.7
47.6
47.0
6.4
11.5
11,3
12.0
10.6
9.0
14.3
13.9
17.1
14.3
12.5
14.8
27.1
16.6
12.8
18.3
18.0
26.4
16.8
15.5
19.1
18.7
2.2
1.3
3.2
1.9
0.6
2.9
0.9
0.4
2.1
0.2
0.1
3.2
1.2
0.5
2,8
2.3
1.8
4.1
1.0
0.1
2.8
0.8
0.1
2,2
0.0
0.3
3.5
0.8
0.4
3.1
1.0
0.5
3.0
EU 15+. Q.6 — Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Over the past three months, have you most of the time been...?" Distribution according to sex and age.
authority housing. While women were less likely than men to be living with their parents
(14% as against 20%), they were also more likely to be in public authority housing (14% as
against 10%), particularly the oldest group
(17%). Flat/house-sharing was most common
among the youngest age groups.
7. THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD TASKS AS SEEN BY
EUROPEAN COUPLES
EU 15+. Q.82 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Thinking about the jobs that need to be done
to keep a home running, such as shopping, cooking and cleaning, how much
is shared between you and your husband/wife/partner?" Target group :
couples living together.
73
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
4. DISTRIBUTION
OF HOUSEHOLD TASKS_______
Are European men and women equal when it
comes to household tasks? Far from it! Two
thirds of couples living together admitted that
the woman did almost all or most of the housework.
Barely 1% of the men interviewed answered
that "the man does almost all of these jobs"
and "the man does most of these jobs". Just
over a quarter of interviewees (both men and
women) said they shared the work equally.
Women were more likely than men (37% as
against 30%) to say they did almost all the
housework (see Table 8 below), particularly if
they were aged 55 or over (42% as against 30%,
K a difference of 12%). Men were more likely to
say they shared the work equally, but while
30% of them claimed to do half the household
tasks, this was corroborated by only 25% of
women! The gap widens with age, the discrepancy being 5% in the 15 to 24 age group and
8% among the over-55s.
The influence of level of education
The replies from men and women differed not
only according to age category, but also when
analysed from the point of view of level of
education or occupational status (Table 9).
The longer those interviewed had stayed in
education, the more willing they appeared to
be to share the housework equally (34% of
men and 33% of women). Those who had left
school before the age of 15 had a more conservative attitude, 48% of women and 37% of
men saying that "the woman does almost all
of these jobs". Still in this category, only 20%
of the women said they shared the housework
half and half with their partner. Students were
the most likely to share housework equally.
The fact of working or not working also affected the distribution of household tasks. Nonworking women were twice as likely as working women (48% as against 24%) to "do
almost all of these jobs". Of this latter category, the proportion of women saying their partner did their fair share was no higher than
33%. And 34% of them said they "always did
most of these jobs" (Table 9).
North-South divide
Looking at national differences in men's participation in household tasks is also quite
revealing. Women's responses to the statement "we share them half and half" were
used as the basis for classification (see chart
below). 25% of the women and 31% of the
men said they shared the housework equally.
Women in the former GDR headed the list,
with 39% considering that their partner/hus-
8. UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION, ALL AGE CATEGORIES
Men
Women
25-39
15-24
(224) . (1895)
40-54
(1930)
55+
(2238)
Total
(6288)
15-24
(378)
25-39
(2027)
40-54
Total
(1767)
55+
(1413)
(55&5)
TOTAL
(11873)
The woman does almost
all of these jobs
13.4
27.2
34,9
29.8
30.0
21.9
32.3
41.5
41.8
36.9
33.2
The woman does most
of these jobs
29.8
35.2
34.4
32.7
33.8
26.8
33.6
31.7
28.7
31.3
32.6
We share them half and half
50.9
33.1
26.3
31.0
30.9
45.1
27.5
21.0
23.0
25.5
28.4
The man does most of these jobs 2.5
1.7
2.3
The man does almost
all of these jobs
2.5
2.2
0.6
1.2
1.6
1.6
1.4
1.8
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.7
0.4
2.7
1.0
0.3
0.4
08
0.6
Most of it is done
by someone else
0.3
0.4
0.8
0.9
0.7
0.2
0.5
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.6
Refusal to reply
1.3
1.8
1.0
2.3
1.7
1.0
2.8
2.8
3.3
2.8
2.2
EU 15+. Q.82 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Thinking about the jobs that need to be done to keep a home running, such as shopping, cooking and cleaning, how much is shared between you and your husband/wife/partner ?"
14'
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
ACCORDING TO LEVEL'OF EDUCATION AND OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
The woman does
almost all
of these Jobs
The woman does
most
of these iobs
We share them
half and half
The man does
most
of these (obs
M
W
M
W
M
W
M
W
OVERALL
30.0
36.9
33.8
31.3
30.9
25.5
2.2
1.4
LEVEL OF EDUCATION
(N=2248) (1981)
(2602)
(2315)
0415)
(1249)
(23)
(41)
>1 5
36.9
48.0
32.4
26.8
26.1
19.7
1.7
0.8
16-19
28.5
34.6
33.2
33.3
33.5
26.1
2,2
0.6
20-or over
22.3
24.5
37.1
34.8
33.6
33.0
2.6
0.9
3.2
10.6
42.1
30.4
41.3
46.4
11.4
2.5
Working
32.2
24,8
35.5
33.9
28.2
32.7
1.1
2.1
Not Working
25.3
48.4
30.3
30.3
36.6
18.7
4.4
0.7
Still studying
OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
EU 15+. Q.82- Eurobarometer 44 3 -- Spnng 1996
Target group: couples living together.
band did an equal share. Spanish women
were the worst off, only 12% claiming a 50-50
distribution. Between these two extremes
(27% difference), two fifths of women in
Sweden, 37% in Denmark and Finland, just
under a third in Britain, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Ireland, and just over a
quarter in France, Luxembourg and former
West Germany seemed to be able to count on
their partner to do their share of the housework. The Austrian, Portuguese, Italian, Greek
and Spanish women were not so fortunate, all
scoring below the European average.
Men had a general tendency to overestimate
their contribution. The discrepancy between the
replies from men and women was widest in the
United Kingdom, where 47% of men claimed to
do an equal share of the housework, while only
33% of women agreed that they did, but there
were also considerable discrepancies in
Finland, Luxembourg and France (12 points
difference), Denmark (10 points) and Ireland (8
points). At the other end of the scale, in Austria
and Greece, the replies from men and women
were very consistent.
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
5. SATISFIED WITH LIFE ?
To assess how satisfied Europeans were with
their life, they were asked about various aspects
- lifestyle, leisure activities at home, social life
outside the home, family life, how democracy
worked in their country and the society in
which they lived.
Private happiness, public dissatisfaction
Of the six options proposed, "family life" polled
the most positive response. Almost 90% of
Europeans said they were "fairly satisfied" and
over 40% "very satisfied" (see chart and table
below). Three other aspects (lifestyle, social life
and leisure) came in second place, over 80%
saying they were "fairly satisfied" and 27%
"very satisfied".
"The way democracy works" in each Member
State and "the kind of society we live in",
however, were found satisfactory only by a
minority of Europeans: 19% said they were
"not at all satisfied" with the way democracy
worked in their country and 23% were
unhappy with the society they lived in, while
over two fifths said they were "not very satisfied" in these two respects. There was very little difference between the replies from men
and women. At most, there may have been a
slight difference between the sexes in the way
the replies were affected by age category. Men
aged over 55 showed the most satisfaction
with their lifestyle or leisure activities, while
the women in the youngest age categories
gained most satisfaction from their family
life. It is worth looking at the national differences underlying the general figures for
Europe as a whole. To simplify the analysis,
we have looked only at the distribution of the
response "very satisfied" to the first four
options given in Table 12, and the response
"not at all satisfied" to the last two options.
The results are categorised on the basis of the
answers from women.
Different countries and their sources
of satisfaction
A glance at figures 13-16 below shows Danish
women to be monopolising the top of the
"satisfactions" chart. Nearly two thirds of them
were "very satisfied" with the life they led, their
leisure activities, and their social life; 73% of
them were also "very satisfied" with their family life. Women in the Netherlands and Austria
vied for second and third places. The Irish and
British women were never very far behind this
trio, while the Belgians and Finns were around
the Community average. Women in Italy, former East Germany, Portugal and France were at
the bottom of the list, often over 50 points
behind those at the top.
Generally speaking, there was
little difference between men
and women, although Danish
men appeared to be happier
with their lot than did their
fellow countrywomen, while
the reverse was true in the
Netherlands. At the other end
of the scale, in Italy, former
East Germany, Portugal and
France, men also seemed to be
more satisfied with life than
did their female compatriots.
The life
you lead
Your leisure Your social life Your family
at home outside the home
life
The way
democracy
works
The kind
of society
we live in
EU 15+, Q.I 03 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Would you say you are very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with each of the following things?"
Dissatisfaction was strongest
among women in Italy,
Greece and former East
Germany, over 35% (and in
the case of Italy, as many as
44%) of whom said they were
"not at all satisfied" with "the
way democracy works" and
16
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
"the kind of society we live in"; and the French
were not far behind. The least dissatisfaction
was expressed by women in Denmark, the
Netherlands and Austria, as well as Ireland
and Finland (between 5 ond 10%). Here, too,
there was very little difference between the
views of men and women (less than 5 points
difference).
12. SOURCES OF SATISFACTION FOR EUROPEANS
Men
Women
15-24
(1904)
25-39
(3077)
40-54
(2474)
5S+
(2866)
Total
(10321)
15-24
(1811)
25-39
(2972)
40-54
(2448)
55+
(3805)
Total
(11037)
TOTAL
(21357)
Very satisfied
29.1
22.5
24.1
32.3
26,8
28.5
27.2
27.3
28.4
27.9
27.4
Fairly satisfied
54.5
61.0
59.6
54,3
57,6
57.7
55.2
55.5
56.5
56.1
56.8
Not very satisfied
13,0
13.0
12.7
10.4
12.9
11.6
14,8
14.4
12.9
13.5
12.9
Not at all satisfied
3.1
3.0
3.3
2.4
2.5
1.7
2.4
2.3
1.9
2.1
2.5
Very satisfied
27.8
22.8
25.0
37.9
28.4
25.8
23.5
23.5
32.5
27.0
27.7
Fairly satisfied
53.8
54.7
54.4
50,0
53.1
51.4
52.1
52.7
52.5
52.2
52.7
Not very satisfied
15.3
17.9
17.3
9.3
14.9
19.2
19.9
19.3
12.3
17.0
16.0
Not at all satisfied
2.8
3.8
3.2
2.3
3.0
3.3
4.2
4.3
2.5
3,5
3.3
THE LIFE YOU LEAD
YOUR LEISURE AT HOME
YOUR SOCIAL LIFE OUTSIDE THE HOME
Very satisfied
34.8
23.5
22.8
29.8
27.2
35.0
25.6
24,4
27.0
27.4
27.3
Fairly satisfied
53.2
58.5
58.3
54.9
56.4
47.8
54.7
55,4
51.3
52.5
54.4
Not very satisfied
10.9
14.1
16.2
11,1
13.2
14.3
15.0
16.0
15.6
15.3
14.3
Not at all satisfied
0.7
2.9
2.4
3.1
2.4
1.9
4.0
3,1
4.5
3.6
3.0
Very satisfied
35.7
38.6
39.8
47.2
40.7
38.9
43.8
42,0
41.6
41.8
41.3
Fairly satisfied
50.3
49.4
47.6
44.1
47.7
49.2
48.0
47.1
45.0
47.0
47.3
Not very satisfied
10.2
8.6
7.7
5.7
7.9
9.0
5.8
7.8
9.2
7.9
7.9
Not at all satisfied
1.9
1.8
3.0
1.9
2.1
1.5
1.7
2.2
2.6
2.1
2.1
YOUR FAMILY LIFE
THE WAY DEMOCRACY WORKS IN YOUR COUNTRY
Very satisfied
5.8
4.6
3.5
5.6
4.8
3.0
3.3
2.8
5.4
3.9
4.3
Fairly satisfied
27.1
31.2
33.6
33.0
3T.5
30,1
29.8
29.6
30.9
30.2
30.8
Not very satisfied
42.1
40.3
40.6
40.8
40.8
40,7
43.9
43.0
38.0
41.2
41,0
Not at all satisfied
18.3
21.4
20.0
18.2
19.6
20.3
17.1
20.1
17.8
18.5
19.1
NSP
6.8
2.5
2.3
2.2
3.1
5.8
5,8
4.1
7.8
6.1
4.7
THE KINO OF SOCIETY WE LIVE IN
Very satisfied
4.5
4.4
3.7
4.7
4.3
3.7
2.9
3.7
4.3
3.7
4.0
Fairly satisfied
29.5
27.9
28.3
30.0
28.9
28.1
24.2
23.2
27.3
25.7
27.2
Not very satisfied
42.5
43.0
43.0
41.4
42.5
41.6
48.1
44.7
42.5
44.4
43.4
Not at all satisfied
21.2
22.8
23.8
22.4
22.6
24.8
22.4
25.6
23.3
23.8
23.2
EU 15+. Q.103 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Would you say you are very satisfied, fairly satisfied, not very satisfied or not at all satisfied with each of the
following things ?"
77
THE EUROPEAN POPULATION INTERVIEWED
Very satisfied
Classification on the basis of the reply "not at all satisfied", EU 15+. Q. 103.F- Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN EUROPE ?
Inequality at work!
Although more and more European
women are going out to work, they
are at greater risk of the pitfalls of
part-time work and unemployment.
When unemployed, they face a greater threat of social exclusion. On the
European labour market, women are
generally at a disadvantage in comparison with men, even when they
have the same level of skills. They
continue to have more difficulty in
obtaining decision-making posts.
The question of whether the woman
should work is still debated in families, especially if there are children to
look after. It would appear that mentalities in Europe are lagging behind
practices.
20
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. See Labour Force
Survey, 1996
results,
Luxembourg, 1996,
pp. 20-21.
1. THE PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN
WORK IS INCREASING
In 1970, women made up 30% of the labour
market, and in 1995 45%. It is perhaps even
more significant that two thirds of the jobs created in the European Community between 1985
and 1990 were filled by women. There ore differences between countries, however. The proportion of women on the labour market is
highest in Denmark, Finland, Portugal and the
United Kingdom. 35% of women are on the
labour market in Greece, Italy, Luxembourg
and Spain01. Lastly, the annual growth in
employment rates was highest in the
Netherlands, Spain arid the United Kingdom.
The 25-49 age group accounts for most of the
increase in the number of women on the labour
market. In this age group, Denmark, Sweden
and Finland have the highest activity rates
(above 80%), followed by France, Portugal,
Austria and the United Kingdom (between 80%
and 75%). The countries of southern Europe
(apart from Portugal), which have traditionally
had lower female activity rates, have seen the
fastest growth, however.
To sum up, young women, most of them
mothers, therefore account for this radical change in the European labour market statistics. The
employment rate of mothers increased in fact
from 41% to 50% between 1985 and 1991 forthe
Community of 12 Member States. It should be
borne in mind that this increase had no effect on
the rise in male unemployment and that the
percentage of women in work remains below
that of men. Lastly, it is interesting to note that
women who work attach as much importance to
19. ATTACHMENT TO WORK
their work as men do (Table 19). Accordingly, in
an analysis conducted on the basis of other
questions from Eurobarometer 44.3, Gallic
shows that 48% of men and women say that
they would want to continue working even if
they had enough money to live comfortably.
Women attach just as much importance as
men to initiative and independence at work,
training and promotion prospects. There are
still many inequalities, however, with women
considering themselves to be at a disadvantage
in comparison with men when it comes to promotion and think that they are given less responsibility than men in their work.
The pitfalls of unemployment
and part-time work
This increase in the number of women on the
labour market does have its drawbacks, however, as it goes hand in hand with a sharp increase in part-time work and in unemployment
rates. The problem is that it is more difficult, and
takes longer, to reduce unemployment among
women than among men. This problem is compounded by the fact that, with the exception of
the United Kingdom and Finland, the unemployment rates of women are higher than those
of men in all Member States. The countries with
the highest inequality between the sexes in the
area of unemployment in 1995 were Greece and
Luxembourg, where the unemployment rate
among women was twice as high as among
men. The unemployment rate among women in
France, Spain, Belgium and Italy is nearly
double the rate for men. In Ireland, unemployment among women is only very slightly higher
than that among men. Women, more of whom
20. EQUAL CHANCES OP PROMOTION ?
% who
% who are
would continue not sure
working
% who
would
stop workinq
None
25%
S0%
TOTAL
Men
41.7
24.0
34.3
100
All workers
48
8
44
Women
54.1
22.7
23.3
100
Men
48
9
43
Total
47:1
23.4
29.5
100
Women
48
6
46
EU 15+. Q.30 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
EU 15+. Q. 40 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "If you had enough money to allow you to live
as comfortably as you wish for the rest of your life, would you continue working, not necessarily in your present job, or would you give up work ?" See
Duncan Gallie, The Employment in Europe Survey, to be published.
Answer to the question : "What do you think your
chances of promotion are in the organisation in which
you are working at the moment? None, 25%, 50%,
75%, 100%, Don't know ?" See Duncan Gallie, The
Employment in Europe Survey, to be published.
21
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
21. SUFFERING FROM UNEMPLOYMENT
Men
Women
TOTAL
At work
0.54
0.64
0.58
Unemployed
Total
1.07
1.08
1.08
0.60
0.71
0.65
GHQ scores calculated by Duncan Gallie, in The
Employment in Europe Survey, to be published.
22. PART-TIME WORK: A SOURCE OF INSECURITY ?
No
vocational
training
No
chances of
promotion
No
job
influence on security
decisions
affecting
the organisation (very true)
of work
Men, full-time
Women, full-time
Women, part-time
58.4
55.3
65.7
40,2
47.9
63.9
29.6
30.4
38.9
30.1
27.5
24.5
See Duncan Gallie, The Employment in Europe Survey, to be published.
23. DOES PART-TIME WORK INCREASE INEQUALITY ?
Not at all true
MY WORK IS INTERESTING
8.3
Men - full-time
15.8
Men - part-time
6.9
Women - full-time
9.9
Women - part-time
8.3
Total
MY WORK IS VERY VARIED
14.0
Men - full-time
17,2
Men - part-time
13.9
Women - full-time
14.2
Women - part-time
14.1
Total
1 AM ALWAYS LEARNING NEW THINGS IN MY JOB
12.3
Men - full-time
Men - part-time
24.3
Women-full-time
15.1
Women - part-time
22.8
14.9
Total
1 HAVE A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS IN MY )OB
Men - full-time
18.5
Men - part-time
26.6
Women-full-time
15,2
Women - part-time
25.1
18.7
Total
MY POSITION ALLOWS ME TO TAKE PART IN THE DECISIONS AFFECTING MY WORK
Men - full-time
18.1
Men - part-time
27.6
Women - full-time
21.2
Women - part-time
25.6
Total
20.3
Partly true
Laraelvtrue
True
18.9
17.4
19.3
16.7
18.6
37.6
27.6
37.3
35.0
36.9
35.3
39.2
36.5
38.5
36.2
22.0
29.7
21.7
21.4
22.0
29.6
20.6
34.0
34.2
31.2
34.5
32.4
30.4
30.2
32.7
26.2
26.4
22.2
22.4
24.6
29.8
27.2
29.1
32.0
29.8
31,7
22.1
33.6
22.8
30.7
26.5
35.2
29.9
31.1
28.4
30.6
29.3
31.4
26.8
30.3
24.3
9.0
23.5
17.0
22.7
23,4
29.5
24.4
26.5
24.3
30.3
19.2
31.2
27.7
29.9
28.1
23.7
23.2
20.2
25.5
EU 15+. Q.20 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Here is a list of statements about your current job. Please say whether each statement is true, largely true,
partly true or not at all true".
22
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
of women, but not as many men. Major variations exist between the countries. In 1995, more
than 60% of women worked part time in the
Netherlands, between 40% and 50% in
Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom,
more than 30% in Germany, between 20% and
30% in France, Ireland, Austria and Belgium,
between 10% and 20% in Finland, Luxembourg,
Spain, Italy and Portugal, and less than 10% in
Greece(2).
are unemployed than men, suffer financially
and psychologically from unemployment as
much as men.
These figures unfortunately cover only visible
unemployment, in other words that denned in
the Labour Force Survey. If account were taken
of the level of non-activity (the population of
working age which is not officially registered as
part of the labour force), the figures would be
far worse even. Accordingly, in 1995 in the
European Union, 85.9 million women were economically non-active, accounting for 64% of
all non-active persons (1). More women than
men are non-active in all age groups, and especially between the ages of 25 and 55 (more
than 80% of the total).
1.Voir Enquete sur
les forces de travail,
op.cit., p. 62.
2. Ibidem, p. 162.
The Gallic study shows that part-time work is
one factor accounting for the insecurity which
many women feel about their jobs. What is
more, the female part-time workers interviewed
considered that this type of work offered little
security, poor chances of promotion and no
vocational training.
Comparisons of unemployment are not the only
indicator of inequality between men and
women on the labour market. Account must
also be taken of the considerable differences in
the structures of male and female employment.
There is a high level of sexual segregation in certain sectors of employment, while part-time
work, in particular, affects a growing proportion
Female employment has therefore become a
large-scale phenomenon which is deeply rooted
in today's society, but how do Europeans view
these changes and their implications? Are they in
favour of women working? What repercussions
do they think female employment may have on
the balance between the members of the family?
24. OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
Men
15-24
(1904)
Self-employed
Women
25-39
(3077)
40-54
(1850)
55+
(2474)
Total
(10231)
15-24
(1811)
25-39
(2972)
40-54
(2448)
55+
(3805)
Total
(11037)
TOTAL
(21357)
13.0
64.5
4.5
9.5
17.9
1.3
0.1
-
12.1
44.5
2.7
-
2.4
19.9
7.4
0.1
.
0.5
7.4
29.5
17.1
0.4
0.2
2.8
9.0
31.9
17.9
0.5
0.1
0.2
3,9
5.8
6.0
0.1
0.1
-
5,7
20.3
11.9
0.3
0.1
0.9
8.8
32.0
7.4
0.2
0,1
0.5
0.6
17.9
0.2
17.3
.
.
9.0
3.1
0.2
10.7
0.2
10.9
4.3
Employed, fuli-time
29.1
Employed, part-time
3.6
Unpaid worker in family business' 0.2
Other unpaid worker '
-
-
19.9
62.2
1.5
-
On maternity/paternity leave
-
0.1
0.2
12,6
0.1
10.2
3.3 -
0.2
11.1
0,5
0.5
0.2
0.4
6.2
21.0
26.7
20.5
19.7
10.3
1,1
2.8
3.2
1.9
-
0.6
1.5
1.8
1,1
1.5
3.4
0.3
0.3
2.4
-
8.5
18.5
44.8
-
3.1
0.3
0.4
2.7
-
8.3
20.9
8,4
19.8
Work/training as part
of a Government scheme
0.9
for the employed
Unemployed
21.7
Housewife/househusband
(no paid job)
0.1
Permanently unable
to work because sick or disabled Full-time student
(school, college, university)
40.1
Retired
-
64.4
58.7
EU 1 S+. Q.8 - Eurobarometer 443 - Spring 1996,
Answer to the question : "Which of the following options best describes your situation in the last seven days ?"
23
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
2. THE EMPLOYMENT OF MEN AND
WOMEN IN EUROPE
There are numerous statistical and economic studies on male or female employment at both
Community and national levels. The information
provided below is designed merely to describe the
background to attitudes on women's employment.
Women at a disadvantage
Table 24 confirms the results presented in the
first chapter. While it is true that more and
more women are now on the labour market,
their jobs differ from those of men. Fewer of
them are self-employed (6%, as opposed to 12%
for men) or full-time employees (20%, as
against 44%). Part-time work, which is rare
among men (3%), appears to concern women
primarily, even though they do not always
choose this type of work of their own free will.
Lastly, it should be pointed out that, in percentage terms, more women than men have no
paid work, as they are unemployed, pensioners
and, above all, housewives.
Table 25 provides more detailed information on
the occupational categories of the persons
interviewed. There is a clear difference between
the situation of men and women. Accordingly,
twice as many self-employed men as women
employ workers (7%, compared to 3.5%). There
are half as many women in management posts
as men, and there are four times as many men
as women working as supervisors or foremen
(7%, compared to 1.6%). There are more
women in salaried employment, be it permanent (59% among women, as opposed to 50%
among men), seasonal, temporary or casual
work (6%, as opposed to 3.5%), or on fixedterm contracts (6.5%, as opposed to 5%).
When Europeans were asked why they had
opted for temporary or fixed-term work rather
than for a permanent job, 52% of them replied
that they had not managed to find a permanent job, this being more the case for men than
for women (58%, as opposed to 46%). However,
twice as many women as men stated that they
did not want a permanent job (28.5%, as opposed to 11%). It should also be noted that 18% of
those interviewed chose the "other" category.
The figures in the Eurobarometer survey therefore also show the disparities between the employment of women and men and the greater
insecurity of women on the labour market.
Outside the world of work
Many women in Europe do not do paid work,
either because they have given up work, or
because they do unpaid work or because they
are housewives who regret never having worked outside the home.
The people without work who had not looked
for paid work in the previous four weeks were
asked a question about this regret. There are
ten times as many women as men in this category in absolute terms.
25. TYPES OF ACTIVITY
Women
Men
15-24
(725)
Self-employed with employees 3.7
Self-employed without employees 8.8
Manager
3.0
Foreman or supervisor
2.8
Other employee, permanent job 48.2
Other employee, seasonal,
10.0
temporary or casual job
Other employee, under contract
or for a fixed period
15.1
Other
8,4
25-39
(2530)
5.8
10.4
8.8
5.3
57.8
40-54
(2073)
9.0
15.4
11.7
9.5
48.0
55+
(825)
11.6
21.7
14.9
10.0
33.9
Total
(6153)
7.4
13.4
9,9
7.0
50.1
15-24
(562)
1.5
7.6
1.3
1.4
57.0
25-39
(1713)
3.4
9.8
6.8
1.4
61.0
40-54
(1460)
3.5
12.8
5.1
1.9
61.1
55+
(603)
5.6
19.0
4.9
1.9
3.6
1.6
2.4
3.5
11,2
5.4
5.3
2.9
1.4
3.5
4.0
1.4
5.0
3,5
13.2
6.7
7.3
4.9
EU 15+. Q.n.A-Eurobarometer 44.3- Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Which of these categories best describes your job ?"
48.4
Total
(4337)
3.5
11.8
5.2
1.6
58.8
TOTAL
(10491)
5.8
12.7
8.0
4.8
53.7
3.4
8.1
5.9
4.5
4.5
7.7
3.0
9.0
6,5
6.6
5.6
4.8
24
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
More than 40% of the women interviewed said
that they had never regretted not having paid
employment, and this was particularly the case
for women aged 55+ (52%). More of the youngest women regretted "often" (16%) or "sometimes" (50%) that they did not work outside the
home, followed by women aged 25-39 (14%
and 34% respectively). As for men, the fact of
not working was a source of regret for them
"sometimes" in 42% of cases and "often" in
26% of cases.
The reasons given by women who regretted
having no paid employment were, in decreasing order of frequency, family responsibilities,
poor health, influence of the husband and difficulty in finding a job. This order is naturally
influenced by age, with the youngest women
citing their family responsibilities, and the
oldest women emphasising their poor state of
health and pressure from their husband but
also the fact that they had not looked for a job
when they should have done.
A debate at home
As well as involving personal choice and being
subject to economic constraints, the question of
women going out to work is also a topic of
debate, especially at home. Besides, according
to Table 26,10% of the women interviewed said
that their husband preferred them to stay at
home. Part of this debate was shown up by four
supplementary questions. Women were asked:
"Please say which of the following two statements
applies to your situation : 1) I would like to go out
to work; 2 ) : my husband would like me to go out
to work".
The questions put to men did not relate to the
men themselves, but to their partners/wives:
"Please say which of the following two statements
applies to your situation: 1) I would like my wife to
go out to work; 2); my wife would like to go out to
work".
These distinct questions provide an interesting
minor image of the situation because each person
expresses his/her own wishes and then gives
his/her opinion of what his/her spouse thinks
about the same question. There is a certain level of
disagreement between men and women, with 48%
of men wanting their wife to go out to work, and
54% of women expressing a desire to go out to
work. This comparison is all the more interesting
to analyse since women underestimate their partner's desire for them to go out to work (42%, as
opposed to 48%), and men - although aware of
their wife's wishes - still underestimate their desire
to go out to work (52%, as opposed to 54%).
26. THE REASONS FOR THE LACK OF PAID EMPLOYMENT
1 do not have sufficient training
1 did not manage to find a job
jl did not think of it when
1 should have done
My family responsibilities prevented me
My spouse prefers me to stay at home
1 lost my job and could not find
another one
My health is not good enough
To have more time for my family
and for my leisure activities
1 do not need the money
Don't know
MEN
WOMEN
Total
(235)
15-24
(134)
25-39
(679)
40-54
(665)
55+
(805)
Total .
(2284)
TOTAL
(2519)-
7.3
13.0
12.1
3.3
5.9
2.5
4.5
4.7
11.5
6.4
4,5
2.3
4.5
5.3
2.1
17.4
1.0
2.9
52.5
2.1
4.2
45.1
10.1
8.3
35,5
8.8
9.3
30.3
12.7
7.1
37.5
10.2
6.6
35.7
9,3
23.7
12.7
4.9
5.6
3.9
3.9
7.8
3.3
16.0
4.2
9.3
6.1
9.6
5.8
9.3
20.0
0.3
1.0
10.6
4.5
6.9
14.4
2.9
4.3
13.6
1.3
11.9
14.4
1,1
3.8
3.1
3.5
2.4
EU 15+. Q.57.B - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "What is the main reason why you do not have a paid job ?"
2.8
5.0
25
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
The wishes of men and women living together
as a couple concerning the question of the
woman going out to work are linked mainly to
criteria such as age, level of education and
whether or not they are economically active.
The desire to see the woman go out to work falls
considerably with increasing age among men,
and even more so among women. On the other
hand, it increases more among women than
men according to level of education. A higher
proportion of economically active people women even more so than men -want women
to go out to work.
The situation varies somewhat from one country
to another although, almost everywhere, men
are less in favour of women working than
women are. In the former GDR, in France and
Portugal, however, there is a relative consensus
between the sexes. This is far from being the case
in Belgium, Denmark, the former FRG, Greece,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands, where there is
a difference of more than 10% between the
wishes of men and women on this issue. In
Austria, the difference is as high as 21%.
Two trends combine on the question of women
going out to work: a historical development under
which the younger generations are more in favour
of women working, and a development relating to
the time of life and to the wish not to go out to
work when both spouses no longer work.
27. THE CHOICE OF HOUSEHOLDS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
A JOB, BY COUNTRY
Women's preference
In their own view
Men's preference
In the view'
of thetr husband
In the view
of their wife
In their own view
PREFERENCE AS TO WHETHER OR MOT THE WOMAN SHOULD HAVE A JOB
Belgium
56.0
48.3
41.3
.43.0
Denmark
83.6
-
72.1
81:2
70.3
West Germany
57.7
36.3
48.1
Germany
62.9
44.8
54.2
59.7
East Germany
79.8
72.5
79.2
80,0
Greece
68.0
55,7
64.8
56.6
Spain
61.3
50.0
55.6
53.7
France
51.1
40.1
51.6
50.3
Ireland
52.4
42.5
58.6
50.8
Italy
53.4
36.8
52.9
46.3
Luxembourg
52.3
35.1
45,7
39.0
Netherlands
46.2
33.6
36.7
34.2
Austria
55.5
42.3
498
34.2
Portugal
56.4
54.5
58.5
57.1
Finland
83.8
77.7
81.0
80.7
Sweden
37.6
30.0
38,3
29.1
United Kingdom
33,2
29.8
3.4,9
UE15+
53.7
42.0
51.7.
31.4
47.8
EU 15+ Q 80 and Q.81 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Opinion of couples about the woman having a job. Distribution by sex and country.
55,1
26
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
Danish and Portuguese men, with figures of between 92% and 94%. French, Greek, Spanish and
Italian men are also in the leading group (with
between 84% and 87% of them taking this view).
Austrian men (68%) lag behind West German,
Luxembourgish and Irish men (77%). While
there is a certain consensus between men and
women in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Italy,
the differences are quite marked in Austria (11%),
France and the former West Germany (8%).
3. VIEWS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT
AND UNEMPLOYMENT
What do people in Europe think about the employment and unemployment of women? While only
50% of Europeans, taking both sexes together, are
in favour of women going out to work, 86% of
Europeans declare paradoxically that it is as
important for a woman to have a job as it is for a
man (see Table 28). In all age groups, more
women than men are of this opinion. There is virtual unanimity among the youngest women A substantial majority of men and women in
(96%) and while support for this view falls with Europe agree that "when jobs are scarce", men
increasing age, the fall is comparatively slight. should have priority over women. Support for
There is a difference of around 6% between the this view is higher among women than
views of men and women in all age groups. Lastly, among men (65%, as opposed to 58%), espesupport for this view is higher among those who cially in the youngest age groups. Accordingly,
work themselves. 85% of working men believe that four out of five women in the 15-24 year age
it is just as important for women to have a job as group and three out of four women in the 25it is for men. 95% of economically active women are convinced
29. "I TEND TO AGREE" THAT IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR
that this is the case. Support for
A WOMAN TO HAVE A |OB AS IT IS FOR A MAN
this view falls somewhat among
those who are not economically
active (85% among women and
80% among men).
Should men have priority
in obtaining jobs?
The answers were classified in
Chart 29 by country and on the
basis of the reply "I tend to
agree" and of the male reply
rates. The classification is headed by Swedish men, 97% of
whom emphasise that work is
just as important for women as
it is for men. They are followed
by the German men of the former GDR and by Finnish,
Answer to the question : "Do you tend to agree or disagree with the following statement: It is just as important for a woman to have a job as it is for
a man ?" Classification on the basis of the answer "I tend to agree".
28. WORK IS AS IMPORTANT TO WOMEN AS IT IS TO MEN
Men
Women
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
I tend to agree
89.4
87.1
83.3
74.7
83.2
96.4
90.7
89.8
83.3
88.8
86.1
I tend to disagree
8.2
11.0
13.5
22.1
14.2
3.2
7.6
8.2
14.6
9,4
11.7
EU 15+ Q 91 A - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Please tell me if you tend to agree or disagree with the following statement: It is as important for a woman
to have a job as it is for a man".
27
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
30. SHOULD MEN GET PRIORITY WHEN JOBS ARE SCARCE ?
Men
Women
15.24
25-39
40.54
55+
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
I tend to agree
28.6
29,5
I tend to disagree
668
62,9
55+
(3805)
Total
TOTAL
(1811)
25-39 40-54
(2972)
(2448)
(11037T
.(21357)
35.6
14.3
19.4
28.4
43.9.
29.0,
32.2
57.6
82.3
75.7
64.6
480
64.8
61.3
(2866)
Total
(10321)
33,6
484
582
452
15-24-
EU 15+ Q 91 E - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Do you tend to agree or disagree with the following statement: When jobs are scarce, men should have priority over women ?"
31. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES
UE 1 S+ Q 91 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the reply "I tend to agree".
34 year age group take this view, whereas
three out of ten men in the same age groups
think that they should have priority over
women for employment. It should also be
pointed out that 44% of women aged 55+ also
think that men should be given priority when
jobs are scarce. Lastly, the differences of view
between women who are economically active
and those who are not may be noted: only
20% of the former group think that men
should have priority, whereas the proportion
for the latter group is 35% (33% of economically active men and 40% of economically
non-active men). While a
considerable majority of
Europeans believes that it is
just as important for women
to have a job as it is for men,
32% of all Europeans believe
that when jobs are scarce priority should be given to men.
There is a particularly strong
contrast between the Member
States. While such a priority is
favoured by ± 10% of Finnish,
Swedish and Danish men, it is
strongly supported by a considerable majority of Greek
(57%) and Belgian men
(53%), closely followed by
Italian (48%), Portuguese
(46%) and Austrian men
(42%).
French,
Luxembourgish and Spanish
men (33%) are close to the
Community average (36%), as
are Irish men and German
men from the former West
Germany (38%). If the opinion of women in Denmark, Sweden, Finland,
the Netherlands, the United Kingdom or
Luxembourg is close to that of the men from
these countries (± 1% difference), this is not
the case for women from Greece (15% difference), Austria (13), Germany (12), Portugal
(12), Belgium and Italy (10).
28
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
32. ARE WOMEN AT GREATER RISK OF BECOMING UNEMPLOYED ?
Men
Women
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
55+
Total
TOTAL
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
I tend to agree
52.3
56.5
63.2
65.7
59.9
65.8
70.0
72.6
68.8
69,5
64.8
I tend to disagree
38.3
34.1
28.8
250
31.1
27.4
23.3
21.6
208
227
26.8
40-54
EU 15+. Q.91 F - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question: "Do you tend to agree or disagree with the following statement: Women are at greater risk of becoming unemployed than men ?"
Women run a greater risk of becoming
unemployed than men
We have seen how men in certain Member
States believe that they should be given priority
when jobs are scarce. It comes therefore as no
surprise to discover that 65% of all Europeans
believe that women run a greater risk of becoming unemployed than men.
More women tend to agree with this statement
than
men (69%, as opposed to 60%, especially in
Answer to the
the 25-39 and 40-54 age groups (70% and 73%
question :
"Do you tend to respectively). The differences of opinion are paragree or disagree
with the following ticularly marked in the youngest age groups,
with a 13% difference between the views of men
statement:
Women are at
and women in the 15-24 and 25-39 age groups.
greater risk of
Lastly, women who are economically non-active
becoming
tend
to be most aware of the problem, perhaps
unemployed than
because of personal experience, with 70% of
men ?"
them believing that women are at greater risk of
becoming unemployed than men.
The differences between countries are also
significant in this case. Four fifths of Germans
from the former GDR, three quarters of the
Portuguese, Danes and Swedes, two thirds of
Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and Germans from
the former West Germany believe that women
are at greater risk of becoming unemployed
than men (see Chart 33).
Only one third of people in the United Kingdom
take this view, and it is true that the United
Kingdom is the only Member State of the
European Union in which the unemployment
rate among men exceeds that among women.
Once again, there are clear differences between
the opinions of men and women. While the
views of women in Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Denmark and
Portugal are broadly similar to
33. "I TEND TO AGREE" THAT WOMEN ARE AT GREATER RISK OF BECOMING
those of men in these countries
UNEMPLOYED THAN MEN
(less thar 4 points' difference
between the opinions of men
and women), the difference is
greater in the case of women in
Spain (14% difference), the former West Germany and the
United
Kingdom
(12%),
Belgium (11%), Finland (10%)
and France (9%).
Lastly, there is a strange logic
in that Greece, Italy and
Portugal have the highest proportions of people who believe
that men should be given
priority when jobs are scarce,
the same people believe that
women are at greater risk of
becoming
unemployed than
UE 1S+ Q 91 F - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
men !
29
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
34. ARE UNEMPLOYED WOMEN AT GREATER RISK OF BEING MARGINALISED ?
Men
Women
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
I tend to agree
49.8
54.2
61.1
59.9
566
57.5
64.1
69.2
64.6
64.3
60.6
I tend to disagree
35 0
33.0
27.9
24.3
29.7
28.5
26.0
22.8
21.0
24.0
26.8
EU 15+ Q 91 ) - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Do you tend to agree or disagree with the following statement: An unemployed woman is at greater risk of
marginalisation and exploitation than an unemployed man T'
Marginalisation and exploitation
for the unemployed
The lost question put to Europeans about
employment and unemployment concerned
the extent to which women are at greater risk
than men of being marginalised and exploited when they are unemployed (Table 34).
Almost two thirds of women and slightly over
half of men tended to agree that there is a
greater risk of marginalisation and exploitation for women. The highest level of support
for this view came from women aged 40-54
(69%), whereas the highest percentage of
people who tended to disagree was found
among the youngest men (35%). Generally
speaking, women who are economically active also seem to be very aware of this problem.
There are national differences on this question,
with three quarters of Germans from the former
East Germany and of Greeks, two thirds of Finns
and the Portuguese, a considerable majority of
Luxembourgers, Spaniards, the British, Danes
and Austnans considering that women are at nsk
of marginalisation and exploitation when they
are unemployed. Fewer than two fifths of people
in the Netherlands take this view. The greatest
differences between the answers of women and
men were found in the former West Germany
(14%), Spain (13%), Ireland and Austria (11%).
35. "I TEND TO AGREE" THAT UNEMPLOYED WOMEN ARE AT GREATER RISK
OF BEING MARGINALISED
EU 15+ Q 91 I - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the reply "I tend to agree".
30
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
4. INEQUALITY ... AT WORK
Most Europeans think that women are at a
disadvantage in comparison to men at the
workplace in at least four main areas :
• the possibility of obtaining a decision-making
post;
• salary/wage;
• the number and variety of occupations open to
them;
• the chances of promotion.
On the other hand, women are considered to be
in a similar position to men as regards :
• job security;
• commanding respect from other people.
Views about inequalities between men and
women at the workplace vary considerably between the sexes and, even more so, between the
age groups, as shown by Table 37.
A view that increases
with age
Generally speaking, more women than men
believe that the situation of women is difficult.
Overall, there is a difference of 10% between
the answers of men and women, and even 14%
on the question of promotion prospects. The
most negative view is taken by men and
women aged 40-54 years. Moreover, in this age
group, 72% of women stress the difficulty of
lob Commanding job
Promotion Number
Salary/ Possibility
security
respect torresponof occupations wage of obtaining
from
ding to
a decisionother people education
mating post
EU1 S+ Q 95 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Do you think that women's current situation at
the workplace, in comparison with that of men, tends to be better, worse or
the same in the following areas ?" Classification on the basis of the reply
"tends to be worse".
obtaining a decision-making post, and 67% of
them emphasize the problems of remuneration
(59% and 56% respectively among men). The
youngest women are the least negative on the
questions of "promotion prospects" and of "the
chances of finding an occupation that corresponds to your training" (differences of 16% and
13% respectively between women in the 15-24
year age group and women in the 40-54 year
age group). Is this idealism or inexperience as a
result of youth?
Inequality as the rule ?
In order to analyse further the perception of
inequality in employment, women's answers of
"tends to be worse" in the various areas were
classified in increasing order and by country.
These inequalities are felt particularly strongly
in the unified Germany and Spain, where two
thirds, in some cases even four fifths, of female
respondents believe that they are at a disadvantage in comparison with men in all the
areas covered by the question, and especially as
regards the occupations that are open to them,
the chances of finding a job or a place on a training course, remuneration and promotion
prospects (see Charts 38-44 below). More than
three quarters of women in Austria, Sweden
and Finland also complain about inequality in
the areas of remuneration and promotion, as
well as venting their frustration that they cannot obtain decision-making posts. As a whole,
less than half of women in Belgium, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and Italy think
that their position "tends to be worse" than
that of men. There appears to be less inequality in the areas of job security and of commanding respect from other people, as we have
seen, apart from in the case of German women.
Here, too, there are particularly large differences between the answers of men and
women. It should be noted that the greatest differences of opinion between men and women
(between 10 and 19%) are found in the case of
Ireland, Italy, Spain, Finland, Sweden and the
former West Germany, and this concerns all
aspects of the question.
31
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
37. THE POSITION OF WOMEN AT THE WORKPLACE TENDS TO BE WORSE IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS
Men
Women
TOTAL
(21357)
15-24
25-39
40.54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
The number and variety
of occupations open to them
45.7
49.2
51.5
48.9
49.0
55.7
57.2
58.6
53,3
55.9
52.6
The chance of finding an
occupation that corresponds
to your training
29.8
38.3
42.9
42.3
38,9
40.3
49.0
53.1
49.6
48.7
44.0
Salary/wage
44.5
50.5
56.4
56.9
52.6
56.5
63.8
67.0
60.2
62.1
57.5
Promotion prospects
33.1
39.9
47.3
47.4
42.5
47.2
56.5
62.9
56.9
56.5
49.7
The possibility of obtaining
a decision-making post
49.1
53.3
59.2
59.6
55,7
62.8
68.3
71.7
61.6
65.8
60.9
job security
24.7
30.9
34,3
36,7
32.2
36.2
41.1
43.9
44.3
42.0
37.3
Commanding respect
from other people
33.5
32.2
33,2
33,0
32,9
40.8
40,2
42.0
39.5
40.4
36.8
UE 15*. Q.95 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
38. WOMEN TEND TO BE IN A WORSE POSITION
AS REGARDS THE NUMBER AND VARIETY
OF OCCUPATIONS OPEN TO THEM
39.... AS REGARDS THE CHANCE OF FINDING
AN OCCUPATION THAT CORRESPONDS
TO THEIR TRAINING
40.... AS REGARDS SALARY/WAGE
41. „. AS REGARDS PROMOTION PROSPECTS
Answer to the question : "Do you think that women's current situation at the workplace, in comparison with that of men, tends to be
better, worse or the same in the following areas... 7"
EU 15+. Q.95 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996. Classification by the answer "tends to be worse".
32
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
42.... AS REGARDS THE CHANCES OF OBTAINING
A DECISION-MAKING POST
43.... AS REGARDS JOB SECURITY
Answer to the question : "Do you think that women's current
situation at the workplace, in comparison with that of men, tends
to be better, worse or the same in the following areas... ?"
EU 15+. Q.95 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996. Classification
by the answer "tends to be worse".
33
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
5. PROBLEMS SPECIFICALLY
AFFECTING WOMEN
referring to the economic activity of mothers
(with a young child).
There is every indication that the widespread
social phenomenon of women in work has
become irreversible. "Women's work is now helping to build the female identity: girls at school prepare for an occupation in the same way as boys,
and very few of them do not look for a job when
they leave education. However, the occupation of
men remains the priority in most families, whose
social status depends primarily on the husband's
employment" (Bihr and Pfefferkorn, 1996: 59).
A way of becoming
integrated into society
Three of the statements refer directly to women
working and do not allude to the existence of
children. They concern the sense of isolation
felt by women who do not have a job, the need
for women to have their own financial
resources and the preference given to men in
job-seeking.
According to Table 45 (see below), nearly half
This explains why parental leave is taken by of Europeans (49%) say that the lack of econowomen in most cases and why women conti- mic activity is a factor of isolation, while 44%
nue to be responsible for most household tasks. disagree. This view is held by 52% of women (as
On the same subject, mention should be made opposed to 45% of men), especially the younof the occasionally recurring idea of a salary for gest women (58% of those aged 15-24 years
housewives, which may possibly be renamed "parental
46. OPINIONS BY COUNTRY
salary", since while women
were quick to enter the market
of paid employment, the perception of this work has changed more slowly.
A series of statements corresponding to widely-held opinions were put to the people
interviewed in order to find
out whether they agreed or
disagreed with them. These
statements may be divided up
into two groups. First, there
are those referring to the economic activity of women in
general, and, second, those
UE 15+ Q.109.A- Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
45. ARE WOMEN WHO ARE NOT EMPLOYED "CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD" ?
Women
Men
15-24
25-39
(3077)
40-54
15-24
25-39
40-54
(2474)
S5+
(2866)
Total
(1904)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
55+
(3805)
Strongly agree
7.2
15.1
13.0
11.6
12.1
18.6
16.8
16.7'
14.0
16.1
14.2
Agree
32.8
36.6
35.7
28.1
33.3
39.7
38.4
35.1
31,6
35.5
34.5
Disagree
38.1
32.6
36.4
38.4
36.1
29.2
31.2
33.0
33.9
32.2
34.1
Strongly disagree
8.9
7.0
6.9
12.5
8.9
7.8
10.1
12.0
13.2
11.2
10.1
DK
12.9
8.7
8.1
9.4
9.5
4.6
3.4
3.2
7.3
4.9
7.1
"Total
(11037)
TOTAL
(21357)
Disagree
EU 15+. Q109 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with each of the following opinions ?"
34
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
and 55% of those aged 25-39 years). Women
who are economically active - perhaps because
they have a job - are the most convinced (62%)
that women who are not economically active
must feel isolated. It is no doubt revealing that
45% of women who are not economically active also agree with this statement. It is clear that
employment is also tied up with integration
into society. While it is not yet taken for granted that women should go out to work, there is
a certain social pressure on those who do not,
with 45% of them saying that they are "cut off
from the world",
Financial independence
Half of Europeans think that women with no
economic activity suffer from a certain degree
of isolation. At the same time, 55% of those
interviewed consider it essential for a woman to
have her own source of income. This view is
taken by 60% of women, and even by 71% of
women in the 15-24 year age group (which is a
difference of 17% with their male counterparts)
and 63% in the 25-39 year age group (10% difference). More working women consider financial independence to be essential, with two
thirds of them saying that they agree with this
statement, whereas half of those who are not
economically active (be they men or women)
agree, and 40% of them disagree.
As in the case of the previous question, the
same countries are above the Community average, apart from the former GDR and the
When women's answers are classified in increasing order and by country, they show that there
is by no means unanimity in the European
Union. A substantial majority of women in the
United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Finland,
Greece, Belgium, Sweden and the former GDR
think that women who do not
go out to work feel cut off.
There is less support for this
view, however, among women
in the Netherlands, Spain,
Luxembourg and Italy. The
first of these two large groups is
made up of countries witli a
particularly high proportion of
women in work, and the
second comprises countries
with a much lower proportion.
May this difference explain the
particularly wide gap between
the two ends of the spectrum
(45% difference between
UE 15+ Q.109.E. - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996women in the Netherlands and
the former GDR)?
Classification on the basis of the replies "I strongly agree" and "I agree".
47. IS FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE ESSENTIAL ?
Men
15-24
(1904)
Women
25-39
(3077)
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
Strongly agree
13.4
11.3
12.6
10.1
11.7
27.8
22.9
20.9
17.3
21.3
16.7
Agree
40.3
42.1
35.0
35.8
38.3
43.2
40.5
38.8
36.6
39.2
38.8
Disagree
27.7
32.1
36.6
33.4
32.7
19.5
27.5
29.5
26.3
26.2
29.4
Strongly disagree
6.5
6.7
7.3
10.3
7.8
3.7
4.6
5.5
9.8
6.5
7.1
OK
11.9
7.4
8.6
10.2
9.3
5.5
4.3
5.1
9.5
6.5
7.8
EU 15+. Q 109 E - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the following opinion:
A woman must have her own source of income".
46.6
(6699)
35
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
United Kingdom, which are replaced by
Portugal and Spain. If a considerable majority
of women respondents think that women who
do not work feel isolated, even more of them
consider that it is essential for a woman to have
her own source of income. Accordingly, 93% of
Portuguese and Greek women, 87% of Finnish
women and more than two thirds of Swedish,
Spanish and Belgian women take this view. On
the other hand, no more than two fifths of
women in the Netherlands, Austria and the former FRG consider it essential for women to
have their own source of income. While there is
a fairly clear consensus between men and
women respondents from the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Denmark and Portugal, there are
very marked differences (over 15%) between
the opinions of men and women in Austria,
Italy, Ireland and the former GDR.
Equal skills, but an unequal situation
While the two previous opinions (social recognition and financial independence) ore generally accepted by Europeans and are factors
that tend to promote female employment, another question shows up the difficulties which
women encounter in finding employment: "You
apply for a job that corresponds to your training.
You are competing with a person of your age who
has the same qualifications and experience as you
but is of the other sex. Do you think that he/she has
a better chance of getting the job than you because he/she is a man/woman? Or do you think that
you have a better chance than him/her because you
are a woman/man? Or do you think that the fact of
being a woman or a man has no influence?"
More than one third of European men think that,
with equal skills, they have a better chance of finding work than women do. 47% of women agree.
This view is countered by the 47% of men and 36%
of women who say that "the fact of being a woman
or man has no influence".
Women over the age of 40 feel strongly that
they face inequality when it comes to finding
work. More than 50% of them say that men
have a better chance of being chosen, while
only 39% of the youngest women (15-24 years)
take this view. The same difference exists
among men, with the gap between the attitude
of the youngest men and that of their elders
being far more marked (27%, as opposed to
49. AN ADVANTAGE WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYMENT ?
In the opinion of men
15-24
25-39 '(3077)
40-54
(1904)
She has better chances than you
You have better chances than her
The fact of being a woman
or a man has no influence
DK
55+
Total
Economical
Economically"
active men
non-active men
(6153)
(4167)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
6,6
36.1
63
37.2
7.0'
34.6
47.0
9,1
46.0
11.9
6-8
273
6.9
33.6
7.7
39.6
5.0
41.6
54.8
10.7
49.8
90
42.7
9.6
41.1
11.8
10.2
55+
Total
Economically Economically
active women non-active women
UE 15+. Q 94 - Eurobarometre 44.3 - Pnntemps 1996.
In the opinion of women
He has better chances than you
You have better chances than him
The fact of being a woman
or a man has no influence
DK
15-24
25.39
40-54
(1811)
(2972)
(2448) (3805)'
(11037)
(4337)
39.1
9.1
42.6
8.5
49.6
10.3
53.3
6.2
47.3
8,2
'41.7
11.5
-50.9
6.1
45,3
6.4
41.4
7.2
32.8'
29,5
10.6
360
8.2
39.9
33.5
9.1
LIE 15+ Q 93. - Eurobawneter 44,3 - Spnng 1996.
7.3
6.9
36
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
42%, in other words 15% difference). The fact of
being active or non-active has little influence
on men's answers, whereas active women who one would think most likely to be aware of
any discrimination - are less aware than the
European average of this inequality. Non-active women, however, emphasise this inequality
more often than active women (51%, as opposed to 42%).
Of all the countries of the European Union, the
former GDR has the highest proportion of
women (69%) who think that men have better
chances than women, the skills level being
50. "HE HAS A BETTER CHANCE THAN YOU"
equal. Spanish women (61%) and Swedish
women (55%) also feel this discrimination very
strongly. This feeling is less strong, however,
among women in Belgium, the Netherlands,
Italy, Greece and Denmark, more of whom
state that "the fact of being a woman or a man
has no influence".
More than 40% of men in Finland, the former
FRG, Denmark and Sweden and 56% of
Germans in the former GDR admit that they
enjoy an advantage over women with the same
skills as them. There was a fair amount of
agreement between men and women in
Germany and Sweden, as there was in Italy,
Belgium and the Netherlands, where men tended to emphasise that the sex of the applicant
does not affect the decision.
The activity of mothers
The questions relating to the employment of
mothers reveal some of the problems of reconciling work and family life.
EU 15+ Q 93 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the reply "He has a better chance than you"
and of the answers of women.
51. "YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE THAN HER"
EU 15+ Q 94 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the reply "You have a better chance than
her" and of male replies.
If, in absolute terms, the replies to the previous
questions tended to consiaer women's employment to be legitimate to a certain extent and to
denounce the inequality that women may face,
the results in this case show, either directly or
indirectly, that the population is more reticent
about the question of mothers working.
Children should have priority !
74% of Europeans agree that "a mother
should give priority to her young child rather
than to her work". 58% of people think that
the amount that a woman earns from her
work is taken up by the costs of childcare, and
53% of people think that it is not the father's
responsibility to give up work in order to look
after the children, even if he earns less. In
other words, the traditional image of the
family in which the husband goes out to work
and the wife stays at home to look after the
children is still very much rooted in people's
minds. Age has a certain effect in answers to
this question, with two thirds of those under
the age of 25 agreeing that a mother should
give "priority to her young child rather than
to her work", whereas the proportion is over
80% among those aged 55+. Three quarters of
non-active men and women and more than
two thirds of active men and women agree
with this statement...
37
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
52. SHOULD A MOTHER GIVE PRIORITY TO HER CHILD RATHER THAN TO HER WORK ?
Women
Men
Strongly agree
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
22.0
25.3
28.8
36.1
28.5
19.6
24.5
28.3
36.7
28.7
28.6
44.6
44.5
44.9
44.8
44.7
45.6
Agree
45.1
45.8
47.6
47.3
46.5
Disagree
16.1
16.2
14.2
7.3
13,2
23.2
21.5
17.7
9.8
16.9
15.5
Strongly disagree
4.2
2,3
2.5
1.0
2.4
3.5
2.8
2.1
1.3
2.2
2.3
OK
12.6
10.1
6.9
8.2
9.3
8,7
6.7
6.9
7.1
7.2
8.2
EU 15+ Q 109 D - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
European consensus
The analysis of the questions on women going
out to work showed the lack of unanimity between the respondents from the various Member
States of the Union, whereas there appears to
be a certain consensus on the question of
mothers going out to work. There are smaller,
albeit still large, differences between the numbers of people supporting the various statements (30% difference between the two ends of
the scale; see Chart 53 above). The highest level
of support for the view that "a mother must
give priority to her young child rather than to
her work" is found among Greek women (87%),
closely followed by women in Ireland, the
United Kingdom and Luxembourg (four fifths),
Italy, Portugal, the former FRG, Spain and
Sweden (three quarters), and France, the
53. MORE THAN TWO OUT OF THREE EUROPEANS...
EU 15+. Q 109 0 - Eurobarometer 44 3 ~ Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Please tell me whether you strongly agree,
agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement: A mother
should give priority to her young child rather than to her work".
Netherlands and Denmark (two thirds). There
is a certain similarity between the answers of
men and women even though there are comparatively more men than women who think
that a mother should give priority to her young
child, except in Denmark, Spain, Austria,
Luxembourg and Ireland. With the exception
of this last country, the differences remain very
small and do not exceed 2%.
Is. it financially worthwhile for a mother
to go out to work?
58% of Europeans are convinced that the costs
of childcare cancel out the amount that a
mother earns from work (15% "strongly agree"
and 43% "agree"). There is little variation for
sex, age or activity of the person interviewed. It
should be pointed out that almost one fifth of
people do not know, and this proportion is
higher among men and especially among the
youngest men (29% in the 15-24 age group); it
is lowest among working women, who are therefore the most convinced that it is worthwhile
for a mother to work. It is true that the
Europeans who are faced with this problem do
not make up the majority of the persons interviewed and therefore perhaps find it difficult to
give an opinion on something that they do not
know enough about.
On the question of childcare, there are three
groups among the Member States. About 45% of
Scandinavian women (from Finland, Denmark
and Sweden), as well as women from the Netherlands - even fewer than 35% in Finland - think
that the costs of childcare are equivalent to the
mother's remuneration. About 60% of women in
an intermediate group (Belgium, France, East
Germany and Italy) take this view. Lastly, there is
a third group comprising most countries (Spain,
38
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
54. YES, THE COSTS OF CHILDCARE SWALLOW UP ALMOST
ALL THE MOTHER'S REMUNERATION
ED 15+. Q.109.C - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spnng 1996.
Answer to the question : "Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree,
disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement: In many cases,
childcare costs about as much as the mother earns". Classification on the
basis of the answers "I strongly agree" and "I agree".
United Kingdom, former FRG, Ireland,
Luxembourg, Portugal, Greece and Austria);
more than two thirds of women in these countries
are convinced that the costs of childcare are swallowed up by the mother's remuneration. An examination of the forms of childcare in the various
Member States would certainly provide some
interesting insights about these opinions.
It should be noted that the proportion of men
supporting this view is always lower than that of
women, apart from in Greece (+ 1% difference).
There are fairly sharp differences between the
answers of men and women in the United
Kingdom, the former FRG and Ireland (15%, 9%
and 12% respectively). Does this disparity reflect
the ignorance of male respondents in these countries about the costs of childcare and the level of
women's remuneration?
55. IF THE FATHER EARNS LESS THAN THE MOTHER, SHOULD HE GIVE UP WORK IN ORDER TO LOOK AFTER
THE CHILDREN ?
Men
15-24
(1904)
Women
25-39
(3077)
7.9
I strongly agree
11.2
25.9
I agree
30.8
I disagree
36,3
32,7
19.3
I strongly disagree
17.2
10.5
DK
8.0
EU 15+. 0.109 B - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
40-54
(2474)
9.4
30.3
36.3
15.9
8.1
55+
(2866)
8.5
26.5
32.7
20.4
10.5
Total
(10321)
9.4
28.6
34.6
18.2
9.2
15-24
(1811)
15.8
24.9
35.0
18.1
6.0
25-39
(2972)
12.8
286
35.8
15.3
7.5
40-54
(2448)
11.9
29.4
36.3
14.0
8.4
5S+
(3805)
9.9
24.5
36.3
18.4
10.9
TOTAL
Total
(11037) (21357)
12.1
10.8
27.6
26.7
36.0
35.3
17.3
16.6
8.9
8.7
Answer to the question : "Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement: In a family, if the
father earns less than the mother, he should give up work in order to look after the children ?"
56. SOME DIFFERENCES OF VIEWS BETWEEN COUNTRIES
Fathers do not give up work to look
after the children
If the father earns less than the mother, should he
give up work in order to look after the children?
53% of Europeans say no (17% even "strongly
disagree"). If age and sex have little influence on
the replies, occupational activity does.
EU 15+. Q.109 B - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spnng 1996
Although, overall, women are against the idea of
the father giving up work in order to look after
the children, women in employment are less
opposed to this. Men appear to show little enthusiasm for the idea, however, regardless of whether
or not they are employed.
39
INEQUALITY AT WORK!
There are major variations between the nationalities, with 25% of women of the former FRG
against the idea of the father giving up work,
while the level of opposition among Portuguese
women is 85%! Three quarters of Belgian,
Italian and Greek women also reject the idea,
followed by a substantial majority of Dutch,
Luxembourgish, French, Danish and Finnish
women. The views of German, British, Irish,
Spanish, Swedish and Austrian women fall
below the Community average. In most countries men take the same view as women, apart
from Danish, British and Dutch men, however,
who, overall, are less opposed to this idea than
the women of their respective countries.
Are these men "new fathers" who are challenging
the traditional distribution of roles in the family?
6. IS THERE A THREAT TO THE WELLBEING
OF THE
FAMILY
?
To mention the wellbeing of the family when
talking of female employment is to touch on
the problems of reconciling work and family
life and to highlight the contradictions that
people see between the interests of women and
the interests of children..
When asked about the effects that the increase
in female activity may have on the wellbeing of
the couple and the household, Europeans give
widely differing answers depending on whether
they mean the effects on the woman, the man,
the couple or the children. Accordingly, 80% of
people think that the increase in the number of
women going out to work tends to have a positive effect on the wellbeing of the woman, while
50% of people consider it to be detrimental to
the child (Table 57). The key point in the discussion about whether or not the woman
should go out to work therefore seems to be the
existence of children. Lastly, 74% of Europeans
also think that the fact of the woman going out
to work is good for the wellbeing of the couple,
and 66% of Europeans think that it is good for
the wellbeing of the man.
In all age groups, there is a slightly higher proportion of women than men (± 5%) who think
that the fact of the woman going out to work
has a positive effect on the wellbeing of the
various members of the family, while slightly
fewer women than men (48%, as opposed to
57 AND 58. IF THE WOMAN GOES OUT TO WORK,
DOES THIS HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON... ?
Tends to have a
positive effect
79.9
74.5
The wellbeing of the woman
The weilbeing of the coupte
The wellbeing of the man
The wellbeing of the children
65.6
39.5
Men who
work
Answer to the
question:
Proportion of
Europeans who
think that if the
woman goes out
to work, this tends
to have a positive
effect on...
The wellbeing of the woman 79.9
The wellbeing of the couple 74.3
The weilbeing of the man 67.0
The wellbeing of the children 37,0
Tends to have a
negative effect
11.7
16.5
214
50.0
OK
8.3
8.9
12.8
103
Men who
do not work
Women who
work
Women
do not work
74.4
70.4
62.4
36.1
865
81 6
71,4
45 3
79.0
72 8
62.6
40 3
EU 15+ 0,108-Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spnng 1996.
40
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
52%) think that their employment is bad for
the children.
There are slightly more marked differences between the views of men and women, however,
when the question of their employment is
taken into account (Table 58). Those who work,
regardless of their sex, are more inclined to see
the benefits of the woman going out to work,
whether for the wellbeing of the woman, the
couple or the man, but their views tend to be
more mixed as far as the wellbeing of the children is concerned.
59. IF THE MOTHER GOES OUT TO WORK THIS TENDS TO
HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE WELLBEING OF THE
CHILDREN
EU 15+ Q.108 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Concern for the child
Here, the level of education has the same effect
as age. Irrespective of the age at which the persons interviewed had left the education system,
they always considered the fact of the woman
going out to work to be beneficial for, in decreasing order, the wellbeing of the woman, the
wellbeing of the couple and the wellbeing of
the man. However, those who had remained in
the education system over the age of 20 all took
a more positive view of the effect of the woman
going out to work than those who left the education system before the age of 15. It should be
pointed out once again that, when it comes to
the wellbeing of the children, a majority of
Europeans, regardless of their level of education, still do not consider the employment of
the woman to be positive.
It comes as a surprise that the southern countries - Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy have the highest percentages of people who
think that the fact of the woman going out to
work "tends to be positive" for the wellbeing
of the child (Chart 59). While the male
respondents also take this view, they are less
positive than women, with the difference
being greatest in Spain, and especially in
Greece. The views in most other countries are
close to the average for the Community, apart
from the former FRG and Austria, where no
more than one fifth of women take this view.
Sweden is the only country in which men outnumber women in thinking that it is a good
thing for the children if their mother goes out
to work, but the difference between the views
of men and women is only 2%.
41
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN EUROPE ?
Working life
and family life
Career and children: can women have
both ? Or must they opt for one or the
other ? How can young parents be
helped ? Should we introduce a sort of
"maternal salary" or offer more child
minding facilities to make it easier for
young mothers to carry on working ?
Might homeworking be another solution ? Under what circumstances are
Europeans prepared to take leave to
look after their families or for their
own personal development ?
42
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. CHILDREN AND/OR A JOB ?
How do Europeans feel about the difficulties
faced by women trying to juggle working life
and family life? The statistics published by
Eurostat show that a high percentage of women
between the ages of 25 and 54 are working
mothers, which would seem to indicate that
women are in fact able to fulfil both roles.
However, as Table 60 shows, in the Europe of
Fifteen, as many women believe that "women
are often forced to choose between having children and a career" (48.5%) as feel that "women
can combine working and having children"
(48%). Twice as many men as women hove no
opinion (7% compared with 3.4%). Slightly
more than half of European women in the age
groups 15-24 and 40-54 say that they can combine working life and family, as opposed to
47% aged 25-39.
Two categories of mothers
However, the most significant results are to be
found in Table 61 above. A large majority of
working women (56%) with children under the
age of 6 or between the ages of 6 and 15 believe that "women can combine working and
having children". At the same time, 59% of
non-working women with children under 6 and
53% of those with children aged 6 to 15 feel
60. CHOOSING OR COMBINING ?
Men
Women
EU 15+. Q..106 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
EU15+.Q,106-Eurobarometer443-Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Which of these two statements do you think is closest to reality nowadays ?"
43
WORKING LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE
that "women are often forced to choose between having children and working". We are
therefore dealing with two categories of
women: those who have probably been able to
find a solution to their child minding needs and
those who have been "forced to choose" between career and children.
Since childcare facilities for young children
vary considerably from one country to another,
it is particularly interesting to see where the
best arrangements for reconciling the roles of
mother and working woman are provided and
what these arrangements are.
In terms of possibilities for fulfilling both
roles, three countries fall below the
62. CHOOSING OR COMBINING BY COUNTRY
Women
Community average: few Austrian (20%),
East or West German (25%) or Spanish
women (39%) feel that the two activities can
be combined; there are therefore more women
in these countries who believe that women are
forced to choose between working and having
children. At the opposite end of the scale, the
countries where the most women believe it is
possible to reconcile the two are Scandinavia
(Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and
Belgium. More than 60% of Dutch, Greek and
British women, and a large majority of French
and Italian women also support this view.
This is a reflection of the disparities between
the Member States in the area of child minding.
Men appear to share the opinions of their fellow countrywomen, although in most countries, slightly fewer men than women believe
that women can combine working and having
children.
44
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
2. HOW TO RESOLVE THE
WORK/FAMILY DILEMMA
63. CHILD-CARE FACILITIES AND SERVICES
OR FINANCIAL HELP ?
Clearly, it is not always possible for European
women to reconcile family and working life.
What specific measures would they therefore prefer to make things easier for them? Financial aid
to allow them to stop work temporarily? Aid in
the form of child-care facilities and services to
allow them to continue to work? Or more possibilities for homeworking ?
More child-care
facilities
and services
Financial
help
Men
46,7
44,1
Women
48,5
45,9
Financial help or assistance in kind ?
The first question was about the choice between
"assistance in kind" or "financial help", but it
also raised the issue of whether a mother should
continue to work or not, and the problems of
child minding. The answers given are therefore
subject to various influences which are not
always easy to appreciate. For example (cf.
Chapter II), using the terms "mother" or "young
child" in the question could influence some
respondents. In addition, the answers may
obviously be influenced by the standard of childcare facilities in a given country. In countries
where facilities are clearly inadequate, there is
more enthusiasm for financial aid to allow
mothers to stop work.
48% of those interviewed felt that "mothers of
young children should be enabled to continue
to work by being offered more child-care facilities and services" as opposed to 46% who preferred "financial help to enable them to stop
working temporarily". The answers varied to a
greater or lesser extent depending on sex, occu64. TYPE OF AID PREFERRED BY WOMEN
EU 15+ Q 107 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Which of these two statements do you agree with most ?"
pational status, the presence of dependent children and, above all, nationality.
The solution favoured by both sexes (48% of
women and 47% of men) and particularly by
the youngest women (56% of those aged 15 to
24 and 51% of those aged 25 to 39) was the
improvement of child-care facilities and services.
The greatest demand for financial aid came
from the oldest age bracket: 51% of women and
47% of men aged 55 and over. Working women
with children under 6 and working women
without children preferred more facilities, while
women who did not work and had children
opted for a temporary break from work with
financial compensation. Finally, slightly more
non-working men with dependent children
65. TYPE OF AID PREFERRED BY MEN
Answer to the question : "Would you prefer more child-care facilities and services or financial help ?"
EU 15+. Q.I 07 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
45
WORKING LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE
than women in the same categories preferred
more child-care facilities.
Disparities between the Member States
The differences between countries were much more
marked (Charts 64 and 65). Slightly more than
half of German, Dutch, Belgian, British and
Spanish women wanted more child-care facilities
and services while 70% of Finnish, 63% of Swedish
and the majority of Luxembourg, Danish, French,
Greek and Italian women expressed a preference
for a temporary break from professional activity
with financial compensation. Finally, throughout
Europe, there was little difference between the answers of men and women.
Homeworking
Europeans seemed to be attracted by the idea of
homeworking as a means of resolving the child
minding problem. For 49% of those interviewed,
homeworking was " a good solution for those
who want to continue to work while at the same
time looking after their children at home" (cf.
Table 66). However, 40% considered that it was
impossible "to work at home while at the same
time looking after the children". A majority of
women, particularly young women (55% in the
15-24 age group) agreed with the first statement.
A smaller majority of men shared this view,
though nearly 14% had no opinion. Both working and non-working people with children up to
the age of 15 expressed a preference for homeworking (54% and 58% respectively). Working
men and women alike with children under 6 felt
that it was impossible to work at home and look
after children at the same time (49% and 53%).
In all countries, more women than men considered homeworking to be a good solution to the child
minding problem. There was a significant difference between the answers from Finnish, Greek
and Belgian women on the one hand and Swedish
women on the other (± 20%), but overall, there
was little variation on the European average. More
men than women, particularly Belgians,
Germans, Austrians, Italians, Greeks, Spanish,
Portuguese and British, felt that it was impossible
to combine homeworking .with child minding.
66. IS HOMEWORKING COMPATIBLE WITH CHILD MINDING ?
Men
Women
15-24
(1904)
25-39
(3077)
40-54
(2474)
55+
(2866)
Total
(10321)
15-24
(1811)
25-39
(2972)
40-54
(2448)
55+
(3805)
Total
(11037)
TOTAL
(21357)
45.6
43.5
44.7
43.9
44.3
54.9
53.5
53.1
52.0
53.1
48.9
38.4
41,9
44.3
42.7
42.0
36.6
38.8
38.8
38.8
38.4
40,1
8.0
14.5
10.8
13.3
13.6
8.5
7.6
7.5
8.4
8.0
10.7
Working at home is a
good solution for those
who want to continue to work
while at the same time looking
after their children at home (A)
It is impossible to work
at home while at the same time
looking after the children (B)
Don't know
UE IS+. Q.78 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
67. DISTRIBUTION BY ACTIVITY AND PRESENCE OF CHILDREN
MEN
Working
children iged
under 6
6-15
(1MB)
(2241)
Proposition A
WOMEN
Working
no children
(3271)
Worting
children aged
under i 6.15
(60(1)
(1720)
Working
no children
(2224)
Notwoiiing
Not working
children aged
no children
under 6
6-15
(753)
(1907) (4391)
fotaf
TOTAL
(11037)
(21357)
39.5
45.0
44.4
44.3
47,9
54.5
50.8
52.8
58.4
51.6
53.1
48.9
Proposition B
52.6
53.1
45.1
38.4
NSP
15.5
7.6
7.4
9.3
EU 15+. Q.78 - Eurobawnetre 44.3 - Printemps 1996.
42.4
12.5
39.4
42.0
13.6
48.9
3.2
39.1
5.5
37.7
10,8
44.1
36.1
3.1
5.5
38.6
9,5
38.4
8.0
40.1
10.7
39.3
45.6
45.9
Networking Total
Not working
no children
(hlldren aged
under 6
6-15
(148)
(675)
(3415) (10321)
16.1
Answer to the question : "Which of these two statements do you agree with most ?"
46
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
68. BY COUNTRY
A. HOMEWORKING COMBINED WITH CHILD MINDING
3. SABBATICAL LEAVE
In general, Europeans welcomed measures to
help reconcile family and working life. An
agreement on parental leave has just been
adopted as a result of the social dialogue, but
since it is still a long way from being applied
uniformly throughout the Union, it was felt
that it was better to ask how Europeans felt
about the idea of taking unpaid leave,
without referring to the existing legislation.
The respondents were therefore asked to specify under what circumstances they would be
prepared to take unpaid leave.
Overall, slightly more than one-third of those
asked would be prepared to apply for unpaid
leave to bring up a child, follow a training
course or look after an elderly member of the
family, 29% for their own personal development and 26% in order to look for a new job.
The opinions of men and women coincided
on the subject of vocational training and job
seeking. For men in the youngest age bracket,
training was the most frequent answer (46%
of 15-24 year olds were prepared to take leave
to follow a training course) while among
women, this was the most common answer in
the 25-34 age group (43%). The oldest groups
expressed little interest in taking unpaid
leave to find a new job.
Practically twice as many women as men
would consider taking unpaid leave to bring
up a child. The ratio falls to 1.5 times when it
comes to looking after older relatives.
Overall, women - particularly in the 15-24
age bracket - were far more attracted than
men to the idea of sabbatical leave.
Naturally, working women with dependent
children were the most interested in taking
unpaid leave to bring up a child (58% and
54%) or to look after older relatives (46% and
48%). Working women with children under 6
were also the most enthusiastic about taking
leave to follow a training course (47%).
look for
a new job
Develop
Follow
yourself
a training
(sabbatical leave) course
Look
after older
relatives
Bring up
a child
UE 15+ Q. 25.A- Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Would you be ready or not to take exceptional
unpaid leave in order to ... ?"
47
WORKING LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE
70. LEAVE ... TO BRING UP A CHILD
71.... TO FOLLOW A TRAINING COURSE
EU 15+. Q. 25.A - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Breakdown by sex and country of origin
Attitudes towards sabbatical leave varied considerably according to sex and country. Twice as
many women as men said they would consider
taking leave to look after a child or an elderly
member of the family. Italian, Swedish, Austrian
and British women were far above the
Community average in this respect. Women
from the former GDR and Belgian women were
the most reluctant.
The differences between men and women on this
point are quite interesting. For example, among
the men, only the Swedish and Finnish were prepared to take leave to look after a child or elderly member of the family. 80% of Belgian, 75% of
French and two-thirds of Danish, German,
Greek, Spanish and Irish men were completely
opposed to interrupting their careers to stay at
home. The differences between men and women
were particularly marked in Ireland, Italy,
Austria and the United Kingdom (30%).
With regard to looking after elderly relatives, differences between countries were small. There
were also smaller differences between men and
women on this point, because European women
74. ... FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
EU 15 + Q 25 A - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
48
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
were less prepared to take leave to look after
elderly relatives than to bring up their children.
For the other questions, the replies of men and
women were fairly similar. However, Irish and
Spanish women were more eager than their male
compatriots to take leave to follow a training
course or for their own personal development.
Financial considerations
Those who rejected the idea of taking unpaid
leave to look after children or elderly relatives, were asked to give the two main reasons why. A large majority (62%) answered
that they " could not afford it", one-sixth
were held back by the fear of losing their job
and another sixth said they did not want to
be financially dependent on someone else.
For women in the 25-39 age bracket, the loss
of financial resources was the principal reason given (71% of answers), followed - a long
way behind - by the fear of being financially
dependent upon someone else. Women in
the 15-24 age group were more concerned
than the older age brackets about losing
their job. The difference between the men's
and women's answers was not very marked.
The answers given by those with dependent
children followed the same pattern: lack of
financial resources was by far the most
important reason given by both sexes for not
taking unpaid leave, followed by fear of
losing their job.
75. REASONS FOR NOT TAKING UNPAID LEAVE
Men
Women
15-24
25.39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(254)
(981)
(873)
(401)
(2509)
(108)
(354)
(443)
(230)
(1136)
(3645)
I cannot afford it
57.6
672
59.1
617
62.5
55.2
71.1
62.3
52.6
62.4
62.5
I am afraid of losing my job
20,8
15.9
19.2
22.9
16.0'
I am afraid it will harm my career 7.7
9.8
7,6
4.9
I do not want to be
financially dependent
on someone else
15.7
21.2
19.4
9.8
18.2
Other
6.1
4.3
10.1
17.7
Don't know
19.8
13.5
15.7
14.9
23.0
19.4
14.9
10.6
16.2
18.2
6.0
7.5
2.8
0.2
4.0
6.8
6.3
24.2
11.6
18.1
16.3
17.6
8.6
10.4
4.3
9.7
8.9
7.9
8.4
15.1
23.0
10.8
19.2
27.3
18.6
16.2
8.0
EU15+ Q 25 B - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Which are the two main reasons why you wouldn't take such unpaid leave ?"
49
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN EUROPE ?
WOMEN AND
DECISION-MAKING
The massive influx of women onto the
labour market is far from being matched by an increase in the number of
women in decision-making positions.
In the two traditional strongholds of
power, politics and business, few
women are to be found in the senior
ranks. The reasons given by European
men and women are yet another
reflection of how hidebound we are by
traditional mentalities. Family responsibilities are cited as the main obstacle
to women, while education is the best
means of ensuring that women find
their rightful place.
50
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. WHERE THERE'S A WILL
As the fourth Community programme stresses,
equality between the sexes is one of the fundamental principles of the European model of
democracy. However, recent studies - in particular, studies carried out by the European
Expert Network on women in decision-making
- have highlighted the absence or under-representation of women in centres of power,
influence and decision-making. Women may
be entitled to participate in elections and they
may be eligible for senior civil service posts, but
this has had little impact on equality in practice. The imbalance between men and women in
representative, administrative and advisory
bodies in the media, finance, justice and public
administration is evidence of a democratic
shortfall and deprives these institutions of their
full legitimacy. The increased presence of
women in decision-making institutions and
bodies could lead to a revitalisation of values,
ideas and behaviour which would benefit society as a whole and bring us nearer to the goal of
equal representation.
The European Commission and Parliament are
playing their part: five women have now been
appointed Commissioners (25%) and a group
of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men has been set up to ensure that the principle of equality is incorporated
into all European policies and programmes. In
addition, in its Communication of 5 luly 1995,
the Commission fixed new objectives for the
recruitment and promotion of women to positions of responsibility within its own organisation. It intends to continue its efforts to promote a better balance between men and women at
all levels. Finally, since June 1994, 27% ofMEPs
have been women. There is, then, some evidence of a political will which points the way forward, but improvements on a daily basis
concern us all. What is the attitude of European
men and women towards participation and
policy in this field? How much say do they have
about decisions at their own place of work?
Why are there fewer women than men in decision-making positions.
76. POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS
Men
Women
15-24
(1904)
25-39
(3077)
40-54
(2474)
55+
(2866)
Total
(10321)
Frequently
12.0
13.7
22.2
19.3
Occasionally
52.2
65.7
60.7
58.7
15-24
40-54
(2448)
55+
(1811)
25-39
(2972)
(3805)
Total
(11037)
17.0
7.5
9.8
11.8
12.5
10.8
13.8
60.0
52.2
58.0
56.9
45.7
52.5
56.2
31.2
31.1
41.0
35.9
29.3
1.0
0.2
0.8
0.7
0.7
Never
35.0
19.8
16.1
21.5
22.2
39.4
Don't know
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.8
TOTAL
(21357)
EU 15+. Q.2 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "When you get together with friends, would you say that you discuss political matters frequently, occasionally
or never ?"
77. FREQUENCY OF POLITICAL DISCUSSION IN 1983, 1989, 1994 AND 1996.
April-May 1983
July 1989
April 1994
April1996
H
W
M
W
M
W
M
W
Frequently
20
12
18
11
22
14
17
11
Occasionally
57
49
55
48
56
51
60
52
Never
22
37
27
40
21
34
22
36
Don't know
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
51
WOMEN AND DECISION-MAKING
1 "Women and men of
Europe today.
Attitudes towards
Europe and policies",
in the Women of
Europe Newsletter,
No 35, Commission
of the European
Communities,
Brussels, May 1991,
p. 2. See also:
Women and men of
Europe. Attitudes
towards Europe and
its policies,
November 1994,
74 pages.
2 Femmes et hommes
d'Europe aujourd'hui.
Les attitudes devant
I'Europe et la politique, op.cit., p. 3.
3 Ibid., p. 14.
4 Ibid., p. 16-17.
2. POLITICS,
A MAN'S WORLD?
The political behaviour and opinions of European
women have changed in recent years. In several
countries, we are seeing more women exercising
their right to vote or a new tendency to vote left(1).
A number of questions asked in 1983 and again in
1989 at the request of the Commission of the
European Communities, as part of the Eurobarometer surveys, also showed that the general
public, men and women alike, is increasingly prepared to accept women playing a more dominant
role in politics, once a strictly male preserve (2).
How have things changed over recent years?
One Eurobarometer 44.3 question reveals how
women's attitudes towards politics in 1996
have changed since previous surveys.
In 1996, as in 1994, 1989 and 1983, the following question concerning women and politics
was put: "When you get together with friends,
would you say that you discuss political matters
frequently, occasionally or never?"
Table 76 shows that women are less interested
in politics than men. In Europe, 77% of men
and 63% of women said that they "frequently"
and/or "occasionally" discussed politics with
their friends. Finally, more than one-third of
women and one-fifth of men never discussed
politics. There were other factors, apart from
sex, which explain the differences in attitudes
towards politics. For example, women's answers varied considerably depending on age,
level of education and professional activity.
Interest in politics decreases with age
The 1996 survey confirms the results of the
1989 survey, that interest in politics is low
among young people, increases in adults and
then falls again among the more elderly 0).
There were many more under 25s than 25-54
year olds who said that they never discussed
politics with their friends. A similar lack of
interest was also shown among women aged
over 55 (41% as opposed to 21% among men).
The difference between the two sexes rises
consistently with age. In the 15-24 age bracket,
35% of men and 39% of women said they never
discussed politics, a difference of 4%. This
increases to 11% among 25-39 year olds and
15% among 40-54 year olds, reaching its peak
at 20% among the 55 and over.
Both the 1996 and the 1989 surveys showed
that the difference increases with age, although
in 1989 the difference reached its peak among
those aged under 40. The 1996 survey seems to
indicate a slight increase in political interest
among young people and young adults, men
and women alike, although 1.5 times as many
women aged 25-39 as men of the same age said
they never discussed politics.
The necessary cultural background
The difference between male and female attitudes seems to depend on the level of education
(Table 78). In the least educated group (those
who left school before 15), 29% of men and 49%
of women never discussed politics with friends (a
difference of 20%). In the middle group, there
was a 10% difference (22% and 32%) and in
those who continued to study beyond the age of
20 the difference was 9% (10% and 19%). There
was a very marked increase among the most
educated group compared with the 1989 survey,
when the figures were 21% for men and 27% for
women. The author of the 1989 report rightly
said that "the better the education the smaller
the difference between men and women. In
other words, education is the best route for entering politics. Only if a woman has a good education is she likely to be as involved in politics as
a man(...) Growing numbers of women are
staying in education longer and they will therefore have the same political tools at their disposal as men, and be able to become opponents to
be reckoned with in any debate(4)". The results of
the 1996 survey thus reflect an improvement in
women's education.
Europe and political (dis)interest
Table 79 reveals considerable differences in attitudes between the countries of the European
Union. In Denmark, unified Germany, Greece,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria,
Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, more
than 80% of men often or occasionally discussed
politics with their friends. Conversely, as in 1989,
one-third of men in Spain, Portugal and Ireland
said that they never discussed politics. The
Belgians and French were only slightly more
interested in the subject ,.26%). It was in the
countries where there was little interest in politics that the differences between men and
women were the greatest. Interest in politics was
thus particularly low amongst Belgian, Greek
52
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
and Spanish women, around
17% lower than their male
counterparts, and Italian and
British women (20% and 23%
difference). Danish, East
German, Dutch, Swedish and
Finnish women were the closest
in attitude to men (between 5
and 8 % difference). There
seems to have been very little
real change over the last seven
years on this point. We still
have a two-tier Europe: the
north where women are also
interested in politics and the
much more traditional south together with Belgium, the
United Kingdom and Ireland where politics continues to be a
man's world.
78. INTERESTS IN POLITICS AND EDUCATION
Often
Occasionally
Never
M
W
M
W
M
W
TOTAL
17.0
10.8
60.0
52.5
22.2
35,9
LEVEL
OF EDUCATION
14.7
6.8
55.4
43.3
29.2
49.2
16-19
15.5
11.9
61.6
54.9
22.0
32.3
20 and over
23.6
16.9
65.6
63.7
10.1
19.2
Still studying
15.4
9.0
54.7
55.5
29.3
34.1
EU 15+. Q.2 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "When you get together with friends, would you
say that you discuss political matters frequently, occasionally or never ?"
79. INTEREST IN POLITICS, BY COUNTRY
B
DK
WD
D
OD
OR
E
F
1RL
I
L
NL
A
P
FIN
S
UK
UE
15+
Often
9.4
19.9
19.7
21.1
26.4
29.7
9.3
14.5
15.4
23.2
23.4
14.8
20.7
10.2
15.7
13.8
13.8
17.0
Occasionally
64.0
63.4
66.5
65.8
62.8
49.6
58.1
58.4
50.9
61.4
55.3
64.9
60.8
47.8
64.6
68.6
68.6
60.0
Never
26.1
16.7
11.6
11.1
9.0
20.6
32.3
26.9
31.6
15.2
20.7
19.8
16.9
41.9
19.5
17.6
17.6
22.2
Don't know
0.5
0.0
1.6
1.5
1.0
0.0
0.3
0.2
2.1
0.1
0.7
0.5
1.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
Often
4.2
18.8
11.7
12.7
16,5
16.4
6.8
10.6
7.7
11.3
11.2
12.2
12.2
6.5
12.0
12,7
11.4
10.8
Occasionally
49.4
57.3
58.6
60.1
65.5
48.2
42.5
56.1
41.5
51.3
54.2
63.6
57.1
35.1
61.7
67.9
47.6
52.5
Never
46.3
23.9
28.3
25.9
16.9
35.3
49.7
32.8
49.9
36,9
32.2
23.8
28.4
57.5
25.1
19.1
40.7
35.9
Don't know
0.2
0.0
1.4
1.3
0.7
0.2
0.9
0.5
0.9
0.5
2.4
0.4
2.3
1.0
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.7
MEN
WOMEN
EU I 5+. Q.2 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "When you are with friends, would you say that you often, occasionally or never discuss politics ?"
53
WOMEN AND DECISION-MAKING
3. THE SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE
Given the growing numbers of women entering
the labour market, it should naturally follow
that they have more say in decision-making at
work. But what is happening in reality?
Europeans were asked three questions about
consultation at the workplace. Only those in
employment were questioned.
Age counts
When Europeans were asked how much say they
had in decisions taken by the company which
affected the way they did their job, nearly onethird (32%) replied that they would have no
influence. Nearly two-thirds felt that they could
influence a decision: 11% felt that they would
have a great deal of influence and 29% said they
would have little influence (see chart and table
below)..
The answers from men and women were fairly
similar, differing by at most 2%. However, age
does appear to have some impact. Nearly twice
as many men aged 55 and over as those in the
15-24 age bracket felt that they would have a
great deal of influence (11% as opposed to 6%)
and 28% felt they could exerdse "quite a lot of
influence" (as opposed to 22% among the youngest age bracket). The views of women closely
reflected those of men and again the differences
between the generations were very marked.
Europeans are satisfied
The differences are much more marked if the
results are broken down by sex and country. More
than two-fifths of former GDR, British and Spanish
women and one-third of Belgian, Irish,
Luxembourg and Austrian women felt that they
could not exercise any influence on a decision
taken at their place of work which concerned them
directly. More than one-quarter of Portuguese,
Dutch, Greek and French women shared this opinion, as do one-sixth of Italian, Danish and
Swedish women. The highest percentages of
women who felt that they had a lot of influence
were to be found in Denmark, Sweden and
Portugal (20%). The majority of Italian, Finnish,
former Federal Republic and Greek women believed that they could influence such a decision "just
a little" or "quite a lot". In all Member States apart
from Italy, the former Federal Republic of
Germany, Austria, France and Luxembourg, fewer
men than women felt they could exercise no
influence. Twice as many Finnish men as women
said they could have a great deal of influence.
Sweden had the highest proportion of men who
felt they could exercise a lot of influence.
80. BEING CONSULTED ON CHANGES
No
Yes.
Yes,
Yes,
a great deal quite a lot just a little
of influence or influence influence
EL) 1 S+ Q 26 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
81. AT THEIR PLACE OF WORK
Women
Men
15-24
25-39
(1494)
40-54
(1239)
55+
(546)
35.0
31.2
34.6
7.0
8.7
10,6
16.1
26.1
28.4
34.9
3.8
5,8
15-24
25-39
40-54
(644)
(2132)
(1580)
55+
(554)
Total
(4908)
(518)
No
36.1
31.9
30.5
28.3
31.6
Yes, a great deal of influence
6.4
10.3
15.8
11.2
11.7
Yes, quite a lot of influence
21.6
24.3
22.9
28.1
23.9
Yes, just a little influence
30.7
28.9
27.0
28.1
Don't know
4.3
4.2
3.4
3.3
Total
(3707)
TOTAL
30.5
32.8
32.1
12.8
9.6
10.8
19.2
27.6
22.6
23.3
27,4
31.7
20.7
29.1
287
4.6
3.7
8.4
4,9
4.3
(8615)
EU 15+. 0.26 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "Suppose there was to be some decision made at your place of work that changed the way you do your job.
Do you think that you personally would have any say in the decision about the change, or not? ( I f yes) How much influence over the decision do you think that you personally would have ?"
54
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
Answer to the
question:
"Do you think
that you should
have more say
in the decisions
that affect your
work or are you
satisfied with
the way things
are ?"
82. SATISFIED WITH THE WAY DECISIONS
AFFECTING YOUR WORK ARE TAKEN?
EU 15+. Q. 27- Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Opportunity, or lack of,
to express your views at work
To conclude the analysis of worker participation
in decision-making, a final question was put to
Europeans on the way in which they were able
"to express your views about what is happening
in the organisation". A large majority of men
(58%) said that their management organised
meetings at which they were able to express
their views. However, 45% of women questioned
said that this type of meeting was not organised. The difference between men's and women's
answers was particularly marked in the oldest
age brackets (8% between men aged 40 to 54
and women in the same group and 10% in the
55 and over group).
Asked whether they thought they should In Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the
"have more say in decisions that affect their Netherlands two thirds (cr more) of working
work" (Table 82), a large majority said they women were able to attend meetings organised
were satisfied with the way things were, while by the management where they could express
two out of five felt that they should have their opinions. This also applied to a clear
more say. The older age groups seemed to be majority of former GDR, British, Austrian and
the most satisfied with their situation, while French women. A striking 25% fewer
among 25-39 year olds of both sexes 44% of
Portuguese, Spanish and Italian women than
men and 40% of women felt they should Scandinavian women said they were invited to
have more say.
express their opinions at work.
An analysis of those who felt they "should have
more say" reveals clear differences between the
Member States and between the sexes. Nearly
half of French women (48%) and two-fifths of
Swedish, Finnish Italian, former GDR and
British women felt that they should have more
say in decisions affecting their
work (Chart 83).
83. SHOULD YOU HAVE MORE SAY ABOUT YOUR WORK
In other Member States, the
percentages were slightly
below the European average
(38.5%). The greatest differences between the numbers of
men and women who felt they
should have more say were to
be found in the Netherlands
and Luxembourg (16% difference). Differences were also
marked in Greece (12%),
Portugal (11%) and the United
Kingdom where the highest
number of men wanted to
have more say. In France, the
EU15+ Q 27 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
former GDR, Finland, Sweden,
Denmark and Belgium, it was Answer to the question : "Do you think that you should have more say in
the women who felt they the decisions that affect your work or are you satisfied with the way things
should have more say.
are ?" Breakdown by sex of those answering "should have more say".
55
WOMEN AND DECISION-MAKING
4. THE BURDEN OF FAMILY
RESPONSIBILITIES
84. WHY DO WOMEN LESS OFTEN HOLD POSITIONS
OF RESPONSIBILITY ?
Why do fewer women than men hold key positions? The main reason given was of a domestic
nature: the burden of family responsibilities.
Next, European men and women pointed to "a
work environment dominated by men who do
not have enough trust in women" (52%). Next
came the fact that "women are less ready than
men to fight to make a career" (17%). No more
than 10% of them felt that "women are not interested" by positions of responsibility or that they
"do not always have the required qualities to
hold positions of responsibility".
They are not Women are Women have The work
Women do
interested
less ready
less time environment not always
than men to because of is dominated have the
fight to make their family by men who
required
a career
burdens
do not have qualities to
enough trust
hold
in women
positions of
responsibility
EU 15+ Q.102 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "In your opinion, what are the two main reasons why women less often hold positions of responsibility?
Is it because ... ?"
The sex and age of those asked influenced the
answers. For example, women placed far more
emphasis than men on the burden of family
responsibilities (65% as opposed to 59%) and
the fact that the working environment is dominated by men (55% as opposed to 50%). The
youngest age group of women (15-24) were
most concerned with the fact that men did not
have enough trust in them (63%), compared
with 55% of men in the same age brackets and
55% of women aged 55 or over..
85. OPINIONS ON THE REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Women
Men
15-24
(1904)
25.39
40.54
Total
(10321)
25-39
40-54
55+
(2474)
55+
(2866)
15.24
(3077)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
Total
TOTAL
(11037) (21357)
They are not interested
10.9
8.7
98
8.9
9.4
6.4
7.8
6.1
8.1
7.3
8.3
Women are less ready
than men to fight
to make a career
14.7
178
18,7
20,6
18.2
153
16.8
18.3
17.4,
171
17.6
52.9
56.9
61.0
63.0
588
60.6
63,3
64.3
67.9
64.6
61.8
54.6
52.5
50.3
430
49.7
631
590
579
45.1
54.6
52.3
10.9
12.5
9.5
13.4
117
50
6.9
7.2
10.1
7.8
9.7
Other
2.4
2.1
2.5
2.6
2.4
13
2.2
2.0
1.3
1.7
20
Don't know
5.7
3.8
4.2
4.5
4.4
2.4
2.6
3.2
4.3
3.3
3.8
Women have less time
because of their family burdens
The work environment is
dominated by men who
do not have enough
rust in women
Women do not always
have the required qualities
o hold positions of
responsibility
EU 15+ Q 102 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "In your opinion, what are the two main reasons why women less often hold positions of responsibility7 I s it
because... ?".
56
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
Family responsibilities were the
reason most often given by the
oldest women (68%). Slightly
fewer young Europeans gave
this as a reason: 61% of women
and 53% of men. In general,
more men than women still felt
that women were not interested
in posts of responsibility (+ 2%)
that they were "less ready than
men to fight to make a career"
(+ 1%) or that they did "not
always have the required qualities to hold this type of post"
(+ 4%).
86. REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSTS
BY COUNTRY
Family
Different reasons
Once again there were huge
disparities between the sexes
and countries. Although, overall, the majority of
Europeans believed that women held fewer positions of responsibility because of family responsibilities, this reason was given more often in some
European countries than in others. For example,
four-fifths of Greek women, 70% of British,
Finnish, Belgian and Swedish women and twothirds of Italian, German and Irish women gave
this as the reason. French women (66%) and
Spanish women (65%) considered the maledominated nature of the work environment to be
the biggest problem. More than half of Swedish
women (55%) felt that "women are less ready
than men to fight to make a career", an opinion
shared by 42% of Danish, 36% of Finnish and
25% of Dutch women. More women in these
countries also said that they were not interested
in posts of responsibility (between 11% and 16%).
Finally, in most Member States, the proportion of
women who said that they "do not always have
the required qualities to hold positions of responsibility" did not exceed 10%. Austria was the
only exception, where one woman in five shared
this view.
There were fairly significant differences between
the sexes on this point. In Sweden, Spain and
Denmark, for example, 8% more women than
men felt that their family responsibilities prevented them from holding down posts of responsibility.
The difference was even greater in Greece,
Ireland, Austria (10%) and the Netherlands
(13%). In addition, more women than men in
Ireland, Spain (12%), France and Austria (8%)
referred to the male-dominated aspect of the
work environment. Finally, in Germany, Austria,
Spain and Greece, considerably more men than
women felt that women "do not always have the
required qualities to hold positions of responsibility" or that "they are not interested".
57
WOMEN AND DECISION-MAKING
86. REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSTS
BY COUNTRY
86. REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSTS
BY COUNTRY
Qualifications
Professional environment
EU 15+. Q. 202 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
86. REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSTS
BY COUNTRY
Career
86. REASONS WHY THERE ARE FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSTS
BY COUNTRY
Interest
59
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN IN EUROPE ?
TOWARDS
FULL EQUALITY
OF OPPORTUNITY
The fight for equal opportunities is and
must remain a priority for the European
Union. Equality is widely seen as a factor
in strengthening democracy. However,
Europeans are very often unaware of existing national and Community laws,
actions and initiatives to combat inequality. A comparison with previous surveys
shows that awareness of such measures has
actually fallen.
The 1996 survey outlines areas for progress,
examines the responsibilities of the sexes
and considers the strength of collective and
individual action respectively. It examines
emerging priorities both in the private
sphere (greater sharing of tasks) and in
terms of public action at European level
(greater respect for the individual, male or
female) to bring about the much needed
move towards full equality of opportunity.
60
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
1. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: A PRIORITY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION
The European Community has been a prime
mover in changing the status of women in
society. It first established the legal principle of
equal treatment at work and to a large extent
with regard to social security on the basis of
Article 119 of the Treaty enshrining the principle of equal pay. Realising that equal opportunities are conditional upon, but not necessarily guaranteed by, equality in law, the
Commission also instituted a host of measures
through three consecutive programmes to promote de facto equality. To this end it has lent
its support to various initiatives such as setting
up networks, stepping up its information and
communication activities, supporting pilot activities or studies and identifying and disseminating sound practice.
At the Fourth World Conference on Women
held in Beijing in September 1995, the
European Union said it was ready to build
upon these achievements and to confirm and
increase its commitment to the democratic
values of equal opportunities. The European
summits at Essen, Cannes and Madrid reaffirmed the priorities of combating unemployment and promoting equal opportunities.
Equal opportunities strengthen
democracy
How do Europeans view equal opportunities? More
than two fifths "agree totally" that "equality of
opportunity strengthens democracy, makes personal development easier and improves human relationships". Over two thirds "disagree totally" with
the opinion that "equal opportunities bring more
harm than good in daily life".
87. THE EFFECTS OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Strengthens
democracy
Makes the
personal
Brings more
Improves
harm than
the quality
development good in daily of human
relationships
of women and life
men easier
Men
43,2
40,5
7,4
40,9
Women
45,8
45,1
6,3
44,9
EU15*- Q 98 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
"Agree totally" with each statement.
Slightly more women than men agreed with the
first three opinions (approx. 5 percentage
points). Women in the age group 40-54 were by
far the largest group (50%) to consider that equality of opportunity is one of the factors that
contribute to strengthening democracy and
improving human relationships. Young men
(15-24 years) had more mixed opinions: a higher
proportion "agreed" than "agreed totally" with
the first three opinions expressed.
In general, big differences can be seen between
the mole and female responses in all the Member
States, but there were also similarities in the
country rankings. With regard to the effects of
equal opportunities on democracy, personal
development and human relationships, for
example, it can clearly be seen that the female
respondents in the former FRG, Austria,
Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland and the United
Kingdom had response levels below the
Community average, while almost three times as
many Danish and Dutch as British women
agreed totally. The Spanish, Italian, Swedish
and Greek women had response levels above the
Community average, with a considerable majority of the women in these countries strongly in
agreement with the opinions expressed.
The distribution of male responses by country is
quite similar to the female responses, with the
exception of the united Germany and Austria,
where the women were more definitely in agreement with the first three opinions than their
male counterparts. It should also be noted that
relatively more Spanish, Italian and Greek
women than men disagreed with the idea that
"equal opportunities bring more harm than
good in daily life".
61
TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
2. A LACK OF AWARENESS
OF MEASURES
TO PROMOTE EQUALITY
European public opinion is therefore strongly in
favour of equal opportunities for women and
men. But to what extent are Europeans aware of
what the different Member States of the
European Union are doing to promote equality?
The two questions designed to ascertain their
awareness were asked previously in 1983 and
1987, and on both occasions the public was
obviously poorly informed. Unfortunately, it has
to be said that the situation has not improved.
The chart below shows the extent to which
European public opinion is unaware of national
laws that allow "women to demand the same
treatment as men".
34% of the respondents said they "did not know"
that such laws were in force and 11% thought no
such laws existed. Only 22% said that such laws
existed and that they were applied in practice.
Women were less aware than men of the existence of legislation (37% compared to 31% of
men) and unusually, men in the 40-54 age group
were more likely than any other group to think
that "the laws exist and are applied in practice"
(30%, i.e. 11 percentage points higher than the
rate for women in the same age group).
The results show that in 1996, more Europeans
gave a negative response than in 1983 and 1987
(+ 4 percentage points) and that more people
88. EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ...
Men
Women
62
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
89. EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ...
... strengthens democracy
89. EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ...
... Makes personal development easier
EU 15+ Q 98 A - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
89. EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ...
... improves human relationships
89. EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ...
... brings more harm than good in daily life
Of-
Classification on the basis of the reply "agree totally"
Classification on the basis of the reply "disagree totally"
Answer to the question : "Could you please tell me if you agree totally, agree, disagree or disagree totally with the following opinions.
Equality between men and women...".
90. ARE THERE LAWS TO PROMOTE
EQUALITY ?
Answer to the
question:
"Do you know
if there are
laws in your
country which
allow women to
demand the
same treatment
as men at
work? I f YES,
are they
applied m practice or not?"
gave no response (34% "did not know" compared to 28% in 1983 and 26% in 1987). Where
they knew that the legislation existed, they went
on to say that it was not applied in practice.
Lastly, the proportion of respondents who considered that the laws are applied has fallen continually, from 30% in 1983 to 27% in 1987 and
22% in 1996.
The lack of awareness among those who are
directly affected by these measures, i.e. the active
population, is rising steadily. Fewer men and
women in 1996 than in 1987 said that they knew
such laws existed. More women than men said
they regretted that the laws were not applied in
practice.
EU 15+ Q U O - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
63
TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
Women are less aware of
the existence of equal
opportunities legislation
91. ARE THERE LAWS?
Women
EU 15*. Q 11O - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "Do you know if there are laws in your country which allow women to
demand the same treatment as men at work. I f YES, are they applied m practice or not?"
Classification on the basis of the reply "Yes, but they are not applied".
91. ARE THERE LAWS?
EU 15+ Q U O - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
92. DOES THE EUROPEAN UNION DEAL
WITH THE PROBLEM ?
ED 15+ Q 100 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : In your opinion, do the institutions of the European Union deal with equality between men and women at work? I f YES, do they seem to
deal with this issue efficiently, or not ?"
Opinions on this question varied
from country to country.
Awareness of "laws which allow
women to demand the same
treatment as men at work" was
particularly lacking in Luxembourg. Greece, Ireland, Spain
and Portugal had response levels
considerably below the Community average, since a large majority of respondents (especially
women) admitted that they did
not know of any legislation.
Where women replied that such
laws definitely existed, they
quickly added that they were not
applied in practice: 52% of the
female respondents in Denmark,
46% in France, 40% in Sweden,
39% in the former GDR and 37%
in Finland were of this opinion
and were therefore above the
European average (33%). It
should also be noted that in
Portugal, Italy and the former
GDR, the proportion of women
who responded that "the laws
exist but are not applied in practice" was twice as high as the proportion of women
who considered that they were applied in practice.
This percentage was three times as high in Spain
and Denmark and five times as high in France.
Lastly, it must unfortunately be noted that in most
Member States, women were less aware than men
of the existence of such legislation, even though it
is they who are most affected by it.
While almost half of all Europeans are unaware
of national laws, the lack of knowledge about the
European Union's activities is even greater (60%).
Barely more than a third of respondents said they
knew about the Community's activities in the
area of equality. One-sixth considered that the
European institutions were dealing efficiently
with equality issues and one-quarter considered
that they were not efficient. Far more women
than men, especially in the age group 55 and
over, were unaware of the European Union's role
in this area. As is the case for national legislation, lack of knowledge about Community measures has increased over the past few years and
64
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
93. DOES THE EUROPEAN UNION DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM ?
Women
EU 15+. Q.100 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
93. DOES THE EUROPEAN UNION DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM ?
Men
EU 15+. Q.100 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996
Classification on the basis of the reply "don't know".
the number of Europeans, whether economically
active or not, who think that the Union deals with
equality issues is barely above the 1983 level.
Whether economically active or not, Europeans
know very little about the measures taken by the
Europe of Fifteen in the area of equal opportunities.
3. HOW CAN INEQUALITIES BE ELIMINATED?
To eliminate unequal opportunities in Europe, "who should
change first, men or women"?
"Both" was the answer given
by over 40% of respondents.
39% said that men should
change first and 9% that
women should change their
behaviour first. The responses
were strongly influenced by
the respondents' gender and
age.
Women were much more adamant than men that men
should change first (45% as
opposed to 33% of men). Men
were more inclined than
women to say that both
should change (44% compared to 40%) and twice as
many men as women (12% as
opposed to 6%) expected
women to change first. At
50%, women in the age group
15-24 were the ones who most
wanted men to change. This
figure was 19 percentage points higher than
the rate for European males in the same age
group. Lastly, it should be noted that more
than one in ten male respondents had no opinion on the matter.
94. WHO SHOULD CHANGE FIRST ?
Chart 93 shows that 84% of the Swedish
women and two-thirds of the Dutch, Italian,
Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Portuguese,
Austrian and Belgian women do not know
that the European Union is active in the area
of "equal opportunities for men and women in
the workplace". Luxembourg, Greece, the united Germany and Ireland are the four countries where women have above average awareness of Community policies. In this respect
too, it can be seen that men are again better
informed than their female counterparts.
EU 15+. Q.97. Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
Answer to the question : "In order to remove any
inequalities that may exist between men and women,
who do you think should change first, men or women ?"
65
TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
95. BY AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS
Women
Men
Men
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
15-24
25-39
40-54
55+
Total
TOTAL
(1904)
(3077)
(2474)
(2866)
(10321)
(1811)
(2972)
(2448)
(3805)
(11037)
(21357)
31.2
34.4
31.4
32.7
32.6
50.4
47.7
46,8
39.2
45.0
39.0
4.6
5.7
6.6
7.1
6.2
8.9
Women
13.8
10.8
9.9
13.0
11.7
Both
453
44.0
45.2
40.7
43.6
38.5'
42.2
38.8
39.1
39.8
41.6
DK
9.3
10.4
12.8
13.1
11.5
6.2
4.3
7.6
13.8
8.6
10.0
EU 15+ Q 97 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "In order to remove any inequalities that may exist between men and women, who do you think should change first, men or women ?".
96. "MEN SHOULD CHANGE" ACCORDING TO THE
WOMEN
EU 15+. Q. 97 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
"Men should change first" according to the women. Distribution by
country. Classification on the basis of the reply "Men".
97. "BOTH SHOULD CHANGE" ACCORDING TO THE
MEN
The responses also varied from country to
country. More than half of the Finnish, British
and Dutch women considered that men should
change first. In contrast, 61% of the Luxembourgish women and a large majority of the
Belgian, Danish and German women considered that inequalities would be eliminated
when both men and women changed their
attitudes. It is interesting to note that in
Greece, Austria, Portugal and Finland, more
than one in ten women stated that women
should change first.
The men's responses were classified on the basis
of the reply "both" since, as was previously stated, men tended to agree more with this statement. Like the Luxembourgish and Belgian
women, more men in Luxembourg and
Belgium (58%) than in any of the other countries thought that both sexes should change.
This was also the opinion of a majority of the
Italian and Irish men (50%). Almost half of the
Finnish men and 45% of the Dutch, Swedish
and British men thought that men should
change first, and were therefore in full agreement with the female respondents in their
countries. In Greece, the former FRG, Spain,
Austria and Portugal, almost one man in six
still thinks that women should change their
behaviour first.
A battle to be fought
EU 15+ Q. 97 - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996
"Both women and men should change" according to the men.
Distribution by country. Classification on the basis of the reply "Both".
While it is important that changes take place on
an individual level, collective action must also be
taken. For 54% of Europeans, "the most efficient
means of reducing inequalities between women
and men is for women to act together to defend
their rights". 16% thought that it would be better for each woman to fight on her own and 19%
66
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
98. THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY
EU 15+. Q 99 - Eurobarometer 44 3 - Spring 1996.
Answer to the question : "In your opinion, what is
the most efficient means of reducing inequalities which
may exist between men and women ?".
thought that the fight should be both collective
and individual.
Slightly more women than men thought that
collective action was more efficient (+ 5 points).
Men were twice as likely to give no opinion
(14% as opposed to 7%). There were few differences between age groups. Women in the 4054 age group, however, more often stressed collective action (60%), whereas younger women
advocated individual action (18%).
Agreement among men and women at
Member State level
More than two-thirds of the German women
and 60% of the British and Spanish women
opted for collective action, whereas one-third of
the Dutch and Finnish women advocated individual action. Although they favoured collective defence of their interests, the Danish, Greek,
Austrian and Portuguese women were, however, the women who most frequently stated that
"women must fight on their own to defend their
rights". It should also be pointed out that onethird of the Luxembourgish women and more
than one-quarter of the Belgian, Italian and
Swedish women stated that a combination of
individual and collective action could be "an
efficient means of reducing inequalities between women and men".
Lastly, there is some similarity between the
choices made by the men and women in each
Member State. Like their female counterparts,
the men in the former GDR, Greece, Spain and
the United Kingdom were more strongly in
favour of collective action than the Community
average. The Dutch, Portuguese and Finnish
men, like the women in those countries, were
more often in favour of individual action, while
the Luxembourgish, Italian and Belgian men,
like their female counterparts, stressed the
importance of combining the two areas of collective and individual action more often than
citizens of any other country in the Europe of
Fifteen.
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TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
4. PRIORITIES IN THE FIGHT
AGAINST INEQUALITY
Sharing household tasks: an absolute
priority
While the vast majority of Europeans are
convinced of the need for progress in the area of
equal opportunities for women and men, in
what areas do they think priority action should
be taken? The respondents were asked to react
to a list of areas where equality between men
and women does not exist: to begin with they
had to give an absolute priority for action and
then they had to list two other areas where
change was particularly important in their
view.
Almost a quarter of European men and women
were of the view that "sharing household tasks"
was the most important area where action
should be taken to fight inequality. In second
place came "respecting the individual" (22%),
i.e. respect for the male and female identity and
for the individual freedom that this implies.
Next came "access to positions of responsibility" (15%) and "sharing children's education"
(10%). A sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in business (6%), politics
(5%) and law (3%) appear to have lower priority in the list of demands. However, if the number of times that these three areas are mentioned is added to the proportion of those who
stress access to positions of responsibility, we
can see that more than a quarter of the
Europeans questioned (29%) wished for greater
equality in terms of positions of responsibility.
8% of those asked did not express an opinion.
The list is given below :
• Sharing household tasks
• Sharing children's education
• Sharing entertainment and free time
• Respecting the individual
• Access to positions of responsibility
• Taking part in political life
• A sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in law
• A sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in business
• A sufficient number of women with positions of
responsibility in journalism and media
• Access to higher education
• None
• Other
99. THE PRIORITY OF SHARING HOUSEHOLD TASKS
ACCORDING TO NATIONALITY
EU 15+. Q.101.A - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
An examination of the two areas given as
second and third priorities shows that more
than a quarter of European men and women
chose "sharing children's education" (26%) and
"access to positions of responsibility" (25%).
Sharing household tasks and respecting the
individual were also high on the list of priorities
of those who did not put them in first position.
There is little divergence in the distribution of
responses by sex and age of the respondents.
More women than men wanted men to play a
greater role in sharing household tasks, especially women in the age groups 25-39 (27%)
and 55 and over (28%), while men in the same
age groups tended to place greater emphasis on
access to positions of responsibility (19% and
13%). The differences were rarely greater than
6 percentage points. When the responses to the
opinion that was listed as the top priority
- "sharing household tasks" - are distributed
according to the sex and country of origin of
the respondents, and then classified in decreasing order based on the female responses, quite
marked differences can be seen between the
male and female respondents and also between
countries.
With the exception of Denmark, the former
GDR and Finland, where more men than
women (+5%) wanted greater sharing of household tasks, more women than men in all the
68
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN IN EUROPE ?
other countries wanted household tasks shared
more evenly. The proportions were a third of
all women in Ireland and Spain and a quarter
in Luxembourg, Belgium, the former FRG,
Portugal, Italy and Austria. The proportion of
French, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Finnish
women who opted for this opinion was fairly
low, varying between 14% and 18%. These
variable proportions probably reflect different
cultural behaviour: on the one hand, men are
more involved in household tasks than in the
past, while on the other hand, the female
respondents appear to accept a lack of male
involvement in the domestic sphere. It is also
possible that women do not look very favourably upon male involvement in a domain that
was always their preserve.
Europe must promote respect for the
individual
Taking the above list again, the respondents
were then asked to state what in their view
should be the priority areas for European Union
action, with the generally recognised exception
of unemployment which was dealt with elsewhere. Here too, the respondents had first to give
an absolute priority for the European Union,
followed by two other priority areas.
For almost one fifth of European men and
women, (18%), "respecting the individual"
should be the priority area for European Union
action. This was followed by "access to positions of responsibility "(16%) and "taking part
in political life"(12%). Almost 18% of respondents did not have an opinion, which is an
100. "RESPECTING THE INDIVIDUAL" AS AN ABSOLUTE
PRIORITY FOR THE UNION
extremely high proportion. 20% prioritised "a
sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility", of which positions of responsibility
in business accounted for 9%, in law 7% and in
journalism and the media 4%.
As regards the second and third priorities, issues
of responsibility came out on top. "A sufficient
number of women in positions of responsibility
in business" came first (23%) ahead of "access
to positions of responsibility" (22%) and
"taking part in political life (21%). "A sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in law" (18%) was mentioned ahead of
"respecting the individual" (13%) and "a sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in the media and journalism" (12%).
Areas for action in the private sphere such as
"sharing household tasks" and "children's education", which were prioritised in the first question, were relegated to the bottom of the order
of priorities for the European Union.
Once again, there were few differences between
the male and female responses: when it came
to choosing the priority area for European
Union action, slightly more European men
than women stressed respect for the individual,
access to positions of responsibility and participation in political life, but the difference was
rarely greater than 3%. A higher proportion of
women than men of all ages stated that a "sufficient number of women in positions of responsibility in business" should be a priority.
At Member State level, it can be seen that one
quarter of Greek, Danish, Italian and Swedish
women and one-fifth of Belgian, Dutch, French
and Finnish women chose "respecting the individual" as the area of priority action for the
Union. Less than 15% of Austrian, Irish,
Luxembourgish and British women chose this
option. However, it is important to note that,
with the exception of Ireland, Belgium and all
of the German Ldnder, more men than women
stressed "respect for the individual". This difference in opinion between men and women was
particularly strong in Greece, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Definite expectations
EU 15+. Q.IOI .C - Eurobarometer 44.3 - Spring 1996.
While for the vast majority of Europeans the
fight against unemployment remains one of
the priority areas for European Union action, it
seems that improved conditions for women will
69
TOWARDS FULL EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
come about through greater sharing of responsibilities (in the home and with regard to children) in the private sphere, and respect for the
male and female identity. European men and
women were less affirmative with regard to
action at Community level (more than a quarter "did not know"), but when they did have an
opinion, they wanted the European Union to
promote a more even sharing of responsibilities
in working life and politics.
European Commission
Equal opportunities for women and men in Europe?
Eurobarometer 44.3 — Results of an opinion survey
Luxembourg Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
1998 — 69 pp — 21 x 29 7 cm
ISBN 92-828-5236-9
Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg ECU 15