Abstract
In the USA the change in women's role in the economy over the last quarter-century has been likened to 'a quiet revolution'. Can we also talk of a quiet 'revolution' in Europe? The present article addresses this question by reviewing key developments in women's labour market position at EU level over the last 20 years. Full integration of women in the labour market was a focal point of European Employment Strategy, based on the understanding that it is an essential ingredient of gender equality; but it recently lost priority in favour of human rights and anti-discrimination goals. Policy responses to the financial crisis accelerated this change in priorities together with the perception that men are the real losers of the crisis. However, a stock-taking of women's integration into the labour market at EU level shows that two large obstacles stand in the way of full integration: regional imbalances and the secondary earner question. Female employment recently outperformed male employment, but fiscal consolidation policies currently hinder advancement in countries like the so-called GIPSI group, where progress is needed most. Meanwhile differences with respect to men in pension income or total earnings remain high at around forty percent. Reconciliation policy at EU level – leave design and care service provisioning in particular – had not consistently helped rebalance the gender division of labour within households. It needs recasting for a truly revolutionary change in women’s role in the economy to materialize.
References
Bertrand, Marianne. 2015. Unlocking the Psychological Keys to Economic Independence. In Visions for Gender Equality, ed. Francesca Bettio, and Silvia Sansonetti. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Bettio, Francesca, Marcella Corsi, Carlo D’Ippoliti, Antigone Lyberaki, Manuela Samek Lodovici, and Alina Verashchagina. 2013. The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Situation of Women and Men and on Gender Equality Policies. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Bettio, Francesca, and Janneke Plantenga. 2004. Comparing Care Regimes in Europe. Feminist Economics 10(1): 85–133.
Blau, Francine D., and Andrea H. Beller. 1998. Trends in Earnings Differentials by Gender, 1971–1981. ILR Review 41(4): 513–529.
Boll, Christina, Julian Leppin, Anja Rossen, and Andre Wolf. 2016. Magnitude and Impact Factors of the Gender Pay Gap in EU Countries. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Bruning, Gwennaële, and Janneke Plantenga. 1999. Parental Leave and Equal Opportunities: Experiences in Eight European Countries. Journal of European Social Policy 9(3): 195–209.
Chiuri, Maria Concetta. 1999. Intra-household Allocation of Time and Resources: Empirical Evidence on a Sample of Italian Household with Young Children. CSEF Working Papers No. 15.
Dearing, Helene. 2015. Does Parental Leave Influence the Gender Division of Labour? Recent Empirical Findings from Europe. Institute for Social Policy Working Paper No. 1: 1–15.
Del Boca, Daniela. 2002. Do Child Care Costs Affect Labor Market Decision: Evidence from Italy. IZA.
European Parliament. 2015. Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave: Data Related to Duration and Compensation Rates in the European Union, European Parliament Study. Brussels: European Union.
Fabrizi, Elena, and Michele Raitano. 2012. Rigido, flessibile o liquido? L’immagine del mercato del lavoro italiano dal dataset AD-SILC. Economia & Lavoro.
Fagan, Colette, and Helen Norman. 2015. Arrangements for Adequate Family-related Leave: Parental Leave. In Work-Life Balance Revisited, by Antigone Lyberaki. Brussels: D.G. Justice.
Freeman, Richard B., Ronald Schettkat, Ernst Duflo, and Tullio Jappelli. 2005. Marketization of Production and the EU-US Gap in Work. Economic Policy 20(41): 5+7–50.
Goldin, Claudia. 2006. The Quiet Revolution that Transformed Women’s Employment, Education, and Family. NBER Working Paper No. 11953.
Gornick, Janet C., Marcia K. Meyers, and Katherin E. Ross. 1997. Supporting the Employment of Mothers: Policy Variation Across Fourteen Welfare States. Journal of European Social Policy 7(1): 45–70.
Gustafsson, Siv, and Frank Stafford. 1992. Child Care Subsidies and Labor Supply in Sweden. Journal of Human Resources 27(1): 204–223.
Hirschmann, Nancy J. 2015. Equality, Freedom and the Sexual Division of Labour. In Visions for Gender Equality, ed. Francesca Bettio, and Silvia Sansonetti. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Jacquot, Sophie. 2015. Transformations in EU Gender Equality: From Emergence to Dismantling. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jaumotte, Florence. 2003. Labour Force Participation of Women, Empirical Evidence on the Role of Policy and Other Determinants in OECD Countries. OECD Economic Studies 9 2(37): 51–108.
Kantola, Johanna. 2015. Gender Equality Governance and Tools: The Need for Renewed Focus and a Clear Vision. In Visions for Gender Equality, ed. Francesca Bettio, and Silvia Sansonetti. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Morgan, Olivia, and Karen Skelton (ed). 2014. The Shriver Report. A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Nollenberger, Natalia, and Núria Rodriguez Planas. 2011. Child Care, Maternal Employment and Persistence: A Natural Experiment from Spain. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5888.
OECD. 2007. Babies and Bosses. Reconciling Work and Family Life. A Synthesis of Findings for OECD Countries. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Ondrich, Jan, Katharina C. Spiess, Quing Yang, and Gert G. Wagner. 2003. The Liberalization of Maternity Leave Policy and the Return to Work after Childbirth in Germany. Review of Economics of the Household 1(1–2): 77–110.
Perrons, Diane. 2015. Gender Equality in Times of Inequality, Crisis and Austerity: Towards Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Policies. In Visions for Gender Equality, ed. Francesca Bettio, and Silvia Sansonetti. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Rastrigina, Olga, and Alina Verashchagina. 2015. Secondary Earners and Fiscal Policies in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Ruhm, Christopher J. 1998. The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 113(1): 285–317.
Smith, Mark, and Paola Villa. 2010. The Ever-Declining Role of Gender Equality in the European Employment Strategy. Industrial Relations Journal 41(6): 526–543.
Thévenon, Olivier. 2013. Drivers of Female Labour Force Participation in the OECD. In OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 145, ed. OECD. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Tinios, Platon, Francesca Bettio, and Gianno Betti. 2015. Men, Women and Pensions. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Wrohlich, Katharina. 2011. Labor Supply and Child Care Choices in a Rationed Child Care Market. Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Berlin Discussion Paper No. 1169.
Zabalza, Antoni, and Zafiris Tzannatos. 1985. The Effect of Britain’s Anti-Discriminatory Legislation on Relative Pay and Employment. The Economic Journal 95(379): 679–699.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bettio, F. (2017). Can We Call It a Revolution? Women, the Labour Market, and European Policy. In: Auth, D., Hergenhan, J., Holland-Cunz, B. (eds) Gender and Family in European Economic Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41513-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41513-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41512-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41513-0
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)