Gender Inequalities in Employment - Essay Example

?Sweden and Germany: Gender inequalities in employment Introduction The following brief discussion will focus on gender inequalities in employment inGermany and Sweden. It will cover a variety of issues. Gender inequalities in employment are subtle, diverse and complicated, necessitating a multi-faceted approach. Consider, for example, the simple and oft quoted statistic on the gender pay gap. In Sweden women earn 17.1% less than men. In Germany they earn 23.2% less than men. These statistics from the European Union are also clearly defined by the EU, “The gender pay gap is the average difference between men’s and women’s hourly earnings within the economy as a whole.” (EC, 2011) Their meaning is less clear. The EU notes that, “across Europe women earn on average 17.8% less than men”, meaning that Sweden is slightly above the median and Germany is almost 4.5% below it. The inclusion of a EU-wide average facilitates comparability. In large measure the gender pay gap directly expresses that women do not receive equal pay for work of equal value. However, it still does not adequately explain the nuances of the gender pay gap and inequality in employment. (EC, 2010) The existence of a 'glass ceiling' barriers and limits to promotions is also a factor. If women are denied access to the highest paying (and most influential) management positions this will manifest itself in an aggregate gender pay gap. Similarly, if a country's pregnancy and parental leave programs are inadequate and family causes women to interrupt their career path this will be reflected in the gender pay gap. Simply put, inequality in employment influences more than only equal pay for work of equal value. This paper will examine key laws and policies aimed at promoting gender equality in employment in Sweden and Germany. It will identify and account for similarities and differences in the development and implementation of gender equality policies in these two countries. History and type of welfare regime in Sweden and Germany Throughout the 1990s in Sweden the gender pay gap remained relatively static at approximately 17.5%. According to the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) “Comparative study on gender pay equity: The case of Sweden”, “the trend is that lately, over the last ten years, with some smaller fluctuations, the wage differences between men and women are about the same. There is a decrease of the gap shown in some years, next year there is a small increase.” Throughout this period, “females earned an average of 83% of male wages.” (EIRO, “Sweden”, 2002) The statistics for Germany were much more dynamic in this period. However, they are also incomplete and difficult to work with as the period included the reunification of the two Germanies. However, they parallel Sweden with little change and a slightly higher level of the gender pay gap. (EIRO, “Germany”, 2002) Philosophically there are more profound and apparent differences between the social welfare systems in the two countries. Mandel and Shale have developed a typology for social welfare regimes that is useful in this situation. They characterise European social welfare systems as conservative, liberal or social democratic. The differences between the three are predicated on the three roles the social welfare system can play. According to Mandel and Shalev (2009), “Scandinavian social democracy is associated with patterns of intervention that exemplify all three roles: the state substitutes for Source: Mandel and Shalev, 2009. functions otherwise performed by markets or families and it does so with a distinct emphasis on service provision (as opposed to income maintenance), which turns it into a massive employer.” It decommodifies and defamilializes social welfare. This is the model that Sweden exemplifies. The second country under consideration, Germany, is characterised as 'conservative' by Mandel and Shalev. “Germany, France and Spain form a second cluster which is made up of conservative countries that are less egalitarian.... the wage differential in conservative countries lies between Scandinavia/Australia and the United States as reflecting the intermediate level of decommodification in conservative welfare states.” (Mandel and Shalev, 2009) Conservative states undertake decommodification of the social welfare system more than do liberal states and they undertake defamilization slightly more than liberal states. Most importantly, in comparing Germany and Sweden the latter is a social-democratic social welfare system and it has highly decommodified and defamililized the social welfare system, unlike Germany, and, consequently, become a significant employer. On the following page, “Chart 1. Three Welfare State Dimensions” portrays the three variables or roles of the welfare state regime and the relative position of Germany and Sweden, as well as other European countries. Source: Mandel and Shalev, 2009. This model sees social-democratic regimes such as Sweden in the upper right with high decommodification and defamilization. In the lower left are the USA and the UK with liberal social policy regimes and low decommodification and defamilialization. Germany and many other European countries such as France and Spain are located between the two extremes. The following section of this discussion will consider the empirical evidence of the gender pay gap and other aspects of equality in employment within the context of the paradigm outlined by Mandel and Shalev. Gender inequalities in employment In terms of the gender pay gap Germany's figure of 23.2% is alarming. As Der Spiegel noted, “Out of the other 26 EU member states, the gap was only wider in Estonia (most recent figures, 2007: 30.3 percent), the Czech Republic (26.2 percent), Austria (25.5 percent) and the Netherlands (most recent figures, 2007: 23.6 percent).” Equally disturbing is the fact that the wage gap in Germany has been increasing recently. In 2006 it was 22.7% increasing to 23.0% in 2007 and 23.2% in 2008. (“Salary Gap Widens Between German Men and Women”, 2010) If this trend has continued over the two most recent years (for which statistics are not yet available) it is currently approaching 24%. Sweden, at 17.1%, scores the same as Denmark and Spain and slightly better than Hungary. (EC, 2011) In this global sense the gender pay gap is smaller in Sweden than it is in Germany. The question of family and pregnancy as a career interruption with negative impacts on income and employment is investigated by Aisenbrey, Evertsson, and Grunow (2009) in “Is there a career penalty for mothers' time out? A comparison of Germany, Sweden and the United States”. They begin by noting the widely held perception that, “the legal parental leave length is often considered to be the most important indicator of the 'family friendliness' of a welfare state” and cautioning that this perception is often complicated by reality. In Germany an individual is entitled to 3 years family leave and in Sweden new parents are each entitled to 240 days for a total of 16 months approximately. In Sweden a parent on leave is entitled to 80% of their earnings. In Germany a parent on leave is entitled to 67% of their earnings. (Aisenbrey, Evertsson, and Grunow, 2009) On this basis alone one would be inclined to conclude that Germany has a more generous parental leave plan. While the benefits are a slightly lower percentage than they are in Sweden, the period of leave is more than twice as long. In practice the results are more varied. The authors note that 75% of women taking parental leave in Sweden are back in the workforce five years later. In Germany the return to work rate never rises as high as 75%. The author's trace this finding to the fact that “childcare is inexpensive, fulltime and available to everyone with children between 1 and 6 years of age” in Sweden. (Aisenbrey, Evertsson, and Grunow, 2009) This relates to the greater defamilialisation and decommodification of social welfare in Sweden. It also implies that the social-welfare regime in Sweden is more effective in addressing the parental 'timeout' than is the German conservative system. Equally importantly, their research indicates that the length of the parental time out has less of an impact on a woman's career in Sweden than it does in Germany. That said, a timeout has a significant effect in both countries and that effect increases with the length of the parental leave even in “the family-friendly policy regime” of Sweden. (Aisenbrey, Evertsson, and Grunow, 2009) Scambor and Scambor make the interesting point that the gender pay gap is self-reinforcing. Scambor and Scambor argue that as the gender pay gap shifts the costs of a woman pursuing her career (at the expense of a male partner's career) increases. If a man's career offers more remuneration than a woman's than every hour invested in that male's career returns a premium over and above investing an hour in a woman's lower-paying career. Therefore, they conclude that the greater the gender pay gap the greater the incentive to pursue a male's career at the expense of a woman's career. (Scambor and Scambor, 2008) This is imminently sensible, but discouraging, as it implies that the greater the gender pay gap the greater the incentive to simply accept it and adopt to it. Laws and policies Since 1949 sexual equality has been enshrined in Germany as a basic human right. “According to the German constitution the principle equality between women and men is defined as a basic right. The so called 'Basic Law' (Grundgesetz) from 1949 states in Article 3, Paragraph 2: 'Men and women shall have equal rights'.” In 1994 the same Paragraph had appended to it an activist mandate, “the state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist”. (EIRO, “Germany”, 2002) The Act on Equality between Men and Women/The Equal Opportunities Act (Jamstalldhetslagen SFS 1991:433, SFS 11942:92, SFS 2000:773) was the main legal statutory instrument for equality in employment in Sweden in the last decades of the twentieth century. It required that all public and private sector employers, actively promote equal opportunities for men and women in the working environment, develop an equal opportunity program and annually review the gender pay gap. (EIRO, “Sweden”, 2002) In both countries, now, movement towards eliminating the gender pay gap and achieving equality in employment are driven by “Women and Men, A Women's Charter: Declaration by the European Commission on the occasion of the 2010 International Women's Day”. Beyond equal pay for work of equal value the Charter highlights three other areas of concern: equal economic independence; equality in decision-making and dignity, integrity and an end to gender-based violence. (EC, 2010) This 'Charter' represents the most current and broad ranging statement of equality in employment in Europe. Similarities and differences There are both theoretical and practical differences in equality in employment, the gender pay gap and dealing with these issues in Germany and Sweden. Theoretically the model developed by Mandel and Shalev is useful for distinguishing between the two states. In Sweden a social-democratic regime has developed that decommodifies and defamilializes social welfare, with the emphasis on state-provided services. Implicit in this approach is the emergence of the state as a significant employer in the social welfare sector. In contrast the trend toward decommodification and defamilialization in Germany is less apparent and the state, consequently, has not become a key employer in the social service sector and a key provider of social welfare programmes. This is the fundamental theoretical difference between the approach to equality in employment in the two countries. In a practical sense, this theoretical difference, is manifest in the differing impacts of employment inequality. In Germany the gender pay gap is significantly higher than it is in Sweden. In Germany it is also increasing annually unlike Sweden. According to 2008 statistics the gender pay gap in Sweden is, 17.1%, slightly below the European average. In contrast, in Germany it is 23.2%, well above the European average and close to the bottom amongst European countries. Comparing the gender pay gap in Sweden and Germany directly, the gender pay gap is 30% greater in Germany than it is in Sweden. This is a significant difference. In less direct ways the gender issues in the workplace also seem to have a greater effect in Germany than Sweden. In Germany the impact of a parental 'time out' on career progress is greater than it is in Sweden. In Germany the employment rate amongst women is notably lower than it is in Sweden. In 2007 the employment rate amongst German women was only 64%. In Sweden it was 71.8%. A higher proportion of women participate in the labour market in Sweden than in Germany. (Eurostat, 2008) Also, in Sweden fully 46% of the members of the legislature are women. (EC, 2011). In statistical terms inequality in employment based on gender and the gender pay gap are both smaller than they are in Germany. Conclusions The gender pay gap and inequality in employment are less evident in Sweden than they are in Germany. The gender pay gap is smaller, a larger number of women are in the workforce, and a family 'time out' has a lesser impact on career progress in Sweden than it does in Germany. For all of these reasons the employment market, in terms of gender, is more equal (or less unequal) in Sweden than it is in Germany. This is not a surprising conclusion considering the reputation that of 'Scandinavian social democracy'. However, what is noteworthy is the extent to which gender inequality in employment persists even in Sweden. The gender pay gap is slightly better than the European average in Sweden and this is a positive. However, on the other hand, it still persists at 17.1%, an extremely high figure: Particularly, when one realizes that the gender pay gap in Italy is only 4.9%, and in Portugal only 9.2%. This is the point that Aisenbrey, Evertsson and Grunow make, even in a bastion of social welfare and 'family-friendly' social policy like Sweden inequality in the employment persists. References Aisenbrey, Silke, Marie Evertsson, and Daniela Grunow. (2009) "Is there a career penalty for mothers' time out? A comparison of Germany, Sweden and the United States." Social Forces 88.2 573-605. European Commission (EC). Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. (1 Jan 2011). “Gender Pay Gap”. Available: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=681. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. European Commission (EC). (5 Mar 2010) “A Strengthened Commitment to Equality between “Women and Men, A Women's Charter: Declaration by the European Commission on the occasion of the 2010 International Women's Day”. Available: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/documents/pdf/20100305_1_en.pdf. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). (2002). “Comparative study on gender pay equity: The case of Germany”.Available: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/01/study/index.htm. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). (2002). “Comparative study on gender pay equity: The case of Sweden”.Available: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/01/study/index.htm. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. Eurostat. (2008). “Employment gender gap in the EU is narrowing”. Statistics in Focus 99/2008. "Gender Equality: Europeans want greater commitment”European Social Policy (2010) Mandel, Hadas, and Michael Shalev. (2009). "How welfare states shape the gender pay gap: a theoretical and comparative analysis." Social Forces 87.4 1873-1911. “Salary Gap Widens Between German Men and Women”. (5 Mar 2010). Der Spiegel.Available: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,682026,00.html. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. Scambor, Christian, and Elli Scambor. (2008). "Men and gender mainstreaming: prospects and pitfalls of a European strategy." The Journal of Men's Studies 16.3, 301-315. Sweden, Government. (). “Gender Equality in Sweden”. Available: http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/english/factsheets/SI/SI_FS8_Gender%20equality/FS8-Gender-equality-in-Sweden-high-resolution.pdf. Last accessed 12 Jan 2011. Read More