Sietsma, K. (2022) The gender gap in labour force participation at older ages: a comparison across the European region. Master thesis, Sociology.
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Abstract
Across the European region, women's employment rates have rapidly increased over the past decades. However, these rates still lag behind men's, and gender gaps in employment persist. Further, many countries have implemented policies to increase labour force participation in light of demographic changes such as an ageing society. Understanding gender differences across the European region is needed to achieve these policy goals of higher employment rates, longer working lives and a smaller employment gender gap. The still persistent gender gap in employment at older age calls for an explanation because, over the past decades, many developments have been associated with higher labour force participation among women. A few examples are increased educational opportunities and policies (by companies or states) aimed at keeping women in the workforce, including (paid) maternity leave, formal childcare, and part-time work. Additionally, there are still significant cross-national differences across the European region. Therefore, this thesis aims to better understand different macro-level mechanisms that can help explain older women's labour force participation and the related gender gap in employment, mainly: care policies, gender norms, and retirement culture. To examine these macro-level indicators, hypotheses were developed based on the welfare state regime theory and the defamilialisation framework. These hypotheses predicted that countries with higher access to formal childcare, more use of elder care, equalitarian gender norms and a late exit culture from the labour market have a higher labour force participation rate among older women and a lower gender gap in employment. On the other hand, countries with less access to childcare, high child benefits, traditional gender norms and an early-exit culture are expected to lower labour force participation rates among older women and a higher employment gender gap. To test these hypotheses, a descriptive analysis is performed with a focus on cross-national differences, using the Gender and Generation Survey and the Contextual Database. In this context, fifteen countries in the European region are examined, including a cluster of eastern European countries, a geographical region frequently overlooked in the literature. These countries comprise Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Sweden. The results indicate that primarily the availability of formal childcare, use of formal elder care and egalitarian gender norms are positively associated with the labour force participation of older women across the European region. In addition, this study hints at the positive effects of formal childcare and egalitarian gender norms on creating a smaller gender gap in employment at older ages. These findings highlight the gendered aspect of care responsibilities and, therefore, how important the availability of formal childcare and elder care is in increasing older women’s employment rates. That availably of childcare also impacts older women can be explained from a life course perspective. In this regard, women with little access to formal childcare when they first experienced motherhood may have fragmented careers and, thus, a weaker link to the labour market. Thereby indicating that policymakers should not underestimate the impact of formal childcare on older women's employment rates and the related gender gap. Additionally, providing state-organised childcare can also positively contribute to the norms regarding using formal and informal care. Although personal and societal values are difficult to change, childcare availability may be essential in shaping positive attitudes towards formal care. This could also be an effective step in reducing traditional gender norms. Furthermore, the findings present significant differences in policy backgrounds between countries regarding gender norms and retirement policy. These policy differences are evident in the lower and diverging retirement ages for men and women in Eastern Europe, while in Western Europe, retirement ages are higher and equal for men and women. Although policies in this regard are changing, the findings underscore the importance of the country's context in achieving policy goals, such as higher labour force participation and longer working lives among older people.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Wielers, R.J.J. |
| Degree programme: | Sociology |
| Differentiation route: | Sociologie van Arbeid, Levensloop & Organisatie [Master Sociology] |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Aug 2022 10:01 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Aug 2022 10:01 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1329 |
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