Research in Lithuania

1. Research in Lithuania Project “EWE: Equal Woman is Efficient” 22-24th May, Messina, Italy

2. Number of respondents surveyed • Employers – 10 respondents; • Trainers – 12 respondents; • Trainees – 14 respondents.

3. 1st question:Is the age of people applying for work a significant factor? How do you approach this?

4. Answers of Employers • Yes. • No, it depends on the motivation of the applicant to work, his/her competences, skills, characteristicsand qualification. • Older woman has more experience but she is less open for innovations so it depends on the work position she is applying. If it is high position in big company, 35-40 years workers are preferred.

5. Answers of Trainers • Yes, younger employees have quicker reaction, more open for innovations and seeking for career; • Yes, employers prefer younger employees; • Yes, if the employer is looking for experienced and loyal employee, the age 50+ is an advantage; • No, the motivation, physical health and competences are more important; • Older people are good at less qualified and assistant work; • It depends on type of work, the requirements for work position and on the attitude of employer; • There are some professions where employers emphasize work experience but not age (driver, accountant, plumber etc.).

6. Answers of Trainees • Yes, the discrimination of age is very often experienced by women 50+ when they apply for the job; • Yes, the older you are, the worse it is; • Yes, the attitude of the employers towards older employees is negative; • Yes, but the employers should take into account the competences of the employee not the age; • It depends on work position.

7. 2nd question:Is there any difference between hiring a 50+ man or woman?

8. Answers of Employers • A woman 50+. A woman is more thorough, diligent and responsible. • A man 50+. There are more professions suiting for a man. • There is no difference, it depends on the work position he/she is applying, on his/her competences. There is no difference if he/she would be a good worker.

9. Answers of Trainers • There should be no difference but practice shows the opposite. Employers are more likely to employ a man and it does not depend on the age. • Yes, a man 50+ has more free time, is in good health and is active, meanwhile a woman 50+ has health problems and prefers to take care of her family, children, grandchildren and home. • Yes, a man 50+ has more possibilities to get employed. • Yes, but it depends on type of work and requirements of employer. • There is no difference. It depends on person’s educational background, competences, work experience, social status and health.

10. Answers of Trainees • It is easier for men 50+ to find a job as they have more years of work experience than women 50+ who spent several years on parental leave; • Yes, because it is assumed that a man 50+ is still “young” and a woman 50+ is already “not useful”; • Yes, most of employers think that a man 50+ has less family problems and is of better health; • Yes, women are more family-orientated so men have better chances to get employed; • No, both man and woman can do the job very good; • It depends on profession and type of work; • There is no difference in gender, anyway the age is treated negatively by employers.

11. 3rd question:Which are the main reasons why 50+ women work or not?

12. Answers of Employers • Financial reasons; • Need for social development; • They have more time for work – children are grown up, the work scheduler is not very important etc.; • They are taking care of their grandchildren meanwhile their children helps them financially; • Difficultness of work, size of salary; • Employers do not tend to sign work contracts with employees; • Age, health, family problems; • New technologies, environment; • Usually women who are high educated want to work more than those who are less qualified.

13. Answers of Trainers • Being active, useful for society, having constant income; • Social guarantees in older age, need for self-realization; • Possibility for self-development, work satisfaction; • Well-educated, open-minded and seeking for career women even after 50+ continue to work; • Those women who have financial support from their husbands tend not to work; • Decrease of motivation influences decision not to work; • Lack of self-confidence after loosing a job; • Health issues, long-term unemployment, social exclusion and having no profession; • Financial situation, family, health, education and habits.

14. Answers of Trainees • Lack of money, possibility to receive small pension; • Need for socialization, communication; • Health problems, lack of competences, low salary, offer ofnot suitable jobs; • Family problems; • Lack of skills, qualification and experience.

15. 4th question:What should be changed in the labour market to encourage 50+ women to work?

16. Answers of Employers • Changes in financial and social sphere. • The attitude of the society should be changed – the understanding that older woman is more experienced in their professional field should be promoted. • The attitude of employers should be changed – woman 50+ are more responsible, motivated and reasoned. • The workplaces quotas should be applied – for ex. 5% of employees should be 50+. • Exemptions for employers (lower taxes etc.). • Trainings, establishment of new workplaces. • Shorter work time.

17. Answers of Trainers • The attitude of society and employers to women 50+ should be changed; • Shorter working time, no night shifts, distance work, possibilities to improve the qualification, learning at workplace, respective salary; • Lower requirements for workplaces, • More new workplaces for women 50+.

18. Answers of Trainees • Lower requirements for establishing own business; • More tolerance; • Positive changes of the employers’ attitude towards women 50+; • More possibilities to get subsidies for new workplaces; • Bigger salaries; • More possibilities to re-qualification through labour exchange; • There are many possibilities to find a job but sometimes women are not willing to search for it.

19. 5th question:What kind of jobs do 50+ women find attractive?

20. Answers of Employers • Related to culinary; • Depends on competences; • Complying with their profession; • Administrative, secretary, paperwork, office work, babysitter; • The one not requiring high responsibility and much logical thinking, more technical work; • It depends on woman; • Service sector.

21. Answers of Trainers • Which are related with their qualification and experience; • Which do not need high qualification, requiring less responsibility, not very active; • Jobs in social and services sphere; • One shift jobs (kinder garden teacher’s assistant, caregiver, accountant, dishwasher, cleaner, nurse’s assistant, receptionist, cloakroom worker etc.); • Not requiring physical activities.

22. Answers of Trainees • It depends on individual competences, skills, willingness and needs; • Part-time jobs; • Jobs in beauty services sphere (manicurist etc.), work with computer; • Secretary; • Jobs in service and administrative sector; • Easier jobs, not requiring physical activity and thoroughness; • Accountancy; • Various jobs; • Cook, florist, work in museum or library.

23. 6th question:Which kind of competences do 50+ women have? What do they need?

24. Answers of Employers • They have: • Communication skills, lots of life experience; • Work experience; • They need: • ICT, foreign language skills, self-confidence. • It depends on her former work experience.

25. Answers of Trainers • They have: • Work experience; • General competences; • Communication skills, flexibility, qualification; • Life experience and self-confidence. • They need: • ICT skills; • Self-confidence, support from others; • Specific competences; • Motivation for possible re-qualification; • Foreign language skills.

26. Answers of Trainees • They have: • Work experience; • House keeping skills; • Russian language skills; • Life experience; • Good communication skills; • Flexibility, more patience. • They need: • ICT, foreign language skills, good mood; • More new knowledge; • Self-confidence.

27. 7th question:What are 50+ women's ideas about working?

28. Answers of Employers • Work for living; • Salary, experience etc.; • Feeling necessary and being involved into development of country's welfare; • Self-esteem; • Self-expression, self-development; • Financial independence, activity; • Additional money for leisure; • Social development.

29. Answers of Trainers • Work is very important for women 50+; • Financial independence, constant income, better life situation, communication with other people; • Higher self-esteem, possibility to improve skills; • Social communication skills; • Social guarantees; • Good mood and emotions  • Full-fledged life.

30. Answers of Trainees • Self-expression, communication, earning money not only for living but also for leisure; • Feeling necessary and self-confidence; • Feeling valuable, possibility for self-development, being a part of team; • Work for living; • Social guarantees; • It means a lot because they have much free time; • Feeling necessary for society; • Financial independence, quality of life.

31. 8th question:What are the factors that provide 50+ women with job satisfaction?

32. Answers of Employers • Welcoming colleagues, accepting their experience, good relationships at workplace; • Respect at workplace, realizing that her knowledge is appreciated and necessary; • Salary; • Having a job she loves; • Positive attitude and tolerance of employer; • Possibility to have constant activity not related with home environment; • Psychological factors; • Work time.

33. Answers of Trainers • Self-realization; • Salary; • Possibility for self-development; • Good atmosphere at work; • Appreciation, status and safety; • Type and conditions of work and colleagues; • It depends on person; • Respect, feeling valued; • Know-how, help of the colleagues; • The biggest satisfaction is to have a job you love.

34. Answers of Trainees • Being appreciated by colleagues and by employer, good work results, work between young colleagues; • Friendly colleagues; • Positive attitude of employer; • Respect, respective salary; • Appreciation of individual input; • Communication, status in society; • Having a job you love; • Work environment.

35. 9th question:Do you know any approach in vocational education for 50+ women that you would use or recommend?

36. Answers of Employers • Face-to-face training; • Blended training; • Psychological consultations, improvement of motivation to work and self-esteem; • Any type of training a woman needs is valuable.

37. Answers of Trainers • Face-to-face training (answers); • According to individual preferences; • Mentoring; • Psychological consultations, improvement of motivation to work and self-esteem; • Blended training.

38. Answers of Trainees • Blended training; • Face-to-face training; • More learning at home and then discussingthe results with the trainer; • A lot of “don’t know”.

39. 10th question:Are there any special difficulties for 50+ women’s vocational education? If yes, what are they?

40. Answers of Employers • Yes, with computer literacy and foreign languages; • Not all women 50+ are willing to learn and those who are willing to learn reach good results; • Usually women 50+ are afraid to make major changes in their lives so they do not go to vocational training; • Lack of motivation, willingness to learn; • It takes more time to learn new things; • No; • It depends on person’s attitude towards work and learning.

41. Answers of Trainers • Women 50+ are not very open for innovations, have slower reaction, they need to put more efforts trying to learn and remember new things; • They lack ICT and foreign language skills; • The negative attitude of other people influences women 50+ decision to learn; • Thinking that they are capable to do more than they really can; • Lack of information, attitude that people in older age can not learn something new; • There are no difficulties (3 answers).

42. Answers of Trainees • Slower speed of remembering new things, lack of ICT and foreign language skills; • Family problems, having complexes, health problems, lack of self-confidence; • Lack of attention to individual by trainers, being afraid to ask questions; • The vocational training programs are not adapted to women 50+ needs; • No difficulties; • It depends on a women individually.

43. Conclusions • The answers to most of the questions by all three target groups were quite similar. • All trainees think that the age of people applying for work is a significant factor but only less than half of trainers and employers think so.