Brigitte Triems EWL past President

1. The European Women’s Lobbyworking together for women’s rights and gender equality in Europe“Reconsidering atypical employment” Budapest, 14.05.2012 Brigitte Triems EWL past President

2. The European Women’s Lobby • The largest umbrella organisation of women’s associations in the EU • Promoting women’s rights and gender equality in Europe • Members in all 27 EU member states and 3 of the candidate countries, as well as 20 European-wide associations • Concentrating on European-level, but activities from local to international level

3. The main policy areas of EWL work European Policies and Legislation on Equality between Women and Men Violence Against Women Women in Decision-Making / Parity Democracy Economic and Social Policy from a feminist perspective Women's Diversity and Anti-discrimination Women and the Media Migration, integration and Asylum

4. Women’s economic independence Ensure a feminist perspective in EU economic, employment and social issues and policies Women’s employment remains key to economic authority and to achievement of equality between women and men Advance towards women’s economic independence = address gender pay gap, quality work for all women, equality in relation to pensions, paid and unpaid work, care and reconciliation professional and family life Address disproportionate representation of women in atypical and marginal employment Demand for high quality and full-time jobs for women in labour market reforms

5. EC’s Employment package: • new measures and key opportunities for EU job-rich recovery • Strengthening of national employment policies by EU Member States • Key areas for reforms: stimulating internal flexibility to reduce job insecurity; establishing decent and sutainable wages and avoiding low-wage traps, ensuring appropriate contractual arrangements to prevent excessive use of non standard ones • Creation of a genuine EU labor market • Reinforcement of coordination and monitoring of employment policies at EU level

6. Typical or standard work model • defined as • socially secure • full-time job of unlimited duration • standard working hours • guaranteeing a regular income • securing pension payments • securing protection against ill-health and unemployment

7. Atypical and non-standard froms of employment (1) ✓Means of achieving labor market felxibility? ✓ Labor market flexibilisation means = to foster economic efficiency and growth = to combat mass employment = increase access for groups traditionally less attached to the labour market (women, immi- grants, less educated, unskilled) ✓

8. Atypical and non-standard froms of employment (2) Flexibilisation of labour market varies with - nation specific context - cumulates on certain segments of labour market - cumulates on groups of persons (women, new entrants, low skilled, disabled, older persons, persons mit migration background)

9. Disproportionate representation of women in atypical non-standard employment ✓ Increased participation of women in employment = increasing number of jobs in marginal employment ✓ Traditional models of family lifes and women’s lifes ✓ Role and gender stereotypes resulting in poorer career prospects ✓ Inadequate care infrastructure for children and other dependants ✓ Unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work ✓ Rigid structures for working hours ✓ Difference in hourly wage rates between women/men ✓ Women in lowest-paid professions and jobs

10. Status of atypical employment Different forms of atypical employment: - part-time work - marginal employment (mini-jobs) - fixed-term contract - temporary agency work - job-sharing - telework

11. Intimate correlation between atypical work and life course perspective and framework conditions ✓ Women’s career paths more strongly characterised by discontinuities than those of men ✓ Periods out of work and periods in atypical employment leave «scars» in women’s careers ✓ Result: poorer earnings negative effect on careers less chances for life-long learning (training) poverty risk in old age

12. Importance of work-life balance in certain life phases ✓ Part-time work as a suitable instrument for reconciliation of professional, family and private life ►conditions: 1. subject to social insurance contributions 2. coupled with option of returning to f full-time work

13. Alternative work arrangements ✓ Flexible work schedules (Flextime) ✓ Telework ✓ Job-sharing

14. Flexible work schedules ✓ Benefit: - select working hours based on needs - ability to balancing job and family life - sharing of expensive equipement - eliminating traffic problems

15. Telework ✓ Potential Benefits: - increasing the employ-ability of cirstantially marginalized groups - work from home arrangements - ability to balancing job and family life - alleviating stress situations - saving travel and work-related costs - saving time: not having traffic congestion

16. Telework ✓ Potential Concerns: - losing social relationsships/team meetings - personal disconnectedness from employer - longwer working hours - lack of security for teleworkers? - difficult evaluation of results - negatively affecting a person’s career no promotion to decision-making positions

17. Job-sharing ✓ Potential Benefits: - flexible work arrangements - sharing not only time, but also responsibilities - reconciliation of professional and family life - rewarding talent - increasing job satisfaction - preserving career skills and status within profession

18. Job-sharing ✓ Potential Concerns: - reducing income - losing promotion to leadership positions - loss of individual accomplishments and sharing achievements with someone else - losing individual identity - unpleasant competition

19. Conclusions ► consistent equality policy over women’s and men’s life courses ► guiding principles: equal capabilities of women and men in education, training and employment systems ► space for alternate work arrangements in various life phases ► no limitation in terms of personal choices ► employment interruptions for duties necessary for society such as care work for dependants must not lead to disadvantages in women’s and men’s life course

20. More information:www.womenlobby.orgThank you for your attention!