The crisis is female

Women workers not treated fairly in employment and salary; they earn 17.2% less than men

Economic difficulty increases the differences and complicates the fragile balance between private life and work

Crisis: the word is feminine (in Italian) and apparently not only that. The difficult economic situation of the last few years is hitting hard, particularly for women: increasingly lower salaries in respect to male colleagues, balancing private life and work is progressively more delicate, and job insecurity is at record levels. The challenges are obvious even in the European citizens’ view. The Euro barometer from the survey “Women and Gender Equality in the Context of the Crisis,” commissioned by the European Parliament in view of March 8^th (International Women’s Day) speaks clearly: for this year as well women really will have little to celebrate.

The main inequality issue is gender, according to many of more than 25,000 citizens of the 27 member states interviewed; what remains is the difference in salary – for 38% that is the biggest problem. Next comes violence against women, indicated by 34% of citizens – the same for the difficulty for women to balance private life and work. The heaviest impact of the crisis, according to EU citizens, was precisely on salary and balancing family and work. For almost 1 out of 3 the economic situation has worsened things.

Let’s talk about hiring methods. While a man, according to 40% of citizens, is chosen primarily based on professional experience, for a woman the most important variable considered is if she has children. According to the EU survey, 49% of the respondents think this, while only 20% think that professional experience is more important. To improve this situation the respondents put their expectations in the next European elections in 2014. According to 21% of Europeans in their program they should give priority to reducing the male-female salary discrepancy.

Lucie Davoine, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Gender Equality in the European Commission – explained that “On average women in Europe earn 17.2% less than men. Furthermore, the female professions are concentrated particularly in the health and social sectors where the salaries are much lower.”

The report on the impact of the crisis on gender equality, edited by Elisabeth Morin-Chartier (Ppe), Vice President of the Committee for Women’s Rights in the European Parliament, further indicates the minimal presence of females in positions of authority. The document indicates: according to recent studies only 5% of ‘decision makers’ at the head of financial institutions are women. Just look at the presidents of the 27 Central Banks of the member states to have a clear view on the situation: they are all run by men.

A phenomenon highlighted by Morin-Chartier’s study is that many women spontaneously retreat from the job market: many, seeing unfavorable and discriminatory salaries, end up deciding to stay out. According to the Vice-President if women suffer the worst impact from the crisis it’s because “they are mainly employed with temporary contracts, for part-time work, and in general they are occasional workers.” The crisis however has not generated this situation from nothing; unfortunately, it has only “brought to light problems that already existed.”

Letizia Pascale

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