Women 'more at risk' of low pay, says EU survey

A new report shows that three quarters of the EU workforce are managed by men.

It found that among white-collar managers and professionals, women have less independence and are more likely to work shifts.

Women, it says, are also more at risk of being paid low wages and of being trapped in poverty. High poverty rates are particularly apparent for lone mothers and retired women.

The report, ‘working conditions in the EU: a gender perspective’, was published on Thursday as the European year on equal opportunities draws to a close.

It was compiled by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and comes on the day the Portuguese presidency hosts a top-level debate on employment.

While it paints a partly gloomy picture of the role of women in the workplace, the study also say females are only half as likely as men to be contacted concerning their work outside working hours.

And women in clerical or lower skilled blue-collar jobs express satisfaction with the fit between their working hours and non-work life.

Women also tend to have more regular schedules and are less involved in evening, night or weekend working.

While women are less likely to have working-time autonomy, the most satisfied workers are those with some autonomy and who work full-time but not more than 48 hours a week, even though they may work unsocial hours.

Most women employed part-time do not want to change the number of hours they work. Nevertheless, one in three women would like longer hours in paid employment.

Fears about job security affect clerical and blue-collar workers more than white-collar workers, it says.

The Dublin-based foundation’s spokesman Mans Martensson said, “The report underlines the gender inequality in unpaid domestic workloads.

“It suggests men be encouraged to avail of parental leave and seek to adjust their working hours.

"It also suggests curbing long full-time working hours, thereby facilitating a more equitable pattern of paid and unpaid working time.

"Childcare and eldercare responsibilities also need to be addressed. The report notes that long hours make jobs incompatible with family and other commitments for both men and women."

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