Gender equality still 300 years away; Lack of affordable childcare is forcing UK women out of work
Today’s global news summary brings news affecting the UK, France and the world, and discusses issues as diverse as women’s employment, gender equality, and pension reforms.
- UK: Lack of affordable childcare forcing UK women out of work
- France: Company fined for illegally employing children
- The world: Gender equality still ‘300 years away’
Lack of affordable childcare forcing UK women out of work
Demography, family, and gender
A lack of affordable childcare in the UK is forcing women out of work and hampering career progression, causing the UK to fall five places in a global index of women’s employment outcomes, reports Personenel Today. "The UK’s gender pay gap widened by 2.4 percentage points to 14.4% in 2021, four times the average increase across the OECD as a whole. This, coupled with a 0.4 percentage point decline in the female labour force participation rate, led to the UK slipping down PwC’s list." The professional services firm said that rising childcare costs are pricing many women out of work. In 2021, childcare costs relative to average income were one of the highest among OECD countries, representing nearly a third of the income of a UK family on an average wage.
In her article Astrid Kunze writes that “The main shortcoming of cross-country panel data studies is that they cannot completely rule out the possibility that the estimated effects of parental leave on maternal labor supply are not also related to other institutional differences, such as childcare provision or industry wage structure.”
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Parental leave and maternal labor supply
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Female labor force participation
Opinions
Parental leave policies as good HR practices
My husband and I were equal partners—then we had a baby
IZA Discussion Papers
Mothers at Work: How Mandating Paid Maternity Leave Affects Employment, Earnings and Fertility
French oil refineries blockaded as 1 million protest against pension reforms
Labor markets and institutions
Oil refineries across France were blockaded Tuesday by workers taking part in a 1-million-strong protest against government plans to raise the retirement age., reports CNN Business. According to a spokesperson, more than 40% of workers at French energy company EDF were on strike Tuesday.v "Another energy supplier, Enedis, said up to 4,000 clients in Boulogne-sur-mer in northern France lost electricity Tuesday morning. The company blamed the power cuts on striking union workers."
According to IZA World of Labor author Iga Magda: "Low coverage and greater fragmentation can limit the benefits of trade unions". Read here article.
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Pension reform and couples’ joint retirement decisions
Redesigning pension systems
Late-life work and well-being
Key topics
The aging workforce and pensions reform
Female labor force participation
Opinions
Solving pension crises
IZA Discussion Papers
Pension Incentives and Labor Supply: Evidence from the Introduction of Universal Old-Age Assistance in the UK
Gender equality still ‘300 years away’
Demography, family, and gender
“Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away,” secretary general of the UN, António Guterres, said in a general assembly speech ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March". The Guardian reports that Guterres called for “collective action” worldwide by governments, civil society and the private sector to provide gender-responsive education [and] improve skills training"
IZA World of Labor author Sher Verick writes that it is “more important to understand the quality of women’s employment.” Read his article.
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Female labor force participation and development
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap
Gender differences in corporate hierarchies
Wage compression and the gender pay gap
Key topics
What is the gender divide?
Opinions
How to play it safe? The gender gap in aversion to Covid-19 exposure
Gender quotas for the board room?
Can we use trade policy to achieve gender equality?
Gender diversity in teams
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap
Videos
Nina Smith on the gender pay gap: An interview with with Daniel S. Hamermesh
Interview with Antti Kauhanen on gender differences in corporate hierarchies
Gender discrimination and sexual harassment: A discussion with Joni Hersch
The gender pay gap: Solomon W. Polachek in conversation with Daniel S. Hamermesh
IZA Discussion Papers
The COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: The Labor Supply Impact by Gender
Social Attitudes on Gender Equality and Firms' Discriminatory Pay-Setting