Bridging the Gap: Gender Inequalities, Empowerment Policies, and Work-Life Balance. The Case of 'Maternity as a Master'

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia D

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L ANGUAGES FOR COMMUNICATION IN INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND ORGANIZATIONS

( LACOM )

Bridging the Gap: Gender Inequalities, Empowerment Policies, and Work-Life Balance.

The Case of 'Maternity as a Master'

Prova finale di:

Beatrice Lundari Relatore:

Barbara Luppi

Correlatore:

Tindara Addabbo

Anno Accademico 2017-2018

Abstract

Questa tesi vuole indagare quali parametri incidono sulla disparità di genere, focalizzandosi sulla condizione femminile nel mondo del lavoro e sulle difficoltà che spesso riscontrano le donne a causa degli stereotipi di genere, specialmente durante e dopo la nascita di un figlio.

La prima parte offre una panoramica generale sul concetto di divario di genere, o gender gap, e le aree in cui questo divario si manifesta, primo fra tutte il mondo del lavoro, ma anche educazione e scelte scolastiche, lavori domestici e cura dei figli. Nel mondo del lavoro, il divario di genere si concretizza nel concetto di segregazione professionale di genere, che può essere verticale, detta anche glass ceiling, e orizzontale. Nel primo caso, la segregazione riguarda la struttura aziendale, nel secondo, più in generale, i settori professionali, come quelli che rispondono all’acronimo di STEM ovvero scienza, tecnologia, ingegneria e matematica. Esistono numerose altre metafore associate alla segregazione di genere: lo sticky floor, il fenomeno del leaky pipeline, il glass cliff e l’effetto ape regina o queen-bee effect.

Nella seconda parte verrà approfondito il dibattito sulle quote rosa, includendo un parallelismo tra uguaglianza di opportunità e uguaglianza di risultati. Oltre alle politiche sulle quote rosa, saranno analizzate altre politiche in favore della famiglia, le cosiddette family-friendly policies, tra cui i congedi parentali. Il congedo di paternità a titolo individuale è spesso un lusso non concesso a tutti i neo-padri. In alcuni paesi, è inesistente, in altri può variare da pochi giorni a poche settimane.

Tuttavia, anche congedi di maternità eccessivamente lunghi possono ostacolare la parità di genere in quanto rendono difficile il reinserimento della madre dopo la maternità, a discapito della retribuzione.

L’indipendenza economica gioca un ruolo fondamentale nella parità di genere. Fino a pochi decenni fa, la donna dipendeva economicamente dal marito che provvedeva al sostentamento della famiglia. Oggi, una maggiore consapevolezza e l’aumento del tasso di occupazione femminile sta incrementando anche lo stipendio percepito dalle donne. Tuttavia, le statistiche rivelano che, anche su questo fronte, le donne guadagnano meno degli uomini. Si parla allora di gender pay gap (GPG) o divario salariale di genere. Alla sua origine è possibile identificare varie cause: cause esplicite o visibili e cause implicite o invisibili. Tuttavia, risulta molto complesso stabilire con precisione il perché le donne guadagnino meno. Purtroppo, però, la discriminazione di genere rientra tra le cause principali all’origine del divario salariale, ed incide anche in sede di assunzione.

La tesi si conclude con una panoramica sul progetto chiamato MAAM, ovvero Maternity as a Master. L’obiettivo è quello di verificare l’effettività del progetto un’intervista alla creatrice Riccarda Zezza. Questo progetto lungimirante vuole sottolineare l’importanza della maternità come vera e propria “palestra” per sviluppare e migliorare le competenze soft, oggigiorno tanto richieste nel mondo del lavoro, e che inconsapevolmente madri e padri allenano con i propri figli. MAAM vuole consapevolizzare i genitori sull’importanza della genitorialità, che non è un ostacolo alla carriera ma un’opportunità di crescita personale e professionale. Questo progetto, insieme a Piano C, un programma di co-working, ad opera della stessa realizzatrice di MAAM, fa ben sperare per superare quel meccanismo patriarcale che ancora oggi fatica ad essere scardinato.

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine which parameters affect gender equality in the labour market.

The focus is on women and on the considerable difficulties that they have to face off against gender biases and discrimination, especially after the birth of a child.

The first part of the thesis offers a general overview of the concept of gender gap, and the areas which are concerned by this phenomenon, especially the labour market, but also education, domestic works and childcare. In the labour market, the gender gap entails the so-called occupational segregation based on gender, which can be vertical, also known as glass ceiling, and horizontal. In the first case, the segregation concerns the organizational structure, while in the second case, it concerns the industry level more broadly, for instance the professional fields of the acronym STEM, which stands for science, technologies, engineering, mathematics. There are several other metaphors associated with gender segregation: the sticky floor, the leaky pipeline, the glass cliff and lastly the queen-bee effect.

The second part of the thesis will deal with the debate around gedomnder quotas, and the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Moreover, family-friendly policies, leave schemes and flexible working hours will be mentioned. However, paternity leaves for individual entitlement are often very short. In some countries, paternity leave does not exist, in others is limited to few days or weeks. Maternity leave instead, is provided by all European countries, but extremely long period of absence from work may be detrimental for gender parity. Women may find difficult to re-enter the labour market after maternity and risk to be less productive and to receive lower incomes.

Economic independence plays a pivotal role in the gender parity issue. Just a few decades ago, women’s sustenance depended on their husbands who were the only one providing for the family’s livelihood. Today, the increasing awareness about individual rights and capacities risen from feminist movements, lead women to emancipate, to enter the labour market and to obtain their own salary.

This topic is linked to the gender pay gap debate (GPG), which may come from several factors, divided into explained or observable factors and unexplained or unobservable factors. However, it is hard to define precisely the reasons behind the gender pay gap and why women earn less than men.

Unfortunately, discrimination based on gender has still a strong influence in determining the wage and recruitments of women and men.

The last part of the thesis provides an overview of the Italian project called MAAM, or Maternity as a Master, as a virtuous project of women empowerment. The purpose is to investigate the effectiveness through interviews to its creator, Riccarda Zezza. This forward-looking project wants to underline the importance of maternity as a real “gym” to train and improve people’s soft skills, which are highly requested in the workplace, and which mothers and fathers unconsciously develop with their own children. MAAM wants to make parents aware of the importance of parenthood as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, and not as an obstacle to career. MAAM, together with Plan C, a co-working program from the same creator of MAAM, hope to fight against a patriarchal system which has still difficulties in being undermined.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……….………...1

PART I Chapter I - THE GENDER GAP____________________________________________________ 1.1 Gender equality and Feminism. Is it still worth talking about feminism?..………..5

1.2 Behavioural Economics, Gender Economics and Feminist Economics……….……….7

1.3 Agencies promoting Gender Equality……….……….…………...9

1.4 Are men and women truly equal?...12

Chapter II –GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION___________________________________ 2.1 The importance of being “Educated”……….….…………...14

2.2 Educational gender gap in developed and developing countries………15

2.3 Educational choices and professional choices: masculine and feminine jobs ………...17

Chapter III – GENDER EQUALITY IN EMPLOYMENT_______________________________ 3.1 Female employment rate in formal and informal economy……….………..20

3.2 Women in informal economy: time allocation and domestic work division………..22

3.3 Women in formal economy: causes of women under-representation………..……..25

3.3.1 Devaluation of women’s work and sexism………..………25

3.3.2 Women’s lack of confidence: the impostor syndrome……….…27

3.3.3 Family and career conflict……….……..…28

3.4 Solutions to boost women’s representation in the labour market………...29

Chapter IV – WOMEN ON BOARDS_____ ___________________________________________ 4.1 Women’s underrepresentation in senior management positions………31

4.2 Women, leadership and gender diversity in top management teams………..…32

4.3 Metaphors to describe women’s position in the organization………34

4.3.1 Glass ceiling and sticky floor………..34

4.3.2 Leaky pipeline……….…35

4.3.3 Queen-bee effect……….…35

4.3.4 Glass cliff………36

PART II CHAPTER V – GENDER PAY GAP_________________________________________________ 5.1 Gender earnings differential: unadjusted and adjusted pay gap……….37

5.2 Decomposition of the unadjusted gender pay gap: explained factors………..…………..40

5.2.1 Occupational segregation based on gender and women’s low-paid jobs……….…………40

5.2.2 Level of education and work experience: focus on the Italian situation………….………..43

5.2.3 Working hours and family responsibilities………..………45

5.3 Decomposition of the unadjusted gender pay gap: unexplained factors………48

5.3.1 “Women don’t ask”: female attitude towards negotiation………...…48

5.3.2 Difference in search behaviour and self-esteem………..…49

5.3.3 Discrimination based on gender………..………50

5.4 Possible solutions to the gender pay gap………...……….…52

5.4.1 Government transparency and public actions………..………52

5.4.2 Financial education and individual choices on employment sector ………....53

5.5 Gender pension gap: causes and solutions……….………55

CHAPTER VI – WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT POLICIES_____________________________ 6.1 Parental leave policies: how to address gender equality in childcare responsibilities………57

6.2 Family-friendly workplace policies and service ...………..……….64

6.2.1 Flexible working hours………...65

6.2.2 ECEC services and on-site care………...…66

6.3 The Nordic model: countries of family-friendliness………..…68

6.4 Case studies of companies investing on work-life balance...……….………70

6.4.1 IKEA’s health promotion………..……..………71

6.4.2 Procter & Gamble (P&G)………72

6.4.3 Ferrero………..………...………73

6.4.4 ENI and employees’ wellbeing………..……….………73

6.5 Policies to secure women’s safety……….………74

6.5.1 Violence against women (VAW)……….………...…74

6.5.2 Smart cities…………..………75

CHAPTER VII – GENDER QUOTAS________________________________________________ 7.1 Gender quotas to address female underrepresentation……….………...77

7.1.1 Gender Quotas in politics: Italy and Rosatellum………..……….………..78

7.1.2 Gender Quotas in companies: the Norwegian law and Golfo-Mosca law…….…………...80

7.2 Assessing the effectiveness of gender quotas ………..……….84

7.2.1 Equality of outcome and equality of opportunity ……….…...84

7.2.2 Arguments in favour of gender quotas……….………85

7.2.3 Arguments against gender quotas………..………...………...………86

7.3 Final account of gender quotas………..………87

PART III CHAPTER VIII – PARENTHOOD AS AN OPPORTUNITY____________________________ 8.1 Emotional intelligence and diversity management: an introduction to parental status…….……..89

8.2 MAAM and Plan C: a case study………..……….………91

8.2.1 What is Plan C? ………..92

8.2.2 What is MAAM?……….……93

8.3 Maternity as an opportunity to become “maternal leaders”………...……96

8.3.1 Mothers’ brain: a scientific perspective……….……….….97

8.3.2 Mothers as “natural born leaders”: maternal leadership and caregiving potentials……..…98

8.4 MAAM’s 12 training grounds: MAAM’s division of soft skills………..100

8.4.1 Relational skills……….101

Empathy; Listening; Communication; Collaboration 8.4.2 Management skills………102

Delegation; Time management and priority; Decision making; Managing complexity 8.4.3 Innovation skills ………...………103

Complex problem solving; Creativity; Mental agility; Vision and change management 8.5 The adoption of innovation: obstacles, critics and further developments of MAAM…….……..104

8.5.1 Barriers to innovation and tacit knowledge……….…………..105

8.5.2 MAAM’s expansion policy, risks and gender gap…………..………..……….107

8.5.3 What is next? Future perspective and fertility trend…...109

CONCLUSION………111

REFERENCES……….………115

APPENDICES Appendix A: Trascrizione dell’intervista telefonica a Riccarda Zezza, co-fondatrice di Maam……123

Appendix B: Transcription of the interview with Riccarda Zezza, co-founder of MAAM project…131 List of Figures and List of Tables...………...139

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INTRODUCTION

During the first year of secondary school, I happened to carry on a conversation with one of my schoolmates about the profession of our respective parents. At that time, her father was working in a construction company while her mother was a housewife. My immediate reaction was to think that her mum was a very lucky person because she had the privilege to stay at home all the time. No homework, no exams, no stressful working shifts, no time spent on public transports to reach the workplace, as my mum used to. But what I heard afterwards is the reason why I still remember that conversation, even after 10 years: her father made it clear that he would provide for the family, but he would never empty the trash can. At first, we both laughed over his statement because that condition seemed a “reasonable” price to pay for having a lot of spare time.

However, today, my reaction would not be the same. This statement is an example of machismo and gender discrimination, and sticking to my research study, classifiable as a case of benevolent sexism (Chapter III): women are weak and need to be protected by a caring, hard-worker husbands who provide for the whole family. This memory, together with the strong belief that women are not weak creatures, and not even worthy of objectification or negative evaluation (hostile sexism), motivated me to undertake a research path on women’s powers, and where absent, on women’s empowerment.

The 2005 research of Naila Kabeer¹ defines empowerment as “the ability to make choices” which initially individuals were not free to make. Hence, “people who exercise a great deal of choice in their lives may be very powerful, but they are not empowered […] because they were never disempowered in the first place” (Kabeer, 2005). In this regard, the statement “I provide for the family, but I won’t empty the trash can” deserves more detailed examination.

Firstly, the woman is (economically) disempowered by the sentence because money is essential to live and in the Western society, women have access to paid work. Hence, within the household a quite clear hierarchy of power is built: the man as breadwinner, and the woman as angel of the hearth.

Secondly, it is assumed that the wife’s tasks do not limit only to throw away the garbage, but she is more likely to perform most of the household tasks with no equal division of domestic work. Hence, the statement puts the wife in the position to be economically dependent on her husband, and one of the most important requirements for gender equality is economic independence.

1 Kabeer, N. (2005). Gender equality and women’s empowerment: a critical analysis of the third Millennium Development Goal. Gender and Development, pp. 13-24, vol. 13.

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Economic independence, as well as quality education and decent work, figure among the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG) to target women’s emancipation and eliminate gender inequalities (Chapter I). Women’s economic empowerment is very important for a country’s development and starts right from the family, the smallest unit of the community: inequality at home is the first and most powerful manifestation of gender inequality. Women’s undervaluation within the household is transferred into the labour market, with detrimental effects. Female empowerment is visible in the reduction of VAW (Chapter VI), equal purchasing power and, consequently, independent decision making. By independent decision making is meant free individual choice over career, reproduction, education, investment, health. In short, women’s empowerment lead to the country’s development.

Today the situation is evolving towards a more equal gender condition. In developed countries, people are more conscious of the importance of having a job and female employment rate has increased compared to the past. However, statistics by OECD Data, ILO and World Economic Forum (Chapter I) reveal that sectors and roles are on average gender specific. There are professions which are male-dominated and others which are female-dominated, while some job positions are more likely to be masculine and others which are more likely to be feminine. This division on gender is known as occupational segregation.

Occupational segregation dates to Stone Age, when women, because of their physical inferiority, had the only role to be mothers and wives, while men provided for the whole family (Chapter I). This distinction of roles goes until the present day. Despite the feminist movements and a slow but continuous process of female emancipation, gender biases are still firmly anchored to our social fabric. There are several metaphors associated with women’s segregation in the world of work and specifically within the company (Chapter IV). On of the most relevant is the “glass ceiling” effect, which corresponds to the vertical segregation, namely the difficulties that women have in climbing the organizational hierarchy when they strive for a career advancement. Horizontal segregation instead concerns the professional sectors, for instance the male-dominated sectors like STEM fields.

The reason behind occupational segregation does not always derive from gender discrimination but may depend on individual preferences. Some scholars believe that the difference in preference derives from biological difference between genders, like genetic makeup and hormones. Others believe that biological characteristics do not define genders’ preferences, but genders’ traits are determined by the social environment which shapes men and women. In brief women’s free choice of working in female-dominated fields and in low status/low paid positions might be voluntarily or determined by discrimination and gender bias, marginally on women’s free choice (Chapter I).

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A direct consequence of occupational segregation is wage differential. Although most women are economically active and gender employment gap is narrowing, women’s remuneration is averagely lower than men. That earning differential is known as gender pay gap or GPG (Chapter V).

The gender pay gap can be unadjusted and adjusted. The first includes the sum of unexplained (unobservable) and explained (observable) factors, while the second takes into consideration only the unexplained factors, such as gender discrimination. Apart from occupational segregation, another explained factor for gender pay gap is women’s shorter working hours, deriving from their reproductive capacity.

Maternity is often a challenging route to walk, both from women’s and employers’ point of view.

In the first case, women struggle between career and family, and most of the time the biological clock favours the second option better. After pregnancy, they often opt for a part-time or to give up any career ambitions. This choice is supported by employers who consider maternity as an obstacle for the company in terms of economic resources, time and tacit knowledge. Therefore, for women it is hard to balance work and family obligations. Some countries, however, are known to be forerunners in providing policies to enlarge national welfare, like the case of Nordic countries (Chapter VI). To enhance female representation in politics and organizations, gender equality policies provide for gender quotas (quote rosa), a controversial topic which have resulted in averagely positive results in terms of female representation (Chapter VI).

Concerning the issues addressed by my thesis, the first two parts provide an insight into women’s condition in the world of work, while the third concerns maternity and work-life balance and it is more innovative and investigative. The innovativeness of the third part comes from the presentation of two Italian projects: Plan C and MAAM, founded by the Italian entrepreneur Riccarda Zezza.

These two projects are virtuous examples to mention within the national landscape. In fact, Italy has one of the lowest female employment rates in Europe and is ranked 82^nd in the Global Gender Gap Report. The two projects want to motivate new mothers to re-enter the labour market after maternity and become economically active, considering that for lack of time, facilities and policies, mothers have often difficulties in going back to work in a relatively short period of time.

Plan C, with its several women-friendly services offered, wants to facilitate this process and help women, and men, to manage their new busy life, while enjoying a friendly environment. MAAM or

‘Maternity as a Master’, is a digital program addressed to companies which aims at increasing the self- and companies’ awareness about how the parenting experience can be a win-win situation for employers and employees, thanks to the training of soft competences. The 12 modules of the program,

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one for each soft-skill, guide users towards a on-the-ground training of such competences to be more successful at work through the conscious adoption of effective behaviours.

The reasons behind the assumption that parenthood is an opportunity are supported by sociological but also scientific researches. The maternal brain experiences a real development of its neurological capacities, from pregnancy to the first months of a child’s life, or even longer. The focus of the program is the awareness. Mothers and fathers are empowered by their parenthood experience, but they do not know that. Riccarda, with the help of Andrea Vitullo, introduced the idea of maternity as a master’s degree with the book MAAM - Motherhood as a Master Empowering both Men and Women, defined by Umberto Veronesi as the book which “makes us read the future”. Apart from presenting the two projects, the thirds part is dedicated to the interview with Riccarda Zezza, realized on 9th January 2019, which gave me a precious help to develop the topic of women’s empowerment, together with supportive literature about women’s great potentials. The interview was useful to learn about the more technical aspects of the project, for instance, how the project is distributed to customers and to employees, but also to know about the pros and cons of innovations and the risk of being a female entrepreneur willing to change the people’s mindset.

In conclusion, the purpose of my thesis is to show that women have all capacities to outstand in the labour market, to deal with the work and family conflict, and to be economic independent, if they really want to and if they are aware of their potentials. Even the insurmountable barrier of maternity can be turned into an opportunity to increase individual efficacy. As any other caring activity, parenthood is equivalent of a business degree. It is a great source of empowerment through the improvement of emotional intelligence and soft skills, both applicable at work.

Maternity is one of the first and most important opportunity to experience how to be a leader, and that is why women are defined by the founder of MAAM as “natural born leaders”. From pregnancy, women develop a new leadership consciousness, and all qualities developed during the

“nesting”² , such as interpersonal relations, determination, self-confidence, can be extremely useful at work: women, while pregnant, are aware of their power to bring to life a new human being and this experience pushes them to be more responsible and to change the world into a better and safer place for the good of their child. Thus, maternity is an opportunity for women, women are an opportunity for companies, feminist companies are an opportunity for national and international welfare.

2 The nesting effect: the creation of the nest. It refers to the period when women are pregnant (Vitullo & Zezza, 2014, p.13).

PART I

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CHAPTER I – The Gender Gap

1.1 Gender equality and feminism. Is it still worth talking about feminism?

The word feminism started to be used in France at the end of 19th century and then was extended outward by the three waves of feminism3. All feminist movements shared the same ideas of legal and social equality of genders, fighting against female discrimination and patriarchy. Feminists clustered together and contributed to women’s emancipation process and empowerment. Due to its long duration and evolution, scholars find more accurate to talk about feminisms, in the plural form. The most common one is the Liberal feminism that claims for gender equal treatments. But there are many more feminisms, from the most radical Separatist Feminism to the moderate Post Feminism⁴.

Anyway, a marginal and often poorly informed portion of public opinion associates the word

“feminism” with distorted meanings (Volpato, 2017, p. 77), and for that reason, feminist movement has been criticised for being an ideological weapon. As Paola Columba⁵ reports on her inquiry, many students ignore what feminism exactly is, associating feminists with men-hating and bras-burning women. Feminists are often labelled as hateful and mad at men. But what is the original meaning of feminism? Looking up on the Collins Dictionary, the actual definition of feminism goes completely toward another semantic direction. Feminism is “the belief and aim that women should have the same rights, power, and opportunities as men”. A similar definition is given also by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of the most prominent figures of recent history within gender equality and women’s empowerment landscape, who wrote We should all be feminist. The Italian translation⁶ of the title highlights even better the importance of a more inclusive consciousness of equality. In fact, not only women should sympathize for gender parity but also men.

Nevertheless, is it still relevant to talk about feminism and define ourselves as feminists? For Betsy Cairo, professor at the University of Northern Colorado, speaker during the

3 Waves of feminism: first wave (19^th-easly 20^th), second wave (1960s-1980s), third wave (1990s-2008). Scholars argue about a possible fourth waves of feminism, developed from 2008 up to present time, taking advantage of Internet and online platforms. For instance, the #Me Too movement, a feminist movement born in USA which is having a massive media coverage and thanks to its hashtag (#), it is spreading virally on social networks. This movement is more specifically against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Source : https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves- explained-first-second-third-fourth.

4 Feminism is used on its plural form because researches find several forms of feminism. Liberal Feminism for example, is the most common one. It believes that men and women are alike and should receive equal treatments. It is often referred to second wave feminism and is opposed to Structural Feminism, that has a completely difference significance. It claims that men and women are not alike due to different cultural experiences. However, there are many more feminisms. Here a short list: Radical Feminism, Ecofeminism, Marxist Feminism, Social Feminism, Lesbian Feminism, Separatist Feminism, Power Feminism, Revalorist Feminism, Third Wage Feminism, Post Feminism. The latter states that gender equality has been reached even though there are critics toward this idea because inequalities still exist. Source : ER Services https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-introductiontocommunication/chapter/feminism-versus-feminisms/

5 Author of “Il femminismo è superato” (Falso!). Laterza (2018).

6 It has been translated into Dovremmo tutti essere femministi, with no gender distinction.

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TEDxMileHighWomen⁷ in 2016, the answer is no. According to her, what is wrong about feminism is the word itself. Feminism subscribes to a strict male and female gender binary and focuses on gender differences rather than gender similarities. What she criticises is not the purpose of feminist contemporary movement, but the language used to describe it. There is a movement called Women Against Feminism which disapproves modern feminism and believes that feminism is outdated. For its supporters, women do not feel to be oppressed anymore. A more gender-neutral word to embody feminist purposes would be “Equalism”.

Anyway, even though a lot of progresses have been made, gender inequality pervades many fields of social and economic life. Despite women often obtain more schooling, they suffer from segregation, both horizontal and vertical, domestic work disparities, physical and psychological violence, both at home and at work, lower salaries and lower pensions. In the last decades, countries have made progresses to narrow the gender gap, introducing new policies to effectively address gender mainstreaming. UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide⁸, defines Gender Mainstream as “a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality” and combatting discrimination through the “preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures and spending programmes” (EIGE⁹). For instance, that means ensuring that gender stereotypes do not influence boys and girls in their education and women do not suffer from workplace segregation.

Women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming had a key place also on the G20¹⁰ held in 2018 in the city of Buenos Aires. The president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri declared that “the only way to achieve truly fair and sustainable development is by ensuring that women and men will benefit equally from it. The purpose is to boost women's empowerment, to eliminate gender disparities in employment, science, technology and education, and to protect women from all forms of gender- based violence.” Narrowing the gender gap is not only a developing countries’ issue, where inequalities are more evident, in terms of lack of rights and opportunities, but also in developed countries where the situation is improving but equity has not been achieved yet.

7 TEDxMileHighWomen. Retrieved from https://www.tedxmilehigh.com/its-about-time/

8 UN Women website: http://www.unwomen.org/en

9 EIGE – European Institute of Gender Equality. Source : https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/what-is-gender- mainstreaming.

10 G20 (Group of Twenty) 2018 will be held in Buenos Aires from 30 November 2018 to 1 December 2018.

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1.2 Behavioural Economics, Gender Economics and Feminist Economics

The word “gender” dates to the 1990s when a new discipline known as Gender Studies caught on. Compared to Women’s Studies, Gender Studies have no political connotation and are more focused on women and men relationship rather than solely on women’s perspective (Moore, 2015, p.

31). The new concept of gender influenced several fields, including economics. Therefore, it is relevant for this thesis to shed some light on three branches of economics related to gender:

Behavioural Economics, Gender Economics and Feminist Economics.

These three branches distance themselves from classical, mainstream economics, although they do not make traditional economic theory unreliable. The general assumption in mainstream economics is that people are rational, logic and predictable. Their objective is to minimize efforts and maximize results, regardless the complexity of behaviour and social relations. Gender differences are not taken into consideration because people are assumed to be the same, genderless.

Nevertheless, actual human beings may also be impulsive and irrational, and individual perceptions may influence our actions and decisions. The subfield of economics that studies people’s attitude towards choices, and why they behave differently than economic models would suggest, is the Behavioural Economics. Factors that influence decisions can be culture, society, emotions, psychology but also gender. In Behavioural Economics, the role of gender is essential and cannot be left out of consideration. Choices can be intended as both marketing choices such as purchasing a product over another, and job decisions, like choosing a work field over another.

In the first case, consumers may be biased towards certain products because of previous favourable experiences with the same company. This cognitive bias is known as Halo Effect and refers to the fact that “first impressions have a long-lasting and powerful effect” (Vitaud, 2017).

Consumers may be biased also according to their gender. Gender bias is often unconscious but is everywhere and “de-biasing our minds is exceedingly hard” (Vitaud, 2017), especially because

“people are quite ready to see bias in others, but they overlook the same biases in themselves”

(Bohnet, 2016). For instance, blue is a masculine colour while pink is a feminine colour, men like football and car racings while women prefer shopping and childcare. These are just few examples of gendered assumptions (Volpato, 2017). Marketers know about different gender preferences and how gender can influence consumers’ behaviours. For that reason, they leverage on gender stereotypes to make profit (Moore, 2014, p. 4).

In the second case, gender may also be relevant for professional career choices. For instance, statistics report that women who choose to take up a career on STEM fields (science, technology,

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engineering, mathematics) are significantly less than their male counterpart. Experiments on behavioural economics tries to suggest some explanations for these differences, and the most plausible one is that “women tend to avoid competitive environments while men are attracted to them”

(Buser, 2018). The female attitude towards negotiation and the risk adversity will be further discussed in Section 5.3.

Besides behavioural economics, another important subfield of economics is Gender Economics.

Susanne Moore, executive chair of the Centre for Gender Economics and Innovation (C4GEi™), is credited with being the founder of the Gender Economics Movement. She defines Gender Economics as “the influence of gender on economics, AND the influence of economics on gender” (Moore, 2012, p. 3). Gender Economics is neutral, and concerns men and women who both play an active role in the society at all levels (Moore, 2015, p. 29). Gender Economics is a multidisciplinary branch which studies gender equality through an economic lens, dealing with a broad array of disciplines such as sociology, management, finance and law. It focuses on gender gap in social and economic sphere, in private life (i.e. housekeeping, family) and in public life (i.e. labour, workplace), but also on gender roles and gender biases.

In fact, as for behavioural economics, also gender economics cannot be dissociated from gender biases. Gender biases are difficult to eradicate because unconscious and rooted in human tradition for centuries. Moving back to the Stone Age, men and women were living in a substantial egalitarian condition, sharing basic chores to survive. The passage from a gatherer to a planter and then hunter society determined a first differentiation of genders based on physical strength and the creation of a culture of male superiority. Agriculture and hunting relegated women to domestic work and caregiving since men were the only source of maintenance. From that moment on, human society has been dominated by a patriarchal organization of public and private life, in which power was mainly in the hands of men.

Nevertheless, today, in the labour market, organisations can no longer count exclusively on the heterosexual white male with a wife at home as potential employee. Traditional stereotypes are gradually changing, and women are more willing to participate in the workforce than in the past (Moore, 2015). Women went through a long process of emancipation and self-awareness during the last decades, thanks to feminist movements and gender equality campaigns. At home, women’s role has started to mutate from angel of the hearth to breadwinner, contributing actively to the household financial support. The most traditional “breadwinner model” has been replaced by the less traditional

“dual earner-career model”, especially in developed countries. The overturning of traditions began in Nordic countries where couples have been sharing domestic activities in a more and more equal way.

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The key driver for such sociological change can be found in the efficient design of family-friendly institutional infrastructures, like childcare and favourable parental leave rights (Plantenga & Doneva, 2015), but also a renovated female self-awareness about equal rights and opportunities.

Ultimately, also Feminists Economics has to do with gender, but its core focus is specifically the woman. Compared to Gender Economics, Feminist Economics is more radical and is aimed at denouncing the persistence of a patriarchal society. For that reason, it has been accused, especially by anti-feminist movements, to focus on sexism, and to introduce “its own bias against men in preference to women” (Moore, 2015). Gender Economics instead is more inclusive and takes all genders on consideration to analyse disparities through existing economics theory. However, Feminist Economics contributed to highlight the urgency of women’s emancipation in economy.

1.3 Agencies promoting Gender Equality

Since gender equality is already a central topic across European and non-European countries, there are several organizations established to promote gender sensitization and gender parity, with the purpose of narrowing the gender gap in future.

One of them is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD was founded in 1961 and today counts 36 Member States. It annually publishes Reports which are a useful source of information on the gender issue. The purpose is to stimulate economic progress, integration and financial cooperation both in OECD and non-OECD countries (OECD, 2012, p. 3)¹¹. However, OECD is also concerned about gender. For instance, in 2010, OECD launched the “three Es” Gender Initiative to examine gender barriers and give policy advices to governments regarding three main fields: education, employment and entrepreneurship (“three Es”).

A second promoter of gender parity is The International Labour Organization. ILO deals more broadly with labour issues and equality of work opportunities, including minimum wage protection and equal division of domestic works, largely performed by women¹². However, the primary goal of ILO is to guarantee equal opportunities, freedom, and security to men and women. The most recent action plan within gender equality policy features in “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG)”¹³, signed on 25 September 2015. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has described the

11 By OECD 2012 is intended the Official Report of OECD published in 2012. In the thesis, I will refer to both 2012 and 2014 OECD Reports. The reference for 2012 Report is the following: OECD (2012). Closing the Gender Gap: Act Now, OECD Publishing.

12 International Labour Organization: https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm

13The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG): https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

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plan as the “most inclusive development agenda the world has ever seen”. The agenda sets 17 goals to reach within 2030, “to transform our world”. For instance, the most relevant goals for this thesis are Quality education (4^th goals), Gender equality (5^th goals), Decent work and Economic growth (8^th goal), and Reduced inequities (10^th goal).

Another agency focused on women’s empowerment worldwide is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women¹⁴), born in January 2011. UN Women supports UN members to achieve gender equality and work with ILO to fulfil the above- mentioned Sustainable Development Goals before 2030. UN Women believes that women fuel economies and contribute to productivity and growth.

Another non-profit organization for women’s empowerment is Catalyst¹⁵. Catalyst’s aim is to remove barriers that prevent women from reaching senior potions (especially CEO positions). For instance, Catalyst fights against the glass ceiling phenomenon which prevent women from advancing on their careers towards leadership positions. Today, Catalyst can count on more than 800 organizations around the world that support Catalyst’s objectives of unconscious bias reduction and diverse board promotion. The issue of women on board will be further discussed in Chapter 4.

Finally, the World Economic Forum. WEF is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971, whose motto is “Committed to improving the state of the world”¹⁶. The most famous annual meeting organized by the WEF takes place in Davos at the end of January, addressed to all its members (top business leaders, political leaders, economists) to discuss about international issues. After every meeting, an annual report is drawn up, in which WEF takes stock of future agendas and attainments¹⁷, for instance, economic progress, energy, healthcare, international trade and investments.

The WEF introduced in 2006 the Global Gender Gap Report (GGR), an index to measure gender disparities and track their progress over time. This document is important to make the point about gender equality across the countries. The components of the index work similarly to other development indices, with a range of evaluation from 0 to 1, in which 0 indicates full inequality and 1 full equality. GGR takes into consideration key areas: economic participation and opportunities, educational attainments, health and survival and political empowerment. From the last Global Gender Gap Report (2017), “no country in the world has fully closed its gender gap” (GGR, 2017, p. 10), but

14 UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/en

15 Catalyst : https://www.catalyst.org/

16 WEF https://www.weforum.org/

17 WEF Annual report 2017 – 2018: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Annual_Report_2017-2018.pdf

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four out of five Nordic countries (excepted for Denmark that ranked 14^th) and, for the first time, Rwanda (4^th), Nicaragua(6^th), and Slovenia (7^th), have closed more than 80% of their gender gap.Italy has sadly ranked 82^nd, placing between Mexico (81^st) and Myanmar (83^rd).

Global index Economic participation and opportunity

Educational attainment

Health and survival

Political empowerment

Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score

Iceland 1 0.878 14 0.798 57 0.995 114 0.969 1 0.750

Norway 2 0.830 8 0.816 38 0.999 80 0.973 4 0.530

Finland 3 0.823 16 0.793 1 1.000 46 0.978 5 0.519

Rwanda 4 0.822 7 0.820 113 0.951 1 0.980 3 0.519

Sweden 5 0.816 12 0.809 37 0.999 112 0.969 8 0.486

Nicaragua 6 0.814 54 0.702 34 1.000 1 0.980 2 0.576

Slovenia 7 0.805 13 0.801 1 1.000 1 0.980 11 0.440

Ireland 8 0.794 50 0.710 1 1.000 96 0.971 6 0.493

New Zealand

9 0.791 23 0.768 43 0.998 115 0.969 12 0.430

Philippines 10 0.790 25 0.764 1 1.000 36 0.979 13 0.416

Table 1.1: Global Rankings from Global Gender Gap Report, top 10 countries, 2017¹⁸.

One of the most important aims of the WEF concerning Gender is the “Closing Gender Gap”¹⁹ project, within the “Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work” initiative²⁰ to reach a full parity between genders though dialogue and national cooperation.

18 The Global Gender Gap Report 2017: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf

19 Closing the Gender Gap: https://www.weforum.org/projects/closing-the-gender-gap-gender-parity-task-forces

20 Closing Gender Gap project, within the Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work initiative:

https://www.weforum.org/system-initiatives/shaping-the-future-of-education-gender-and-work

12 1.4 Are men and women truly equal?

The gender issue revolves around a core question: whether men and women are truly equal. The answer depends on the school of thought adopted. In fact, sociology and science have opposite evaluations on this matter.

(1) Social constructionist theory states that “characteristics typically thought to be immutable and solely biological […] are products of human definition and interpretation shaped by cultural and historical contexts” (Subramaniam 2010)²¹. In other words, despite most visible external differences, like genitalia, men and women are born the same and gender is a social construct. Societies make people adhere to traditional gender roles and behavioural traits are culturally indoctrinated, thus changeable. This is the reason why most feminists agree to social constructionism because it frees individuals from the shackles of traditional gender roles.

(2) The second theory believes on the existence of innate characteristics that depend on biological differences between sexes, namely genitalia, hormones and set of chromosomes in male and female body that determine different inclinations and preferences. Doctor Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto shares this same idea.

He believes that agreeableness is a natural trait that women dispose, while men are better negotiators, regardless of sociocultural influences. Gender specific traits explain why men and women are often employed in different sectors and why negative economic impacts, such as gender pay gap, occur.

According to the psychologist, presuming that men and women are equal would entail nothing but a stereotype reinforcement, a paradox known as “patriarchy paradox” or “gender equality paradox”:

the more gender equality in a country, the greater the difference in the way men and women think²². Researches from Leeds Beckett University and the University of Missouri, as well as a survey carried out by the University of Gothenburg, revealed that in countries where the female employment rate is higher, there is “a greater divergence between male and female behaviour” towards work fields, while “women are much more likely to choose conventionally male careers in countries ranked poorly on gender equality” (Perriman, 2018). For instance, in countries like Albania and Algeria, female employment rate in STEMs is higher than that in gender-equal countries, like Finland, Norway and Sweden (Halpin, 2018). The explanation might be that in countries with higher gender parity women feel free to express their preference and their innate attitudes, while in less performing countries, with little welfare support, STEM careers are relatively high-paid, hence more attractive (Halpin, 2018).

21 Retrieved from: https://press.rebus.community/introwgss/chapter/social-constructionism/

22Times’ articlerealized on 15 September 2018 about “patriarchal paradox”:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/patriarchy-paradox-how-equality-reinforces-stereotypes-96cx2bsrp.

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Patriarchal paradox runs against feminist theory which insist that gender differences are constructed and not essential. Anyway, the purpose of this first part of thesis is not to comment on the truthfulness of one or another of these theses. The aim is just to present relevant studies on gender debate.

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CHAPTER II – Gender equality in education

2.1 The importance of being “Educated”

Recently I had the opportunity to read a novel titled “Educated” by Tara Westover. This book has been recommended by the former US president, Barack Obama as one of the 5 novels that worth to be read at least once in life. Intrigued by these premises, I decided to give it a chance. It is an autobiography of the same author, Tara, born in 1986 on a remote mountain in Idaho and the seventh child of Mormon survivalist couple. The title “Educated” comes from the fact that Tara’s family, especially her father, had extremist positions on regards of education. Tara never attended public schools during her childhood, receiving just a mediocre education at home. Tara used to spend most of her time working on the family’s scarp yard, doing dangerous and physically demanding jobs. The choice that changed Tara’s life for the better was to leave her home and get a formal education, giving up on her reactionary and disheartening family. Finally, she was admitted to Brigham Young University, and then to Harvard and Cambridge where she got a PhD in history.

Receiving a good education is crucial. Even in developed countries, family values and culture can undermine the inalienable right to be educated, like in Tara’s case, and students often do not appreciate the preciousness of knowledge. However, in the Western World, education is accessible to everyone. In developing countries, instead, girls may not have the same opportunities as boys to receive a proper education. There are many realities in which education is available only for boys who traditionally provide for the family. Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistan activist for female education, and youngest Nobel Prize laureate, was one of the first voices to break the silence about the right to education. During one of her public speeches, she claimed that “it is necessary to educate girls and empower women, so they can live independent lives and make their own decisions²³”. This is the key to tackle global poverty. Education benefits both individuals and organizations. Education increases people’s chances to find a job and to be financially independent, while organization can count on literate and skilled human resources to boost profits.

23 The Guardian. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/malala-yousafzai

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2.2 Educational gender gap in developed and developing countries

The graph in Figure 1 shows the percentage of educated people in some European countries, considering three levels of education: below upper-secondary, upper secondary and tertiary education²⁴. Education and employment rate are closely related.

In fact, in modern economies, people with poor education are more likely to be unemployed or to find non-profitable jobs, while high education increases people’s chances for high wages and career advancements. On average, in Europe, 37% of people are graduated from tertiary education, 43%

from upper secondary education, and 20% from below upper secondary education. Italy is classified among the least performing countries since 19% of Italians have a university degree, 39% have an upper secondary education degree, while 39% of people have only received a below upper secondary education. The figures are alarming, especially if we compare Italy with Northern countries. For instance, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland count on average 43% of people graduated from tertiary education, and a rather small percentage of below upper secondary educated, respectively 17%, 18%, 12% and 23%.

Figure 2.1: Adult education level Below upper secondary / Tertiary / Upper secondary. Source: OECD Data²⁵.

OECD Data webpage even provides statistics broken down by gender. In developed countries, education is compulsory up to 15 or 16 years of age and educational possibilities are generally equal

24 According to OECD Data, the three educational level are considered as follow: ““upper secondary education typically follows completion of lower secondary schooling. Lower secondary education completes provision of basic education, usually in a more subject-oriented way and with more specialised teachers”.

25 The indicator considers latest data available (2013-2017) and 25-64 year-old population. The indicator is measured as a percentage of same age population”. Table drawn from https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/adult-education- level.htm#indicator-chart

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both for boys and girls. Female participation in classroom has exponentially increased compared to the past with significant progresses on educational attainments (OECD, 2012, p. 25). According to UNESCO 2016 data, “by 2014, gender parity in access to primary, lower secondary and upper- secondary school had been achieved, on average, across the globe” (OECD, 2017, p. 96), and gender gap in education is narrowing or even closing in most of the countries.

However, it is interesting to notice that even among European countries, female and male educational level is not the same. On the contrary, there is a remarkable difference in terms of study commitment since girls are increasingly better educated than boys. Girls get higher grades, they outnumber boys in tertiary education, and they are less likely to drop out of secondary education (OECD, 2012, p. 14). Especially for tertiary education, boys are less likely to continue with academic studies, or if they do, it takes longer for them to graduate from university than their female counterpart. According to PISA surveys from OECD Data, boys perform worse than girls in all three parameters of evaluation, namely reading, mathematics and science. Hence, girls are better educated in all European countries (see Figure 2 below). Even in the most performing Northern countries, the number of men in tertiary is consistently lower than the number of women. In Italy, 20% of men and 33% of women reach tertiary education. These data are alarming, considering OECD average of 40%

men and 50% women. However, the educational gender gap is larger if we consider the age range of 15 to 18 years, in which more boys than girls are likely to have poor school achievements, while it tends to shrink around 27 years of age (OECD, 2017, p. 115).

Figure 2.2: Population with tertiary education, % in same age group. Source: OECD Data²⁶.

26 The indicator considers latest data available (2013-2017) and 25-34 year-old population. The indicator is measured as a percentage of same age population”. Table drawn from https://data.oecd.org/eduatt/population-with-tertiary- education.htm#indicator-chart

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Nevertheless, in some developing countries, gender discrimination in education still exists.

Gender discrimination in education depends on two factors that often overlap: economic and socio- cultural factors. On the one hand, education entails many expenditures that are hard to support in case of economic shortcomings: books, fees, transportation are all classified as indirect costs of education.

Hence, for families with limited means, education is a privilege given first to boys because families invest on the member who is more likely to get a decent job and to provide for family (countries like Yemen, Afghanistan, sub-Saharan Africa). In these cultures, woman’s role is to look after children, young siblings and elderly relatives, apart from overseeing homemaking.

On the other hand, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, the poor female education is determined also by other factors. In these countries and many other non-OECD countries, the percentage of young girls getting married before 20 years old is high: in 2012, “child brides” were 62% in Niger, 20% in Mali and averagely 26% in Sub-Saharan Africa, while 24% in Southern Asia.

Social norms force girls into marriages before adulthood, a choice that affects their educational and economic participation, but also jeopardise their health, due to poor maternal care and sexually transmitted diseases (HIV). Moreover, Southern Asia countries, like China, are sadly known for the

“missing women” phenomenon²⁷, based on the preconception that sons are an economic support while daughters are an economic burden (OECD, 2012, p. 35). Thus, governments and international organizations are working to reduce the opportunity cost of domestic responsibilities, for instance with policies aimed at delaying early marriage and adolescence pregnancy (OECD, 2017, p. 96).

2.3 Educational choices and professional choices: masculine and feminine jobs

Despite the many progresses over the past century in terms of educational attainments, study fields are still gendered. There are many factors that can direct student conscious (or unconscious) choice. Social norms, gender biases, culture and student’s close entourage may influence girls and boys on their preferences and foster gender segregation. For instance, boys are more likely to choose STEM²⁸ subjects while girls are more likely to choose subjects that give access to the “pink collar”

jobs²⁹ like education, languages, arts, human sciences, but also healthcare, welfare, and

27 Missing women is a phenomenon of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. In 1990, the economist and Nobel Prize-winner Amartya Sen estimated that more than a hundred million women were missing, especially in Asia, in the Middle East and in Northern Africa. The one-child policy in China is one of the reasons behind the phenomenon (Wikipedia; OECD, 2012, p. 35).

28 The acronym STEM stands for science, technologies, engineering and mathematics.

29 A Pink-collar job is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “one that is traditionally done by a woman”. Various other

“colours” exist as well. White collar jobs for example, come from the white-collar shirts used among office workers in

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administration. This tendency is maintained also in the labour market in which male employees are more likely to work in STEM sectors. In short, STEM fields are generally male-dominated or male- intensive, while humanities are female-dominated or female-intensive (Powell, 2011).

According to OECD PISA surveys, girls feel less confident in scientific fields and even less in mathematics, and that is why they are less likely to choose STEM studies. Girls believe that they do not have a scientific or mathematical mind especially in computer science and engineering programming, in which they make up less than 20% of new entrants (OECD, 2017, p. 106). The resulting effect is a “feminisation” of specific sectors like health and education (OECD, 2012, p. 104).

However, there are also sex-neutral occupation, namely more proportioned in terms of men and women, or even the same occupation can be both male or female-dominated according to the status.

For instance, teaching is considered a “female” job but only if it is performed in primary or secondary education: as the level of education rises, so does the number of male teachers. In fact, after upper- secondary education, teaching, as well as educational management, is more likely to be considered a

“masculine” profession. As result, at university, the number of male professors is higher than the number of female professors.

Figure 2.3: Share of male and female teachers. Source: OECD Report 2017³⁰.

the early and mid-20th century. Blue collar instead are jobs performed by members of the working class, first used in 1924, blue because made from denim or other inexpensive fabric that didn’t show dirt easily (Wikipedia).

30 Most teachers are women, but the share of male teachers rises with the level of education. 2013 OECD Data. Table drawn from OECD official Report of 2017: OECD (2017). The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle, OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved from https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/the-pursuit-of-gender- equality_9789264281318-en#page110

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According to OECD Data, in Italy female teachers in early childhood education are 99%, in primary education 96% and in secondary education 69%, but in tertiary education, the percentage falls to 37%. Among the most performing countries in which gender gap in education is narrower, there are Finland, with 52% of tertiary female professors, Lithuania with 57% and Latvia with 55%.

Italy just ranks above Luxembourg and Greece³¹.

The perceived femininity or masculinity of certain occupations “may prevent boys and girls from expressing their talents and abilities” (OECD, 2017, p.126). The feminisation of professions may be perceived by boys as a loss of prestige and may discourage them from entering female-dominated sectors like healthcare and education, starting a vicious circle of segregation (see Subsection 5.2.1).

How to address the gender bias around study fields and professions?

One solution may start from educators and school guidance counsellor. For instance, educators should help students in their life choice and break with stereotypes that consider STEMs as

“masculine” and humanities as “feminine”. Moreover, teachers and parents can help building girls’

confidence in their abilities in mathematics and sciences and comfort them about “making choices that do not fit traditional stereotypes” (OECD, 2017, p.111). Further, governments may promote gender-free orientation programmes such as WISE Campaign (Women into Science and Engineering³²) to encourage girls to undertake scientific paths, while schools could adopt gender-free text books to prevent female and male students from being influenced by biases.

31 Data of 2016 retrieved from OECD Data from OECD official webpage. Women teachers in Early childhood education / Primary / Secondary / Tertiary. Source: https://data.oecd.org/eduresource/women-teachers.htm

32 “WISE is a Community Interest Company which provides Business to Business (B2B) services to employers, educators and training providers. We offer best in class expert support services to organisations seeking to improve their gender balance, including engagement and advancement of women”. Retrieved from https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/

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CHAPTER III – Employment

3.1 Female employment rate: a general overview

As is the case for educational fields, also certain sectors of employment are gendered, like teaching and hospitality industry, in which feminisation is more visible. According to Eurostat, female employment rate is on average 67%, while male employment rate is 78%³³. Data change depending on the country and region concerned. For instance, Iceland and Sweden count a high female employment rate, respectively 85% and 80%, while Italy is placed in the penultimate position after Greece: 53% of women are employed against 72% of men. In the south of Italy, female unemployment rate substantially affects the overall Italian employment rate. In fact, if Northern Italy employment rate is in line with EU employment average rate (62%), the Southern rate drops dramatically to 30% (Eurostat). Precisely, Campania (29%), Calabria (30%) and Puglia (32%) are among the least-employed regions of Italy, while Sicily is the lowest employed region across all regions of the European Union, with only 29% of women working in the labour market.

Figure 3.1: Employment rate Men / Women, % of working age population. Source: OECD Data³⁴.

Women employment rate is calculated considering individuals on their working age within formal economy. All activities that are not counted in a country’s gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP) belong to the informal economy. Informal economy is also known as

33 Eurostat statistics consider the European population aged 20-64. Retrieved from

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tesem010&language=en

34 Employment rates are calculated as the ratio of the employed to the working age population, namely people aged 15 to 64. The data are retrieved from OECD webpage in OECD Data section and refer to 2017. Table drawn from https://data.oecd.org/emp/employment-rate.htm