Policy cycle in employment

The European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) provides the main aggregated statistics on labour market outcomes in the European Union. The EU-LFS is the main data source for employment and unemployment. Tables on population, employment, working hours, permanency of job, professional status etc. are included. It provides disaggregated statistics by sex, age groups, economic activity, education attainment and field of education, type of employment (part-time, full-time), type of occupation (temporary) from which it is possible to measure the characteristics of the labour force of women. Starting from 1999, every year the survey has included an ad hoc module on specific topics. In 2005 and 2010, the module was on reconciliation of work and family life.

The European Union Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC) is the main source for the compilation of statistics on income, social inclusion and living conditions at the EU-28 level. EU-SILC was launched in 2003 in 7 countries under a gentleman’s agreement and was later gradually extended to all EU countries and beyond. The EU-SILC survey has been conducted in 32 countries, i.e. the 28 EU countries plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, and tested in 2 further countries (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia). These cover objective and subjective aspects of the themes in both monetary and non-monetary terms, for households and individuals. It contains, among other things, information on wages, incomes, working hours and use of childcare.

Unpaid family work and the use of time. Traditionally, harmonised data on time use are rather scarce. However, the Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS) enables an illustration of how the daily time of European women and men is distributed among different activities, highlighting gender gaps and cross-national differences. HETUS contains harmonised information on the use of time by each member of the household. The list of domestic activities available in HETUS is fairly comprehensive. In 2008, Eurostat released an updated version of the guidelines on HETUS, the purpose of which is to provide a solid methodological basis for countries intending to carry out time use surveys, to ensure that the results are comparable between countries and hence to greatly increase the value of the data.

The European Union Structure of Earnings Survey (EU-SES). The SES is a large enterprise sample survey providing detailed and comparable information on the relationships between the level of remuneration and individual characteristics of employees (sex, age, occupation, length of service, highest educational level attained, etc.) and those of their employer (economic activity, size and location of the enterprise). This is the basis for collecting data on earnings and the gender pay gap in EU-28 Member States. The data collection is based on legislation and data became available approximately 2 years after the end of the reference period. Earnings statistics vary with regard to periodicity of the data collection (biannual, annual and four-yearly), coverage (economic activity, enterprise size) and units of measurement (hourly, monthly or yearly earnings). In particular, SES provides information on annual gross earnings, net earnings and tax rate, gender pay gap and minimum wages. Data are broken down by economic activity (NACE: Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community), form of economic and financial control (public/private) of the enterprise and age classes of employees. Data and indicators are included in Eurostat earnings database.

The European Working Conditions Survey (ECWS). To date the survey, which interviews both employees and self-employed people on key issues relating to their work and employment, has been carried out 5 times. Themes covered today include employment status, working-time duration and organisation, work organisation, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work–life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, as well as work and health.

The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is undertaken every 4 years by Eurofound. It includes questions on how often individuals are involved in any activities outside paid work (e.g. caring for children, housework, caring for elderly, disabled relatives) and how many hours and days individuals are involved in those activities.

The online salary check/wage indicator started in the Netherlands and is now available for 60 different countries. Workers, employers and policymakers can check whether there is equal pay for equal work. The aim is to provide the most reliable wage information for any specific occupation and worker profile. By providing reliable information about empirically observed gender pay differentials, the wage indicator hopes to contribute to a more transparent and equitable labour market. The salary checker calculation uses the gross hourly wage rate computed from gross earnings and the number of hours worked. The wage indicator collects data by means of a strictly voluntary web-based survey available at national wage indicator sites. The wage indicator questionnaire has been translated into 20 languages so far and operates in 60 countries. The survey questionnaire is similar to those used by statistical agencies for standard labour force surveys; it is designed to be easily understood and involves only multiple-choice questions. The collected data are anonymised, and strictly applied measures ensure data security. The wage indicator recognises more than 1,700 different occupations. The classification of occupations is based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) provided by the ILO.

This website aims to bring together both gender statistics and policies. Focus is on the production, dissemination and use of gender-related data. In addition to statistics, the website outlines some of the main gender issues relevant to the UNECE region, and provides examples of policies and other initiatives. It also contains thematic pages on topics consisting of important methodologies and examples of survey instruments. The UNECE Gender Statistics Database helps to monitor the situation of women and men in all UNECE member countries. It contains data on employment and unemployment disaggregated by sex.

The ILO Database of Labour Statistics (ILOSTAT databases) provides multiple datasets with annual and intra-annual labour market statistics for over 100 indicators and 230 countries, areas and territories.

This report provides a checklist for effective gender mainstreaming and analyses the most relevant employment policy domains from a gender perspective.

This report analyses the gendered impact of the recession and underlines why it is important to keep gender equality central to responses at both the European and Member State level since losing sight of equality issues risks undermining EU long-term strategic goals. Gender mainstreaming in labour market analyses and policy reactions can be considered an important tool in this time of crisis for effective responses to help both men and women in European labour markets.

This report provides an assessment of the impact of this crisis on the situation of women and men in Europe and on gender equality policies. It covers 27 Member States, the EEA-EFTA countries and 3 candidate countries: Turkey, Croatia and FYROM. The core reference period for analysis of the labour market impact is the (nearly) 4 years between the second quarter of 2008 – when the crisis technically started for the EU as a whole – and the first quarter of 2012.

On 1 July 2007, household-related services became tax-deductible. The deduction effectively reduces the cost of buying such services by around 50%. One of the aims of introducing tax relief in this area is to enable members of the household to increase their time in gainful employment and to make it easier for women and men to combine family life and working life on equal terms. One of the positive effects of tax relief for household-related services reported by the government in the government bill of 2011 was that a large percentage of those who work and have started working as a result of this deduction were women of foreign origin, who generally have a very weak position in the labour market.

This article provides an overview of the development trends of the gender pay gap in Estonia and in the other EU Member States, and analyses the consequent results on the size of the explained and unexplained pay gap. It is accompanied by an article that covers recommendations regarding measures to reduce the gender pay gap for the following topics: a general change in attitudes, a more precise determination of rights and obligations, reconciliation of work and family life, reducing gender segregation in the labour market and education, organizational practices and monitoring the changes in the pay gap.

The report provides a gender impact assessment analysis of the employment policy planned and implemented in Austria until 2000 by Federal Government and PES (Public Employment Services).

This equality impact assessment of the recruitment and selection policy for internal staff in respect of gender was sponsored by the Director of Human Resources. One of the OU’s strategic priorities is to diversify its staff base to reflect an increasingly diverse student body. The policy is designed to provide a fair, robust and efficient recruitment and selection process which complies with current legislation and best practice. It operates within the framework of equality and diversity policies to ensure job applicants at all stages of the process are treated solely on the basis of their merits, regardless of age, disability, family circumstance, gender, political opinion, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, trade union membership or other distinctions.

The WES is a policy network with members from 31 European countries (the EU-28, Iceland, Norway and Turkey). The delegates represent national governments and institutions. They are responsible for promoting and supporting female entrepreneurship at national level. WES members provide advice, support, information and contacts regarding existing support measures for female entrepreneurs. They also help identify good practices.

The European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs provides advice and support to women entrepreneurs on the start-up, management and growth of their businesses in the early phases (from the second to the fourth year of existence of a new woman-run and owned enterprise).

The European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors was inaugurated in 2009. It is made up of around 270 entrepreneurs from 22 European countries. The aim of the ambassadors is to act as role models by telling their story to raise awareness and encourage entrepreneurship as a career option for women of all ages.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) is a tripartite European Union Agency, whose role is to provide knowledge in the area of social and work-related policies. Eurofound’s role is to provide information, advice and expertise – on living and working conditions, industrial relations and managing change in Europe – for key actors in the field of EU social policy on the basis of comparative information, research and analysis.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that labour peace is essential to prosperity. Today, the ILO helps advance the creation of decent work and the economic and working conditions that give working people and business people a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.