Getting more women into ICT would reduce the persistent gender-pay gap in the labour market, which is partly due to a disproportionate amount of women concentrated in modestly paid jobs such as teaching and care-work.
90 % of ICT professionals say they appreciate their working time arrangements. Our good practices highlight some of the most effective work-life balance measures ICT companies are implementing across the EU.
A gender audit is a tool to assess and check the institutionalisation of gender equality into organisations, including in their policies, programmes, projects and/or provision of services, structures, proceedings and budgets. Gender audits allow organisations ‘to set their own houses in order, and change aspects of the organisational culture which discriminate against women staff and women “beneficiaries”’. As a method...
The gender pay gap reveals the different realities that women and men face in their professional and personal lives. Today, women across the EU earn on average, 16% less per hour than men. The biggest gap in earnings is among couples with children - showing that the financial cost of having a family falls heavily on women’s shoulders. These findings...
This research note provides an overview of the gender pay gap across the EU, with insights on how it relates to the gender gap in overall earnings and, consequently, the gender pension gap. Moreover, it explores the links between the gender pay gap and emerging policies aimed at improving work-life balance, with a focus on the role of measures put...
Case examples demonstrate that efforts to measure the benefit and economic impact of work-life balance policies on the ICT sector has been sporadic at best. Organisations are relying on anecdotal evidence, perception studies, intuition, or publicly available statistics. Even though it was relatively easy to identify work-life balance measures in the ICT sector, detailed evaluations of such programmes were unsystematic...
The EU’s budget can be a powerful force for growth and development. EU funds have helped transform less-developed regions and reduced inequality across the European Union. Yet a new report by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has estimated that less than 1% of the EU’s Structural and Investment Funds have been set aside for the promotion of gender...
“United in diversity” has been the motto of the European Union (EU) since the new millennium. Since its inception, the Gender Equality Index has strived to reflect this diversity. Intersecting inequalities capture how gender is manifested when combined with other characteristics such as age, dis/ability, migrant background, ethnicity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic background. An intersectional perspective highlights the complexity of...
When it comes to power, the European Union has not yet reached the halfway mark to full gender equality. With the domain of power holding the lowest score in our Gender Equality Index, women remain under-represented in the kinds of decision-making positions that shape politics, economics and society. Yet gender equality is a founding value of the EU and improving...
Improvements in work-life balance for all can be achieved in a variety of ways. The initiatives that companies can offer can range from one-off events to ongoing programmes. Some require minimal time and resources, while others need significant investment. A key recommendation for organisations is to start with an area of least resistance: identify easily attained objectives.. This can take...
1. Identify national work-life balance initiatives and partners Yes No Organisational policies are in line with all national legislation for employment and workplace flexibility as well as leave and childcare entitlement. Yes No Information about legislation and campaigns to mainstream gender equality has been gathered. Yes No Information about the national policy context and available care services for the elderly...
The benefits of gender equality and work-life balance measures are reaped by both the organisation and the employees, and can be both financial and non-financial. Financial impact can be measured in terms of reduced costs (reduced absenteeism and reduced turnover and recruitment costs) or increased revenues (more engaged, productive, and creative employees). Indirect financial benefits may include improvements in employer...
