Women and Work Inactivity and Work Aspirations

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Women and WorkInactivity and Work Aspirations

• E.T.C. Research Development
• Le Meridien Phoenicia
• 14th June 2004

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Scope of Forum

• To address two research questions
• To stimulate debate on policy implications
• Focus of study potential returners to work
• Only partial study of women work issue
• it is NOT about
• retention of work
• fit between aspirations LM requirements

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Why Study Inactivity?

• From a family perspective
• How do families balance work and life?
• From equality perspective
• what are womens aspirations?
• From an economic perspective
• why is womens employment rate so low?
• From a fertility perspective
• Is the rapid decrease in fertility levels related
  in any way to womens labour market position?

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Employment Rates, Sept 03
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(No Transcript)
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Fertility Aspirations
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Methodology

• Research Questions
• Do inactive women wish to work?
• If so, under which conditions?
• Inactive
• Neither in full-time study, nor seeking work
• ETC developed questionnaire
• Biographic data 16 item conditions scale
• NSO sampled conducted telephone survey
• 768 women aged between 19 and 64
• ETC weighted analysed data

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Question 1 Willing to work?

• 44.8 said yes
• 50.9 said no
• Those who said no were significantly different
• They were older (mean 53.3 years, c/to 36.9)
• Had more children (mean 2.63, c/to 2.14)
• Had older children (mean 23.9 years, c/to 9.6)
• Had lower educational attainment

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• Significant correlates of those who said yes
• Age (V0.3 ) whether partner has second job
  (V0.2)
• Equally spread across age groups
• Nine in ten married with children
• Half had two children (1/5 - 1, 1/5 3, rest
  4)
• Half had child aged under 6 (16 lt10, 12lt15)
• Two thirds with secondary education
• 22 with primary education
• 13 with post-secondary/tertiary

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• 71 have been employed before
• 49 machine operators and assemblers
• 19 clerical
• 16 services and sales
• 9 elementary
• Concentrated in particular sectors
• 56 in manufacturing
• 14 in wholesale and retail
• 10 in hotels and restaurants
• 4 in public administration

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Reasons for wishing to work

• No significant differences by age or education

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Question 2 Preferred Conditions

• Developed 16 item five-point scale
• Respondent rated items in terms of how strongly
  they would affect decision to work
• Cronbachs alpha 0.9
• The 367 respondents wishing to work agree or
  strongly agree that the following conditions
  would encourage them to work

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• A or SA Condition
• 95.6 Job with good working conditions
• 94.2 Adequate job opportunities
• 92.2 Family-friendly hours
• 86.1 Lower national insurance contribution
• 85.6 Receive more education and/or training
• 82.3 Part-time work
• 74.1 Partner agrees to my working
• 73.3 Partners tax rate is unaffected
• 68.0 Can work at home
• 60.2 Someone helps with the housework
• 57.4 Someone helps with childcare
• 43.6 Assistance to open my own business
• 17.6 Help with care for dependent relatives
• 16.2 I do not lose my pension
• 11.9 I do not lose alimony

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Very important for.

• 25 to 34 year olds
• Family friendly hours 51.8
• Good working conditions 45.2
• Part-time work 44.0
• Partners tax does not increase 42.9
• 35 to 44 year olds
• Family-friendly hours 45.2
• Partners tax does not increase 42.9
• Good working conditions 38.8
• Lower N.I. Contributions 37.6

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Very important for

• 45 to 54 year olds
• I can work at home 46.3
• Lower N.I. Contributions 38.0
• Good working conditions 37.5
• Partner does not incur more tax 35.8
• 55 to 64 year olds
• I can work at home 43.5
• Lower N.I. Contributions 43.5
• Partner does not incur more tax 33.3
• Partner agrees to my working 29.2

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Very important, by Civil Status
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To recap.

• 44 of inactive women would like to work.
• For reasons of finance, learning and socialising
• under family friendly conditions, with further
  education and training and a fiscal system which
  provides incentives
• How can the gap between respondents profile
  and aspirations, and labour market conditions -
  be addressed?
• What are the respective roles of the social
  partners?
• What should be our priorities, if any?