EMPLOYMENT-NOW
NEW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
SPECIAL REPORT
[DATE]
FOREWORD
If Europe is to enjoy sustained economic growth and be competitive in a world market, we must maximise the economic contribution of every person of working age. However, women continue to face barriers to their full participation in the labour market, despite an established European legislative framework on equal treatment in employment. On average, women continue to earn less, more are in part-time employment and a higher percentage are unemployed. As emphasised at every European Summit since Essen, we cannot afford to ignore this imbalance between women and men in the labour market. The promotion of equal opportunities is a priority task for the European Union and must become an integral part of all employment policies.
The Fourth Action Programme on Equal Opportunities, 1996-2000, highlights the need to strengthen women’s status as citizens so they can play a full and equal role in all aspects of life. In particular, women should be able to participate in the decision-making process on an equal basis with men.
The European Structural Funds and the European Social Fund in particular are the principal financial instrument for promoting human resource development in the European Union. They are thus a key resource for promoting, through practical financial assistance, more active participation by women in the European labour force.
The NOW Initiative with a total EU budget of almost 500 million ECU over the period 1994-99 is a key instrument within the Structural Funds which seeks to explore, through transnational experimental projects, new ways of providing better opportunities for women in the European jobs market. Already over 750 projects are operational under the first phase of the current NOW programme. This report provides a first overview of what these projects are pointing to as future good practice. As such it is a part of our collective effort to promote better job opportunities for women throughout Europe.
Pádraig Flynn,
Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs
EMPLOYMENT- NOW
Exploring innovative solutions - the Community Initiatives
Within the Employment Community Initiative, NOW focuses on improving participation by women in the labour market, on reducing unemployment among women and on improving the position of those already in the work force.
A fuller description of EMPLOYMENT Initiative and of its various strands is to be found below. This Special Report refers to EMPLOYMENT-NOW simply as NOW.
NOW is the largest programme in the EU for testing and implementing new ideas for women’s training and employment. In 1995, 754 projects were selected for the first phase 1995-97. A second phase of projects will be selected during 1997, bringing the total to more than 1.500 projects.
The overall budget for NOW for the period 1994-99 is estimated at over ECU 900 million of which the European Union contributes almost ECU 500 million.
In collaboration with their transnational partners, projects are developing innovative and concrete measures to achieve equality of opportunity on the labour market. Many projects involve women’s organisations, local authorities and local enterprises. This ‘bottom up’ approach ensures that those with the greatest practical experience can make the maximum contribution to reducing barriers to women’s employment, economic independence and participation in all aspects of life.
A critical objective of NOW is the integration of best practice into mainstream systems of training and employment. In this way, NOW promotes a structured approach to ensuring equal employment opportunities for women and men. Furthermore, by stimulating greater use of the untapped skills and potential of the female work force, NOW is an important tool for enhancing the competitiveness of European economies.
Each Member State has appointed National Support Structures (NSS) to develop and support the work of projects especially in relation to transnational cooperation. The presentation of projects in this report is based on information provided by the Member States and projects.
National Support Structures (NSS) were appointed by each Member State in order to develop and support the work of the projects especially in relation to transnational cooperation.
Where to find information on . . .
EMPLOYMENT- NOW...... 3
WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET...... 5
THE EUROPEAN UNION RESPONSE...... 6
NOW IN ACION...... 7
Lessons from the First Phase...... 13
SELECTING PROJECTS FOR THE SECOND PHASE...... 15
THE EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE AT A GLANCE...... 16
WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET
Women do different work to men
Women have entered the labour market in unprecedented numbers over the past 10 years. They account for the entire growth of the Union’s work force and represent 41 per cent of the working population. While they have filled jobs in both industry and the service sector, their increased participation has come mainly from the expanding service sector. Women remain concentrated in a few economic sectors, such as domestic services, health and education. Their jobs are characterised by strong elements of caring, nurturing and supportive roles while men monopolise the ‘heavy’ manual, technical and managerial tasks. Increasing numbers of women are also entering the professions, in fields such as law, medicine and accountancy, although their presence is not yet reflected at more senior levels.
Women are at greater risk of unemployment
While the proportion of working women has risen dramatically, they are nevertheless more vulnerable to unemployment. In all Member States, apart from Finland, Sweden and the UK, the unemployment rate for women is higher than that for men. Women returning to work after raising a family have particular difficulty finding paid employment. Those having sole responsibility for children face additional problems. Frequently the jobs available to them do not pay sufficiently well that they can afford the cost of child care.
They are not breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’
In all sectors, even where women form the majority of the work force, they occupy jobs at the lower levels. Within public administrations, women comprise 40 per cent of the work force yet, on average, they hold only 10 per cent of managerial posts and considerably less at the most senior levels. Women rarely hold positions of power and decision-making. Increasingly they have been occupying middle-management positions but the recent restructuring of companies has led to a reduction in such positions. This has had a particularly negative impact on women.
Women are paid less
In every Member State, women, on average, earn less than men. The difference for manual workers is 15 to 35 per cent. For non-manual workers, the differential increases to between 30 and 40 per cent. The range of possible jobs explains the greater pay differential among non-manual workers: men tend to be managers and women to be secretaries. In the case of manual workers, the range of jobs is more restricted and pay levels are thus less varied.
Many work part-time
Responsibility for the care of children and other dependants continues to fall mainly on women. A very large percentage stop working with the arrival of their first child while the percentage of men in employment actually increases at this time. Rates vary between Member States but on average more than 30 per cent of women work part-time, compared to less than 5 per cent of men. Part-time jobs enable women to combine employment with caring for dependants. However, these jobs are often low-paid, low-skilled, and have less-favourable working conditions. It is not clear whether women accept them through choice, or simply because they have no alternative.
They are creating new jobs
Over the past decade, job growth has come mainly through Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), not through big corporations. In a number of Member States, women have created more than 25 per cent of new businesses. For some, business creation is a solution to unemployment. However, professional and highly educated women also choose to leave positions in middle and upper management to head their own SME.
Sources
‘EMPLOYMENT in Europe 1996', published by the European Commission 1996, ISBN 92-827-8765-6
‘Labour Force Survey - Results 1995’ published by the European Commission 1996, ISBN 92-827-8361-8
‘Women and men in the European Union, a statistical portrait’, published by the European Commission 1995, ISBN 92-826-9619-7
THE EUROPEAN UNION RESPONSE
Policy Development
The European Union recognises equality between men and women as a basic principle of democracy and respect for humankind.
Since its creation the Union has recognised the principle of equal pay for men and women and on this basis has developed a consistent set of legal provisions aimed at guaranteeing equal rights to employment and vocational training.
In order to promote equality in practice, the Union has implemented specific action programmes since the 1980s which have had a substantial knock-on effect. Every European Council since Essen has stressed that promoting equal opportunities for women and men, together with combating unemployment, is one of the paramount tasks of the Union and its Member States. The Commission intends to continue making an active contribution to the efforts required and to mobilise all Community policies towards this end.
Against this background, the Council adopted the fourth Medium Term Community Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (1996-2000), in order to continue the work of previous action programmes since 1982. This programme should enable progress to be made in the field of legislation, the effective development of the principle of mainstreaming and the support and organisation of specific measures to promote equal opportunities.
The European Union’s Structural Funds
European Union intervention in support of structural adjustment is now very significant. The Union’s Structural Funds amount to almost ECU 30,000 million annually. They account for over one third of the Union’s annual budget or nearly 0.5% of annual GDP. There are four structural funds: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).
The European Social Fund accounts for around one third of the total budget for the Structural Funds. Its principal aim is to promote investment in human resources. It has the specific objectives of combating long-term unemployment and improving the employability of young people and, since 1993, of promoting adaptation to industrial change. It also aims to integrate those excluded from the labour market and to promote the principle of equal opportunities. It contributes to the financing of vocational training and employment support measures and to improvements in education systems.
The Community Initiatives
Some 9% of the Structural Funds’ budget is set aside for Community Initiatives. These are special programmes whose guidelines are established by the Commission according to European priorities. There are four main features which distinguish Community Initiatives from other forms of Structural Funds assistance:
- Innovation
Each initiative aims to stimulate policy change by supporting innovative activities and the wider dissemination of their results; - Transnationality
The Initiatives aim to develop a European response to problems being faced across the Union, and therefore transnational cooperation is a required element for participation; - Multiplier effect
Approaches that are developed should, in time, become part of the mainstream practices in the Member States; - Bottom-up
The “bottom-up” rather than “top-down” approach means mobilising the expertise and experience of a broad base of players who are active in the field and are well placed to identify local, regional and multi-sectoral problems and needs;
There are currently fourteen Community Initiatives in operation under the Structural Funds. Two of these, Employment and Adapt, are funded mainly by the European Social Fund and are targetted specifically at improving the functioning of the European labour market, particularly to assist vulnerable groups. There is also a major ESF involvement in the other twelve Community Initiatives: Interreg and Interreg C, Leader, Regis, Rechar, Resider, Konver, Retex, Sme, Urban, Pesca and the Peace and Reconciliation Programme, in Northern Ireland.
NOW IN ACION
All NOW projects combine most, if not all, of the features that make the EMPLOYMENT Initiative unique in its approach to the integration of specific target groups into the labour market. The project examples described below illustrate the approach, the target groups and the objectives of NOW.
1.A successful laboratory for innovation
NOW provides the largest laboratory in the EU for exploring innovative ideas on women's vocational training and employment. In most Member States, training and employment systems are still shaped according to the typical male worker. Normally they fail to take account of women’s needs and potential. Nor do they offer favourable conditions for testing new ideas aimed at women. NOW provides the opportunity to develop new training methodologies, to target groups previously excluded from training, to identify new niches in the job market and to pursue new business ideas.
GERMANY
Going regional, going national, going international….
The German project Frauen am Markt (women on the market) offers a range of services to women considering setting up their own business, or who already have experience of being their own boss. ‘Each woman is offered an individual counselling session free of charge’, says project manager Tamara Braeuer. Nearly 60% of women using the centre’s services are either unemployed or not active on the labour market due to family reasons.
New businesses supported by Frauen am Markt include domestic services, leather crafts, fitness classes, psychotherapy, advertising, graphics and design and business consultancy.
Frauen am Markt has transnational partners in Sweden, Austria and Ireland. The Irish partner works mainly with unemployed women and provides follow up and support for two years after business creation. Another partner, based in Stockholm, helps established women’s enterprises gain access to European markets. As well as participation in international trade fairs, it is particularly interested in Euro-Partenariats, which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funds throughout Europe and in third countries.
AUSTRIA
Join NOW on the Internet
On-Line NOW links all local and regional Equal Opportunity Counsellors in public administration and other institutions throughout Austria. Researchers, trade unionists, lobbyists, university women’s studies departments, feminist archives and libraries, artists, educators and trainers add to the assembled wealth of information and provide new perspectives and themes for communication.
In addition to communication using the Internet, the project has established regional centres where women can drop in, meet regularly and follow modular training programmes. For example, in a two-day workshop they learn the basics of handling mailboxes and surfing the Internet.
On-Line NOW has, of course, established its own website. It has created home-pages for all Austrian NOW projects and will use the Internet to raise the visibility of NOW activities all over Europe. (Want to try? - The high visibility of this model has stimulated follow-on projects in six Austrian regions.
2. Building on a proven track record
NOW continues to build on the rich experience of the 1991-94 NOW Initiative, which was the first Community Initiative to support specific actions in favour of women. This programme proved the effectiveness of an individualised, holistic approach, which linked social and psychological support with training, work experience and job search. This was a powerful strategy that benefited many women, including those labelled as persistent long-term unemployed.
IRELAND
OMNA - A common accreditation in early childcare training
The promoter of the OMNA project is the Dublin Institute of Technology. Previously it had developed a system for Accrediting Prior Experience, Achievement and Learning (APEAL). The OMNA project will use this system to give early childhood workers credit for their knowledge, skills and experience. In this way it aims to establish a recognised method of accreditation for training in early childhood care and education.
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The focus of the project is on creating a partnership of all the key actors to ensure an accessible, well co-ordinated system of national certification and accreditation.
OMNA with its transnational partners will also explore the possibility of mainstreaming early childhood accreditation within a European context through the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. The budget of more that ECU 440 000 is spread over 1996 and 1997.
3. A potential for mainstreaming and structural change