Gudrun Biffl

Gender and the Labour Market: Comparing Austria and Japan

Seminar of the Universities of Vienna and Kyoto on: Postindustrial Society, Vienna

4-6 September 2006

21.04.23

Socio-economic change transforms role of men and women in the

labour market

Profound changes on the labour market have resulted from:

globalisation and technical change changing socio-economic norms rising educational attainment levels of men and

women

All have contributed to

changes in labour supply by gender as well as

changes in labour demand and

production opportunities.

In consequence, the proportion of women in the labour force has risen in the face of declining agricultural and manufacturing production, increasing tertiarisation of work and an augmenting share of knowledge work

21.04.23

Labour market indicators: similarities and differences

Japan and Austria have an intermediate labour force participation rate (72% of all 15-64 year olds) and a low unemployment rate (4% -5%) by international standards

However, the gender gap of the labour force participation in Japan is one of the largest in the OECD, while it is intermediate in Austria

Gender gap in unemployment rate is low in both countries

Gender wage gap is high in Austria and in Japan one of the highest in OECD

21.04.23

Significantly higher labour force participation rates of men and lower rates of women in Japan

The participation rate of men is almost 5 percentage points higher in Japan (84.2%) than in Austria (78.5%)

The participation rate of Austrian women exceeds the Japanese rate by 4 percentage points.

Male rates: in the 1970s until about 1980, the participation rate of men was similar in Austria and Japan.

However, from the early 1980s until the mid 1980s the male activity rate declined rapidly in Austria, while it remained fairly constant in Japan. Austria: substantial downsizing of manufacturing industry in the wake of a severe economic recession and the recognition of the need of industrial restructuring as a result of globalisation.

The preferred strategy to cope with employment reductions was early retirement and the disability pension system to reduce the labour supply mostly of older workers.

Japan, in contrast was in its heyday of economic and employment growth and thus under no pressure to change strategy.

21.04.23

Differential in female activity rate

The participation rate of women has been high by international comparison in the 1960s, both in Austria and Japan

This was due to: large number of small scale farmers and an important consumer goods industry. Farming and production of consumer goods, often family enterprises, are highly labour intensive, offering work to an above average share of women for little, if any, pay.

As economic restructuring gained momentum in the 1970s, agricultural production and consumer goods production declined.

As the services industry developed slowly, both in Austria and Japan, the activity rate of women stagnated both in Austria and Japan

ln the 1980s, the activity rate of Austrian women was somewhat below that of Japanese women.

In the course of the 1990s, however, female labour force participation increased faster in Austria than in Japan.

21.04.23

Labour force participation rate (labour force in % of population 15-64) by gender: Austria and Japan

50,0

52,0

54,0

56,0

58,0

60,0

62,0

64,0

66,0

68,0

70,0

72,0

74,0

76,0

78,0

80,0

82,0

84,0

86,0

88,0

90,0

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

In p

er c

ent

J apan-female Austria-female J apan-male Austria-male J apan-total Austria-total

S: OECD Labour Force Statistics, WIFO-calculations.

21.04.23

Reasons for the divergent trends in employment rates

by gender Labour force participation rates reflect the social organization of labour,

notably the division of labour between (paid) market work and (unpaid) household work,

and between the formal and the informal sectors of the economy.

Female labour force participation rates are low in countries where only a small share of home production

has been transferred to market production (small degree of tertiarisation of the formal labour market)

and/or where the informal sector accounts for a high share of value added.

21.04.23

Japan relative to Austria and EU

Female activity rates: Denmark has the highest female activity rates at 76.2% and Italy the lowest at 50.6%. Japan 60% and Austria 64%

Denmark has transferred household production to the formal sector labour market (large 3rd sector (75% of employment) & high proportion of personal services), Italy kept household work outside the formal sector labour market (small 3rd sector)

Japan and Austria have as small a 3rd sector as Italy (66% of total employment), but in contrast to Italy

a low proportion of informal sector production in GDP (around 11%).

This implies that Japanese women are engaged in unpaid household work to a larger extent than Austrian women. This shows up in a lower activity rate of Japanese prime age women.

21.04.23

Activity Rates of Men and Women by Age (2004)

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

90,0

100,0

15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64

In %

of p

opul

atio

n

Austria Italy Denmark J apan

Men Women

S:OECD.

21.04.23

Informal sector economy in % of GDP in 21 OECD-countries

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Aus

tralia

Belg

ium

Cana

da

Denm

ark

Germ

any

Finl

and

Franc

e

Gre

ece

UK

Irela

nd

Italy

Japan

Neth

erla

nds

New

Zeala

nd

Norw

ay

Aus

tria

Portug

al

Sweden

Switz

erla

nd

Spain

USA

In %

des BI

P

1989/90 2002/03

Q: Schneider/Enste, 2000; Schneider, 2003; Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln.

21.04.23

Male breadwinner model more prominent in Japan

Japanese women tend to withdraw from the labour market at the average age of first marriage and first birth (25-29) to a larger extent than Austrian women, and indeed women in most OECD countries.

In Austria women tend to reduce their working hours in their main childbearing and child–rearing age rather than exit temporarily. This means that the male breadwinner model is more prominent in Japan than Austria.

In 2001, 50% of all couple families with children adhered to this model, compared to 30% in Austria.

It was above all in the 1990s that Austrian married women with children entered the labour market, preferably as part-timers. This is the major reason for the opening up of a gap in the activity rates of women between Austria and Japan in the 1990s.

It is above all long (traditional) working hours in combination with a high degree of commuting which make it difficult for full-time employees to combine an occupation with family life.

This holds for Austria, a country with a relatively small degree of urbanisation and in consequence large numbers of commuters from rural to urban areas, but even more so for Japan.

As a result, men have typically specialized in paid work and long hours, both in Austria and Japan, while women have concentrated on household production and topping up the family income with a part-time job.

Low income earners are more likely to have both partners working than high income earners.

21.04.23

Gender segmentation of regular and irregular work in Japan major reason for large gender wage gap

Female employment patterns differ significantly from male patterns in terms of

industry and occupation mix, working hours, firm size, regular versus non-regular employment and earnings.

Prime age workers: 40% of all employed women in Austria and Japan work part-time, compared to 3.5% of Austrian men and 8.5% of Japanese men.

Atypical forms of employment are more prominent in Japan while Austria has a comparatively low proportion of men and women in irregular employment (contract workers, freelancers or casual employees), namely some 6% of total employment. In Japan,about a quarter of all workers are non-regular or atypical employees, the majority female.

In Japan, between 1986 and 2001 45% of women and 13% of men were non-regular workers.

Not only are wages significantly lower for irregular workers but access to training and promotion can not be accessed by these workers. This has a detrimental effect on female career opportunities

21.04.23

Part-time work by age and gender, 2003 Percentage of total

employment

Both Men Women

25-49 50-64 25-49 50-64 25-49 50-64Netherlands 26,6 31,6 4,5 11,7 53,7 63,7

Australia 23,5 27,5 7,7 12,8 42,8 47,9

Germany 21,6 23,5 4,4 6,3 42,4 46,6

Iceland 21,4 18,8 6,1 4,4 38,8 34,3

Norway 21,2 25,0 7,0 8,5 37,2 43,7

Japan 21,1 27,3 8,5 14,8 39,8 45,8

United Kingdom 20,6 28,6 4,0 11,6 41,2 49,8

Belgium 19,9 23,4 4,1 10,1 39,5 45,7

Austria 19,6 17,6 3,5 4,0 39,7 38,6

New Zealand 19,1 21,9 5,9 9,9 34,4 36,8

Sweden 18,3 21,5 7,0 10,5 30,6 33,1

21.04.23

Reasons for large gender wage gap: Glass ceiling versus sticky

floor

Even though women have a similar educational attainment level as their male counterparts, women are hardly found in top managerial positions.

In 2002, in Japan only 9% of female workers were senior officials and managers.

In 2002, in Austria the share of top management positions held by women was 8.1%.

These are lower shares than in the EU-15 on average, where it was at 12.9%.

The low rate of women in top managerial positions can not only be explained by the glass ceiling, but much rather by the sticky floor: a result of part-time work which is not integrated in career paths. This is true for the private and public sector in Japan, in Austria it holds largely for the private sector.

21.04.23

More reasons for pronounced gender wage gap

Occupation and industry mix: Austrian and Japanese men tend to be concentrated upon the well paying manufacturing sector with an above average firm size.

Austrian an d Japanese men are to a larger extent than OECD average educated in engineering sciences, natural sciences and information technology, which ensures well paying jobs due to a great potential for productivity increases.

In contrast, women are crowded into care jobs as well as clerical and sales jobs, teaching and other personal services.

Given their family obligations, women tend to be less mobile and more dependent on the local job market. Consequently, more women than men work in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. Since bigger companies can typically pay higher wages, this is an additional factor which impacts on the relatively large gender pay gap.

21.04.23

Incomes gap versus wage gap

The average female to male earnings ratio is 60% in Austria, 52% in Ireland and 44% in Japan.

In Japan in 2001: full-time regular female employees had on average 65% of male wages; in irregular work they had on average 86% of male hourly wages.

In Austria in 2001: full-time female employees had on average 80% of male wages compared to 84% on average in the EU-15

In Japan, mainly men have career opportunities (tenure track ‘sougou-shoku’) and seniority wages.

In Austria, men enter the tenure track later than in Japan and seniority wages are basically only paid to the highly skilled (university graduates).

Women have a flat age-earnings curve, a result of the relegation to the slow/no career track (‘ippan-shoku’)

While the situation is similar in Austria in private industries, the public sector does include women in the tenure track (Beamtenlaufbahn), explaining the steep rise in earnings of full-time, mature, working women.

21.04.23

Age-earnings profiles in selected OECD countries, 2000

90

110

130

150

170

190

210

230

25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64

Austria Germany Sweden Japan UK

90

110

130

150

170

190

210

230

25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64

Men Women

21.04.23

Development of Average Net Income of Full-Time Employees by Age groups and skill Level in Austria (1999/2000)

0

50

100

150

200

15 to 19 20 to24

25 to 29 30 to34

35 to 39 40 to44

45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to64

15 to 19 20 to24

25 to 29 30 to34

35 to 39 40 to44

45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to64

25- 29

old

s = 1

00

Low skills Medium skills High skills

Men Women

S:St.At, Consumer Expenditure Survey, WIFO calculations

21.04.23

Conclusions

Empirical evidence suggests that institutions are the major factors for the large gender pay gap in Austria, and even more so in Japan.

In Japan only 11-12% of the earnings differential are attributable to market forces.

In Austria about 20% of the earnings differential are attributable to educational and occupational choices, and additional 30% to long duration maternity leave, which can be taken until the child is three years old. The remaining 50% are attributable to limited career progression.

Why women in Austria and Japan have worse career opportunities than women in other OECD countries is a matter of debate.

It is partly the result of the choice of occupations, which offer limited vertical career paths (teaching, care work, sales, tourism) in combination with the pervasiveness of a 20 hour work week rather than 30 to 35 hours. While half-day work tends not to be integrated into career ladders, a temporary reduction of working hours by up to 30% of a full-time job appears to be compatible with the pursuit of a career by men and women. This is suggested by experiences in the Nordic countries and Holland

21.04.23

Open questions: Why is it that women in Austria and Japan withdraw from the

labour market to a larger extent than elsewhere to care for their children?

Is it because the state does not provide enough facilities?

Is it because of low income/ career opportunities for women on the labour market?

Is it because of high costs of professional day care (in the wider sense, i.e. including travel costs, limited flexible opening hours, etc.)?

Is it because of institutional framework conditions and/or values that make Austrian and Japanese women less likely to opt for a full-time job when they have children?

Whatever the main reason may be, the simple economic rationale is that the net hourly wages are low compared with the marginal return of household production (childcare costs saved, high social value of home care).

21.04.23

How to resolve the issue?

By focusing on the interdependence between the market, the household and the public sector and redesigning the incentive system at the interface.

This is particularly important as single mothers are an increasingly common phenomenon, with dire consequences for children as their mothers fall into a poverty trap.

Poverty rates of single parents are particularly high in Japan: 44,4% of lone parent families lived in poverty, more than double the rate of the total poulation.

Also in Austria the proportion was more than double the poverty rate of te total population, albeit at a much lower level (17.1%) than in Japan.

The poverty rate is particularly high in Japan as women tend not to be able to access regular employment contracts which relegates them and their children into a stratum of society with limited upper social mobility.

This is not only from an equity and equal opportunities point of view a misfortune but also from an economic point of view a fatal waste of human resources, which jeopardises economic and welfare growth.

21.04.23

Implications for postindustrial societies

The postindustrial society with its demographic, social and economic changes calls for a redefinition of women's participation in the labour market and, implicitly, a redefinition of the social division of labour.

The moral proposition of gender equity: Equal opportunities on the labour market are a precondition for social equality of men and women; equal opportunities are crucially linked to the right to earn one’s own living.

While the reorientation of policy towards increased socio-economic opportunities of women independent of their social and marital status will raise gender equity in the society it will also increase the efficiency of the allocation of labour resources in the production process thereby promoting economic growth and welfare.