Gender equality in European labour marketsal treatment of both genders regarding job opportunities, comparable wage rates, and chances of getting promotions or leadership positions. According to Dammrich and Blossfield (2017, p. 263), it is one of the main political goals in Europe, but even with advancements, inequalities still exist; women are frequently subjected to pay discrepancies, occupational segregation, and low representation in leadership positions. Women still have fewer chances due to the prevalence of men in many professions. They also have obstacles when trying to advance to new roles. Therefore, this paper will examine the claim made by Dammrich and Blossfield (2017, p. 263) regarding gender inequality in the UK labour market and the likely future roles of men and women in the UK labour market.
Gender equality is a prominent political goal in Europe. It is evident in efforts to address disparities in labour market participation through equal treatment legislation, gender mainstreaming, binding pay transparency measures, a directive on gender balance in corporate boards, and a campaign challenging gender stereotypes (HM Government, 2019b). The EU’s equal treatment legislation, anchored in Article 157 of the Treaty, ensures gender equality in workplaces. Evolving since 1957, directives like 2006/54/EC promote equal treatment, spanning social security, workplace safety, and nondiscrimination based on race, age, and gender (Schonard, 2023). Court judgments, including Test Achats (C-236/09), affirm equality in accessing goods and services. Recent strides include the 2023 Pay Transparency Directive, compelling gender-neutral job titles, pay reporting, and penalties to narrow gender pay gaps. This multifaceted legal framework underscores the EU’s commitment to workplace equality. To advance gender equality in labour markets, the EU implemented gender mainstreaming, integrating a gender perspective across all policies and processes (“Press Corner,” n.d.). The Commission established a Task Force for Equality, uniting representatives from all services, to ensure the operational and technical incorporation of gender mainstreaming. This involves the early integration of gender dimensions into major Commission initiatives, aligning with the Gender Equality Strategy’s objectives.
In the UK, campaigns challenging gender stereotypes in labour markets focus on awareness and attitudinal change. Organisations like UK Feminista train teachers on sexism in schools, while Pfizer conducts workshops addressing unconscious bias (De L’europe & Helsinki, 2018). Motivational workshops and mentoring programs, as seen in Frankfurt and Wuppertal, aim to boost women’s presence in management. Also, Gender pay gap statistics must be published by UK companies with more than 250 employees due to Pay Transparency Measures, which were put in place under the 2010 Equality Act (Gender Pay Gap Reporting a TUC Guide for Trade Union Activists, n.d.). Information about gender distribution across pay quartiles, average and median pay disparities, and bonus pay gaps are all included. The steps are intended to lessen gender wage gaps by increasing awareness and transparency. However, it is crucial to assess if gender equity is present in the UK job market despite such initiatives, including legislation that encourages gender equity.
In the UK, since 1971, there has been some significant progress regarding bridging the gap between men’s and women’s participation in the labour market. Back then, half of the working-age women faced unemployment or were either economically inactive (HM Government, 2019b). In 2022, according to the Office of National Statistics, 15.66 million women aged 16 and above are employed, with most of them working in the health and social work (77%) and education sectors (70%) (Irvine, 2022). This indicates progress over the years that has also extended to full-time employment for women, which has grown ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are concerns, despite the progress made, because women are more likely to work part-time jobs compared to men, represented by 38% and 14%, respectively (Irvine, 2022). The UK labour market has indications of horizontal segmentation leading to gender inequity. According to Blackburn & Jarman (n.d.), horizontal segregation in the labour market refers to the unequal distribution of men and women across different occupations at the same hierarchical level. Most occupations women find themselves in are female-dominated, such as education, health, and social services, and are associated with low pay and low chances of high-ranking positions. Looking closely at STEM and non-STEM occupations in the UK, men occupy 64% of STEM occupations, while women dominate with 54.9% of non-STEM occupations (Hu et al., 2022). Women are more likely to work in low-paid occupations such as secretarial jobs, customer service, sales, and leisure, and most of them work part-time in these occupations, unlike men. Irvine (2022) also notes that only a small portion of women occupy jobs in the construction industry (16%) and transportation and storage (26%), which pay better than jobs held in the education and social work sectors.
There is also research that informs about vertical segregation happening in the UK, which, according to Blackburn & Jarman (n.d.), also known as the glass ceiling, is the unequal distribution of men and women within particular occupational categories, where males typically hold more skilled, responsible, or higher-paid positions than women. With respect to managerial positions, as informed by Peng & She (2020), in 2001, men held more managerial positions (67.1%) compared to women (32.9%). In 2017, there was a slight increase of 4.7, where women held 37.6% of managerial positions compared to men (62.4%). This demonstrates a wide gap in women’s chances of getting higher positions, and with the year difference, there needs to be a high increase in women occupying managerial positions. According to research by the HM Government (2019b), women in FTSE 250 companies occupy 25% of board seats, showing a trend of vertical segregation in the majority of prominent companies in the UK, which is below the FTSE target of 40% women on the board by 2025. Another piece of evidence concerning vertical segregation was an analysis made by the ONS, which indicates that the gender pay gap, 14.3% in April 2023, reflects the disparity in median hourly earnings between men and women, meaning that for every pound earned by men in the UK, women only receive an average of 86 pence in income (Gender Pay Gap Statistics 2023 – Ciphr, 2023). Factors influencing the gap include age, particularly widening after parenthood; occupation, with smaller gaps in female-dominated fields; and industry variations, where the pay gap is largest in the insurance and financial industry compared to accommodation. It was also discovered that the median hourly pay for full-time workers was 7.7% less for women compared to men, and to add to this, many women work part-time jobs than men, receiving lower pay per hour (Francis-Devine & Brione, 2024).
Understanding the reasons for the ongoing existence of gender inequality, including both vertical and horizontal gender segregation, in the UK economy is crucial. First, career decisions are significantly influenced by prevailing attitudes and expectations that stem from gender stereotypes. Boys and girls are early guided toward certain subjects and vocations that are seen as appropriate for their gender, and this is evident in the UK, as 57% of girls aged 7–10 feel they are good at home chores, while boys the same age are twice as likely as girls to aspire to be scientists (HM Government, 2019b). These traditional attitudes and expectations based on gender stereotypes influencing career choices lead to the concentration of women in specific subjects and professions, which contribute to the vertical segregation seen in senior management roles. Second, work and industries with a high proportion of female employees are generally underappreciated and linked to lower status and income alongside the lowered perceived value of “women’s work,” which perpetuates horizontal segregation and is a result of gender stereotyping and historical expectations. Third, the responsibility of taking care of their children is always left to women, which can pose difficulties in finding a balance between work and family life. Nearly one in four older female workers has caregiving responsibilities, compared to just over one in eight older male workers. Among employed people who are juggling both elderly relatives and dependent children, 62% are women (HM Government, 2019b). They undertake much unpaid informal work and end up working less than they would have wanted. Inclined working patterns, particularly in higher positions, also contribute to the glass ceiling effect by impeding women’s advancement.
Gender inequality in the UK labour market is unlikely to rapidly change soon due to the unavoidable biological nature of women and deeply embedded stereotypes associated with the belief that men are better at certain masculine jobs and managerial positions than women. However, there are reasons to believe gender inequality can decrease significantly. Firstly, there are labour market policy measures that focus on stimulating female supply and demand within the workforce, utilising active labour market programs and taxation/benefit systems to incentivise women’s entry, permanence, or increased hours in employment (Eurofound, 2016). Second, the UK authority aims to eliminate gender-based expectations and perceptions. Efforts include deepening the evidence base on gendered aspirations, improving advice and support in schools to challenge stereotypes, and investing £2 million in career-related learning for primary schools (HM Government, 2019a). Third, the Returners Grant Fund supports women returning to work, and efforts are made to identify opportunities for returners, especially in sectors with gender imbalances (HM Government, 2019a). Lastly, the EU adopted Directive 2022/2381, requiring listed companies to achieve gender balance on corporate boards. By mid-2026, companies must ensure 40% of non-executive directors, or 33% of all directors, are of the underrepresented sex (Lally, 2023). The directive promotes transparency in board appointments and objective assessment based on merit and aims to close the gender pay gap.
The UK has put in efforts to make sure gender equality is achieved, but it is not yet enough because women are still facing occupational and industrial segregation, which places them in lower-paid fields and a gender pay gap of 14.3%. The idea that particular jobs are better suited for men or women is another example of how obstacles are still present despite advances achieved in the fight against gender stereotypes and attitudes toward traditional gender roles. Horizontal and vertical segregation are still big disadvantages, especially for women.
References
Blackburn, R. M., & Jarman, J. (n.d.). Social research update 16: Occupational gender segregation. Social Research Update. https://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU16/SRU16
De L’europe, C., & Helsinki. (2018). PRESIDENCY OF FINLAND Council of Europe PRÉSIDENCE DE LA FINLANDE CONFERENCE REPORT GENDER EQUALITY COMMISSION Tackling gender stereotypes and sexism. https://rm.coe.int/prems-131619-gbr-2573-rapport-conferrence-helsinki-a5-web-1-/16809cbf75
Francis-Devine, B., & Brione, P. (2024, January 10). The gender pay gap. House of Commons Library. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn07068/
Gender pay gap reporting A TUC guide for trade union activists. (n.d.). https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/GPGreportingguide_0.pdf
Gender pay gap statistics 2023 – Ciphr. (2023, November 13). Ciphr. https://www.ciphr.com/gender-pay-gap-statistics-2023/
HM Government. (2019a, July). The case for change. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d401e01e5274a4012298f4b/GEO_GEEE_Strategy_Problem_Analysis_Rev_2__1_.pdf
HM Government. (2019b, July). Gender equality at every stage: a roadmap for change. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d401dd640f0b60aa2af4267/GEO_GEEE_Strategy_Gender_Equality_Roadmap_Rev_1__1_.pdf
Hu, Y., Tarafdar, M., Al-Ani, J. A., Rets, I., Hu, S., Denier, N., Hughes, K. D., Konnikov, A., & Ding, L. (2022, January). Gendered STEM Workforce in the United Kingdom: The Role of Gender Bias in Job Advertising. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/43175/pdf/
Irvine, S. (2022, March 4). Women and the economy. Parliament.uk. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06838/SN06838.pdf
Lally, R. (2023, March 6). EU directive on gender-balanced boards supports workplace equality. Welcome to SHRM | The Voice of All Things Work. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/eu-directive-gender-balanced-boards-supports-workplace-equality
Peng, C., & She, P.-W. (2020). Are women less likely to be managers in the UK labour market? Economic Modelling, 85, 317–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.10.021
Press corner. (n.d.). European Commission – European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_357
Schonard, M. (2023, April). Equality between men and women. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/59/equality-between-men-and-women
write