Because non-standard work affects women more than men
What emerges from the data on non-standard work (characterised by reduced continuity over time and/or low work intensity) published by Istat. The speech by Alessandra Servidori
Istat has published data on non-standard work: when we talk about "non-standard" work we are referring to relationships characterized by reduced continuity over time and/or low work intensity. In other words, fixed-term contracts and involuntary part-time contracts. And those who are involved in these working methods – this is what the 2022 data tell us – are above all women: 27.7% of those employed are non-standard workers compared to 16.2% of men.
The share of non-standard workers reaches 45.7% among young women (compared to 33.9% of their peers), 36.1% among those residing in the South (22.1% among men of the same distribution) , 36.4% among women who have at most a middle school diploma (18.6% among men with the same level of education) and reaches 40.7% among foreigners (28.3% among male foreigners) .
The female disadvantage is also evident from wages: 2019 data show that on average women receive an hourly wage 11% lower than that of men, with territorial differences varying between -13.8% in the North-West and -8.1% in the South. The probability of having a non-standard job is very weak.
The results that emerge – in line with the conclusions of many studies on the topic – show that the probability of non-standard employment increases for younger cohorts and for those living in certain geographical areas, Central and especially South, in particular for men . This probability is reduced if the educational qualification increases and instead increases in the presence of families with children, particularly for women.
From a gender perspective, the effects of non-standard work on employee income fuels curious theories: one of which is that non-standard work should be paid a higher wage , to compensate the worker for the greater risk of unemployment and the uncertainty of job prospects. According to another theory, non-standard workers should be paid less, due to the high turnover they are subjected to.
It is the writer's opinion that working in a non-standard job entails, other things being equal, a fairly significant reduction in the average annual income and there is no evidence of the theory of wage differentials that can compensate for the disadvantage of having a non-standard job.
In the general panorama, Italy has shown, at an aggregate level, an increase in non-standard employment. The labor market reforms that have taken place over the years have increased entry flexibility through new types of contracts, but have not favored women's entry and permanence on the labor market. Temporary employment contracts appear to be used by companies only as a cheaper production factor, thanks to the notable differences in protection between fixed-term and permanent contracts, and not as a tool to adjust the production process to changes in economic conditions or as a way to select the best human resources.
The European Commission has identified some determinants of the gender differences that still persist in the EU, in particular in flexible and part-time work: when a worker chooses or needs to reconcile work and family through part-time work, he/she is however paid less, because there are no qualified part-time jobs available on the market. This element contributes to amplifying gender differences also in wages, given that the female take-up rate in non-standard work positions is higher than that of men; in EU countries, part-time or flexible work is often involuntary: this solution represents, in fact, an obligatory choice due to the absence of full-time jobs and/or the need for time to dedicate to caring for family members. In these terms, the trap of under-employment is amplified; part-time represents a major obstacle to achieving women's employment potential, the EU is unable to fully use the labor reserve offered by women, with a consequent negative effect on the level of GDP, the choice to reduce one's participation in the market of work (through flexible or part-time employment) by an adult is often carried out within the family to carry out care tasks and carried out by those who earn a second salary, usually women.
This implies, together with other elements, that the female take-up rate in these types of jobs is higher than the male one; working a part-time job has negative consequences on training and career opportunities; it is true that technological innovations allow jobs to be carried out in a flexible form, to the advantage of both workers and employers.
According to the EU Commission, those who work part-time, more often women, do not have full awareness of the long-term effects this has on pay, pensions and career opportunities and therefore do not base their decisions on complete information. In some cases, in addition to these elements, a history of part-time work has also shown effects on the subsequent employability of people, especially men. These elements can lead people to abandon the labor market or choose jobs with lower wages, negatively impacting, at a macro level, overall growth, and, given that flexible work is particularly widespread among women, increase the gender gap in wages.
Positive and negative elements linked to flexible or part-time working can be identified, some of which also have a gender relevance.
The positive elements can refer to the side of the demand for work (businesses) and the side of the supply (male and female workers) and, in some aspects, also affect a social dimension. Non-standard work can, for example, allow companies to remain competitive even in times of economic crisis, retaining skilled workers who would otherwise have to be fired. This can also encourage the transfer of skills between workers, without losing the employer's investment in training. In this case we are talking about employer-oriented flexibility, introduced to allow the human resources present in a company to be in line with the times required by the market, which are influenced by consumer demand, the times of use of machinery, from the optimal use of capital etc. Flexible or part-time working can also have other negative effects: on workers' economic independence, financial stability and career prospects. Part-time workers, for example, are paid less than their full-time counterparts (implying phenomena of wage discrimination). In many EU member states we are witnessing phenomena of segregation: women are more likely to choose a job with shorter hours than the normal one (part-time), while men tend to choose other forms of flexible work ( from home or with combined working hours).
The choice to work part-time can have long-term repercussions on the career path, especially for women, in terms of career and wages, also because it is mainly concentrated in sectors with low wages and low qualifications. In the medium term, part-time and flexible work can negatively influence access to the requirements necessary to benefit from forms of social protection (for example unemployment benefits).
Finally, part-time work reduces training and career opportunities and can negatively influence individuals' propensity to change jobs, increasing the rate of permanence in the same job. The female data is interesting especially when compared with the male one, in which the incidence of non-standard work is much more limited.
The data at an aggregate level seem to show a displacement of male employment in favor of female employment, particularly non-standard ones.
The issue should be addressed in contractual matters with contributory benefits for both companies and workers who adopt this typology in a turnover system of the entire company workforce in the overall organization of work both in public and private work for implement flexibility and productivity at particular times when it is necessary to respond to particular production needs.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-il-lavoro-non-standard-riguarda-piu-le-donne-che-gli-uomini/ on Tue, 12 Sep 2023 05:46:58 +0000.