| kwwa |
2002-10-28 14:55:00, 조회 : 77 |
Women’s Employment Policies in OECD Countries / by Youkyoung Moon and Jaesoen Joo
/ KWDI Research Reports/ Women's Studies Forum, Vol.17 /December 2001
* This article quots and summarizes Women's Employment Policies in OECD Countries(2000).
Youkyoung Moon Fellow
Jaesoen Joo Researcher
INTRODUCTION
Women’s employment policy in Korea started off with the legislation of the Sexual
Equality Employment Act in 1987. With the development of the national economy, Korea
now faces the need for practical and detailed development of women’s employment
policies in a manner that does not violate the market principle. This study will look
into the OECD nations’ women’s employment policy and status of women’s
employment, as Korea has joined the OECD in 1996. The study will also introduce
women’s policies of France and Sweden, countries known to have a well-developed
system even among OECD member countries.
OECD AND WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT
A. Organizations and Activities within the OECD related to Women’s Employment
OECD comprises a board of directors, executive committee, and secretariat, under
which 29 special committees, 140 task forces, and 4 semi-independent affiliated
organizations are situated. Of these organizations, the “Women and Economy Task
Force” under the Employment, Labor, and Society Committee and the”Gender Equality
Task Force” under the Development Aid Committee deal with matters related to
women’s employment. The “Women and Economy Task Force” focuses on and
makes analyzes women’s participation in economic activity, hourly-paid labor, gender
segregation in the labor market, and wages and other salaries in light of social and
economic changes. The task force aims to make the policy development of governments
focus on providing women equal job opportunities and incomes. The “Gender Equality
Task Force” encourages governments to give sufficient attention to women’s issues
when providing public development assistance. Recently held women’s employment
related conferences include “Small and Medium Sized Women Entrepreneurs: The
Driving Force for Innovation and Job Creation’ in 1997, ‘Women Entrepreneurs -
East-West Cooperation” in 1999, and “The OECD Conference on Changing Labour
Markets and Gender Equality: The Role of Policy” in 1998. In particular, the 1998
conference “on Changing Labour Markets and Gender Equality: The Role of Policy”
dealt with the timely issue of how changes in the labor market changed the labor
environment for women and what would be appropriate policies to respond to such
changes.
B. Status of Women’s Employment in OECD Countries
1. Participation in Economic Activities
The status of women’s employment differs among OECD member countries,
depending on the social, economic, and cultural characteristics of each country. Overall,
however, OECD member countries show indications of an advanced economy. An overall
average of OECD nations show 58.7% of women participating in economic activities,
which is almost 20% less than the percentage of men, which is 81.2%. By nation,
Turkey showed the lowest statistic with 30.0%, contrasting with Iceland, showing the
highest figure at 80.0%. In only 6 nations-Greece, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, and
Luxemburg-did less than 50% of women participating in economic activities, while
around 50% of women were economically active in 6 nations and 7 nations showed a
figure in the area of 70%. In sum, most countries showed around 60% of women
participating in economic activity. As for the unemployment rate, the OECD average
was 7.4% for women and 6.3% for men, with a gap of 1.1%. The highest unemployment
rate for women was found in Spain, at 26.7%, while the lowest was 3.2% in Norway. In
16 countries, women’s unemployment rate was higher than men’s by 1.0%. In
particular, in Greece, Italy, and Spain, women’s unemployment rate was roughly twice
as much as men’s. In 10 countries, including Austria, Canada, Germany, and Ireland,
the gap between women’s and men’s unemployment rate stood at 1%, while in
Australia, Korea, and the UK, women’s unemployment rate was lower than men’s by
less than 1% point.
2. Working Conditions
Similar to other nations, OECD member states also showed a continuous increase in
women’s economic participation rate. However, the gap between men’s and women’s
working conditions is not easily narrowed. Women’s hourly wage stands at 60-80% of
that of men’s. Such a gap can be attributed to gender segregation and the high
percentage of women employed on an hourly basis.
[Chart 1] Statistics on Women’s Economic Activity in OECD Member States
Unit：%
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| | Economic | Umemployment |% of Part-Timer | % of Women |
| Nation |Participation | Rate | among Women | among Part- |
| | Rate | | Workers | Timer4) |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| OECD Total3) | 58.7 | 7.4 | 24.0 | 73.6 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Denmark | 75.0 | 6.4 | 25.4 | 68.5 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Belgium | 53.8 | 11.7 | 32.2 | 82.4 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Netherlands | 62.9 | 5.5 | 54.8 | 75.8 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Finland | 69.7 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 63.1 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Sweden2) | 75.5 | 8.0 | 22.0 | 77.3 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Norway2) | 75.9 | 3.2 | 35.9 | 79.1 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Iceland2) | 80.9 | 3.3 | 38.6 | 77.4 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| France | 60.8 | 13.9 | 25.0 | 79.3 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Germany | 60.9 | 8.7 | 32.4 | 84.1 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Switzerland | 74.2 | 4.3 | 45.8 | 83.4 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Austria | 62.5 | 5.6 | 22.8 | 86.9 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| UK2) | 67.8 | 5.3 | 41.2 | 80.4 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Ireland | 52.1 | 7.5 | 27.2 | 72.7 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Czech | 64.0 | 8.2 | 5.4 | 70.0 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Luxemburg | 47.6 | 4.2 | 29.6 | 87.3 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Hungary | 50.8 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 69.2 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Poland | 59.7 | 12.6 | 16.6 | 62.2 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Portugal | 61.9 | 6.0 | 15.8 | 70.9 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Spain2) | 48.7 | 26.7 | 16.6 | 75.9 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Greece | 48.2 | 17.8 | 15.9 | 63.6 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Italy | 43.9 | 16.4 | 22.7 | 70.4 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Turkey | 30.0 | 6.7 | 13.3 | 60.3 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Australia | 63.9 | 7.3 | 40.7 | 68.6 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| New Zealand | 67.1 | 7.4 | 37.6 | 74.3 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Japan | 59.8 | 4.2 | 39.0 | 67.5 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Korea | 50.3 | 5.8 | 9.3 | 54.8 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Mexico | 41.5 | 3.6 | 28.3 | 63.5 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| Canada | 69.0 | 8.2 | 28.6 | 69.5 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
| US2) | 70.7 | 4.7 | 19.1 | 68.0 |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+----------------+---------------+
주 : 1) Economic participation rate of population aged 15~65
2) Economic participation rate of population aged 16~64
3) Average economic participation rate of OECD member states mentioned in chart
4) Population working for an hourly wage refer to those working less than 30 hours
per week
Source : OECD, Labour Force Statistics, 1997-1998, Part III, ;____, Employment
Outlook, 1999
The gender segregation phenomenon is cited as one of the major reasons for the gap
between men’s and women’s wages, because generally, wages for jobs mostly
occupied by women tend to be low. The increase of women’s economic participation
rate actually intensifies this phenomenon of gender segregation because there are only a
limited number of occupations that prefer the female workforce.
One characteristic of women’s employment among OECD member states is the
increase in part-time employment. As long as the burden of housework and child care
continue to be laid on women, women’s preference for part-time jobs will persist and
the increase of part-time women employees will continue amid changes in the industrial
structure and personnel policies of corporations. The problem is that part-time women
employees are at a less advantageous position compared to full-time employees in terms
of employment stability and working conditions, which eventually leads to women’s
status being maintained at a low level. Thus, policy considerations for complementing
the less favorable working conditions of part-time jobs are called for. By percentage,
24.0% of women employees of OECD member states are part-time while only 7.0% of
men are part-time. Also, 73.6% of all part-time employees are women, which means
that 3 out of every 4 part-time employees are women. Thus, it can be said that policy
for part-time employees is, in essence, policy for women employees. The Czech Republic
showed the lowest percentage of women being part-time employees, with a figure of
5.4%, followed by Korea, with 9.3%. In contrast, 54.8% of Dutch women employees were
part-time, meaning one out of every two women were part-time workers. The
Netherlands was followed by Switzerland, with 45.8%, and Australia, with 40.7%. As for
the percentage of women against the total part-time population, Korea showed the
lowest figure at 54.8%. Meanwhile, most nations showed a rather high percentage of
60% and above, with most western European nations, such as Austria, Belgium,
Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and the UK showing a very high percentage of 80%
and above.
Comparing the median wage of an part-time worker to a full-time employee’s wage,
according to gender, the OECD average for women was 86.4% while the average for
men was 71.3%. However, considering the low-percentage of male part-time workers
and relatively high percentage of female part-time workers, such a trend ultimately
results in women’s overall average being low. By individual country, in Greece and
Italy, part-time workers earned higher wages than full-time workers. However, in other
countries, hourly wages were smaller than full-time wages. In the UK, US, and Canada,
hourly wages amounted to about 60% of the full-time wages. While only 19.1% of
female employees in the US were part-time and 41.2% were part-time female workers
in the UK. Thus, in countries like the UK, the fact that part-time women earn smaller
wages would greatly contribute to the large gap between men’s and women’s wages.
Meanwhile, the median wage of part-time workers amounted to more than 90% of the
amount of full-time workers’ wage in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Finland, the Netherlands,
and Sweden. In Greece, Portugal, and Finland, 15.9%, 15.8%, and 13.0%, of female
employees, respectively, were part-time. In Italy and Sweden, 22.7% and 22.0% of
female employees, respectively, were part-time. The figures of these two countries were
closest to the OECD average of 14.0%. The largest portion of female workers were
part-time in the Netherlands, with 54.8%. In sum, the relation between the percentage of
part-time employees to the total employed population and wage did not seem to show
any consistencey.
FRANCE'S WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT POLICY
The women’s employment policy of France, a member state of the EU, basically
abides by the principle of the EU. France ratified the Amsterdam Treaty(Younghee, Kim
discusses the significance of the Amsterdam Treaty on women's status in her paper 'A
Legal Inquiry on Women's Status in EU Laws' (Seoul: KWDI, 1999), pp. 89~97) which
emphasized equal employment, in March 23, 1999, and enacted it by introducing the
treaty into its national law in May, becoming one of the first nations to have a legal
framework for gender equality.
In June 23, 1999, France announced a government level action plan under the title
“The Government’s Code of Action on Equality.” The Code of Action is compressed
into 25 action statements surrounding three main themes(Republique Francaise,
Troisieme rapport nationale sur l'application de la convention des nations unies sur
l'elimination de toutes les formes de discrimination a l'egard des femmes (unpublished
document of the French government, 1999), 1~2). The first theme is vocational equality,
and the “National Action Plan for Employment” (PNAE, Le plan national d’action
pour l’emploi) is the controlling framework. The second theme is related to allowing
both genders equal access to positions making political, economic, and societal decisions.
Lastly, the third theme has to do with women’s special rights pertaining to ability
development.
As such, the French government’s policy for equal employment embraces a
comprehensive approach, promoting not only vocational equality, but also women’s
participation in political, economic, and societal decision making, and women’s rights.
While the code of action is a special policy geared towards the improvement of
women’s rights, the “1999 Measure for Employment” provides detailed plans on how
to achieve gender equality within the framework of the employment policy(Republique
Francaise, Rapport sur la mise en oeuvre par la France des recommendations des
programme d'action de la quatrieme conference mondiale sur les femme: "Pekin plus
cinq" (unpublished document of the French government, 1999), 52). The “1999 National
Plans for Employment Action” shows that 55% of the total measures for employment
has to do with women. It The French government’s goal is to implement at least 35%
of the plan by the end of 2000 (currently 28% completed). Of the measures proposed,
those for women are as follows.
[Chart 2] Major plans for gender equality from the ‘1999 National Plan for
Employment Action”
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| First, Campaign to abolish gender discrimination |
| These measures will be implemented in 4 sectors. |
| - Education and training (Expand choice of occupation, develop training to be |
| provided for 2 years after graduation from high school) |
| - Women's job opportunity (Apply the principle of gender equality for recruitment)|
| - Women in the workplace (Gender equality in vocational training: continue and |
| strengthen proactive activities) |
| - Women in the puplic sector (Allow more women to participate as recruiting |
| officers, more involvement of women in the administrative departments) |
| |
| Second, Support both the home and workplace |
| - Diversification of child care services (Private child care or group child care) |
| - Adjustment of work time and home care time |
| |
| Third, Reemployment |
| - Preferential support will be provided to "women who have become victim of |
| gender discrimination or are in difficult circumstances." |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A. Major laws and administrative bodies
1. Laws
The first law pertaining to gender equality in the French labor market was based on
the principle of equal pay for equal work between men and women (The Law of Equal
Pay Between Men and Women) legislated in December. 22 1972, under the Code of
Work (Code du Travail)(Elim, Kim, "A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Employment
Equality Systems" (Seoul: Ministry of Labor, 1999), 25). On July 11, 1975, the Criminal
Code was revised, and a comprehensive provision banning sexual discrimination based
on pregnancy, family circumstances, or gender (Article 187-1, Article 416) was provided,
allowing criminal treatment for acts of gender discrimination.
Influenced by the ILO and the EU (the 1976 Council, in particular), France was first
and foremost to supplement the shortfalls of existing laws to achieve gender equality, as
shown by the legislation of the “1983 July 13 Law” (“Vocational Gender Equality
Law”), which was a revision of the existing Labor Code and Criminal Code.
Also known as the “Raudy Law,” this law abolished discrimination, shifting the
policy focus from “women protection” to “equality,” allowing for provisional
measures in order to eradicate inequality de facto. The major contents of this law are
as follows(Catherine Genisson, Davantage de mixte professionnelle pour plus d'egalit
entre les hommes et les femmes)
· Principle of non-discrimination (Labor Law L123-1) and general principle on special
application for wages (L 140-2), recruitment, collective agreement, and work agreement
(L 123-2)
· Measures to inform workers of the application of these principles (PR activity, labor
union activity, survey and monitor activity, sanctions for corporations)
· Permission for provisional measures on recruitment, promotion, education, and wages
developed in favor of women to eradicate inequality of fact (L123-3, L123-4, L 900-4)
· Make it mandatory for corporations to make annual reports on women and men in
executive positions (L 432-3-1)
· Make corporations in consult ation with the labor union plan to implement measures
favorable to women in order to achieve gender equality (L 123-4).
· Establish ways for the government to provide financial aid to help implement
innovative plans to achieve gender equality (Equality Contract)
The French government’s view on the female workforce, as reflected in this law,
espouses the coexistence of socioeconomic activity and child birth, which contrasts with
the views held by Scandinavian nations, where the idea that hourly-paid jobs are
suitable for women is prevalent, or the views held by Germany or Austria, where
women are forced to choose between home and work.
2. Administrative Bodies
The government body that deals with women’s rights in France is controlled by the
Prime Minister. In detail, the State Secretary of Women’s Rights and Professional
Training (secr taire d’ tat aux droits des femmes et la formation professionnelle)
(The state Secretary reports directly to the Prime Minister or to another secretary and
is in charge of one entire administratie organization or a special functional administrative
body. The State Secretary could also help the Prime Minister or the Minister of a
certain department in administrative activities. There are 4 types of secretaries in the
french government: National Secretary, Delegate Secretary, State Secretary, and
Independent State Secretary. Ahn, Young-hoon, "book mentioned above,' p.59~61) and
the Women’s Rights Office (Service des droits des femmes) are positioned under the
Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity (minist re de I’Emploi et de la Solidarit
). The Women’s Rights Office(Internet homepage http://www.social.gouv.fr; Republique
Francaise, Rapport sur la mise en oeuvre par la France des recommandations du
programme d'action de la quatrieme conference mondiale sur les femmes: "Pekin plus
cinq", 49~50, 52~53; Catherine Genission, Davantage de mixte professionnelle pour plus
d'egalite entre les hommes et les femmes, 1999) deals with general matters that have to
do with women’s rights, including equal employment. The duties of this office related
to employment include the operation of the Superior Council for Vocational Equality
Between Men and Women (Le Conseil Sup rieur de l”egalit Professionnelle entre les
femme et les hommes) and the Observation Committee on Equality (L’observatoire de
la parit ), and performing female recruitment related matters from the national
employment plan.
In this regard, on December 12, 1998, the Prime Minister asked Catherine Genisson, a
congresswoman from the Social Party, who was also appointed on October 1999, as the
chairperson for the Observation Committee on Equality, to submit a report on serious
inequalities that still prevail for women in the workplace and countermeasures thereof.
In this report, inequality is analyzed into four areas: first, inequality in the choice of
occupation, second, inequality in wages, third, inequality in promotion or training
opportunity, and fourth, inequality related to unemployment and other difficult
circumstances. Genisson, with the help of the Minister of the Employment and Social
Solidarity and the State Secretary of Women’s Rights, issued the report “Analysis of
Vocational Inequalities and Recommendations Thereof” (Davantage de mixt
professionnelle pour plus d’ galit entre les hommes et les femmes)’ in February
1999. This report was more of a policy recommendation for legislation, rather than just
an academic report. It is expected that it will have a great influence in future
legislations of women’s employment policies. This report takes on an integrated
approach towards resolving inequalities faced by working women. In particular,
recommendations such as the implementation of a 35-hour system, and equality-oriented
measures for training and family policies, are made. This report also suggests a special
measure to encourage corporations to take on positive measures.
Another important report recently submitted that is, in nature, more of a policy
recommendation, is the report “Gender Equality: Its Economic Aspect”(l’ galit entre
les hommes et les femmes: aspect conomiques) developed by the Economic Analysis
Committee (Le Conseil d’Analyse Economique) in March 1999.
B. Women’s Employment Policy
1. Policy to Promote Equal Employment Opportunity
The French employment promotion policy is in compliance with the policies of the UN
and EU. Employment related provisions in the UN Beijing Announcement that pertain to
abolishment of gender inequality include, first, the provision on applying a recruitment
standard and equal rights to the possibility of employment, and second, prohibition of
dismissal due to pregnancy, child birth or marriage, and imposition of a penalty in case
such provision is violated(Republique Francaise, Troisieme rapport national sur
l'application de la convention des nations unies sur l'elimination de toutes les formes de
discrimination a l'egard des femmes, 39~40). France also adopts such principle. A case
in point would be the provision on protection for pregnant women. Employers cannot
reject recruitment based on pregnancy, and pregnant women are not required to disclose
whether or not thay are pregnant at the time of recruitment. Should there be a law suit
involved, the employer is required to justify his/her decision to the judge(Ibid.,54)
By improving women’s working ability, the possibility of women being recruited is
increased and women are given opportunity to working under better work conditions.
Major plans to develop French women’s work ability can be seen in the 1999 PLAE
and in Genisson’s recommendations. The PLAE emphasizes the right to use a “group
child care facility,” development of a system to acknowledge working ability, and
encouragement of joint-operation with employers. Meanwhile, recommendations 9-13 of
the Genisson report suggest a guarantee for equal training opportunity, active use of
remote training, and detailed reports on the training status according to gender and
occupation.
With regard to increasing training opportunities for employees, number 21 of Genisso
n’s recommendations asks for inclusion of women in projects that link training and
recruitment. Also, the importance of guiding female students on their future career is
emphasized as a means to helping women realize their potential.
As women’s unemployment policy, active use of the National Job Placement Agency
(ANPE) is recommended. In detail, two methods-confirming the ratio of men to women
in help wanted advertisements and providing consultation to women-are suggested as
means to reduce unemployment. Also, the significance of gender-specific statistical data
in identifying and realizing nationwide and regional unemployment resolution goals is
noted. Lastly, the need for preferential treatment for single mothers and “special”
supplemental measures are discussed.
2. Policy for Equality of Employment Conditions
The policy for equal wages in France is gaining influential grounds through the
accumulation of cases after enactment of relevant legislation. The policy for “equal pay
for equal value” bears the following difficulties: the complexity of defining “equal
value," and the policy's conflicti with the employer’s “right to decide wages."
However, the recent decision in a of the supreme court case takes a progressive step in
its interpretation of wage equality between men and women(Repuplique Francaise,
Rapport sur la mise en oevre par la France des recommandation 여 programme d'action
de la quatrieme conference mondiale sur les femmes: "Pekin plus cinq," 58~59)
The first such case involved two employees who worked in the secretary’s office
but received different wages. The female employee who received a lower wage
demanded the application of the “equal pay for equal value” principle, and the
Supreme Court confirmed this application (C-Cass-29/10/96 St Delzongle c/Ponsole).
This resulted in confirming the application of equal wages between genders as a general
principle. However, the employer protested, claiming that such application denies the
individual differences of each employee. The significance of this legal regulation is that
it grants the employer the right to decide wages while confirming that the equality
principle should be followed.
One of the major points of the policy for equal wages is the prohibition of
discrimination in assignment and promotion. Job assignment is directly related to the
enhancement of work ability are to experience, which is directly related to promotion
which involves a wage raise.
A recent issue discussed in the Supreme Court involves maternity leave and
promotion. The case dealt with the joint agreement which excludes from promotion
female employees on maternity leave. This case became subject to prior decision and
became problematic in the EU’s court. The problem was that even though the
maternity leave provided for the benefit of mother and child it became a detrimental
factor for the female employee.
3. Family Friendly Policy
The French government holds the view that no policy that supports female employee
s’ involvement in the labor market can be successful without mechanisms that enable
a woman to maintain a family and a workplace employment at the same time. It holds
that this is a precondition to the direct goal of the employment policy-the promotion of
employment-and equality of working conditions(Ibid.,p.54)
The need for such coexistence is mentioned in the law pertaining to 35 hours
regarding the decrease of working hours. “The supreme committee on equality in the
working place” continues discussion on subject matters such as adjustment of working
hours and equality in the work place holding such views.
The most basic policy for coexistence of work and family is the childcare support
policy. The specific plans for this policy is divided into these major parts: The diversity
of childcare patterns, subsidy or allowances for childcare, and increase of holidays.
Child care takes on many patterns(For reference to the French child-care system,
refer to Chanyong, Park, Workers' Welfare System of France (Seoul: Korea Labor
Research Institute, 1997). 35, and Shindeok, Choi, Women's Policy of France (Seoul:
Yeonmunsa 1993),.281~293) “Infant Care” (Les creches) is for children of 2 months to
3 years of age. “Assistant Mothers” (Les assistantes maternelles) are those who are
certified by the Mother and Child Protection Agency, as being qualified according to
certain standards. In addition, there are Child Care Centers (Les-haltes-garderies) for
children of age 0-6, Nursery School (Les ecoles maternelles) for children of age 2-6,
Kindergartens (Les jardins d’enfants), and cultural centers with programs to care for
children under age 6 after school and on Wednesdays.
Among France’s family subsidies, the following are designed to support working
mothers: Child-Care-in-the-House allowance and Education Allowance
The Child-Care-in-the-House Allowance (l’allocation de garde d’enfant a domicile:
AGED) is provided when both parents work and the hiring of one or more nursemaids
is necessary to care for a child under the age of 6. The Education Allowance (l’
Allocation parentale d’Education: APE) is provided when a parents quits a job or
decreases working hours to care for the child; the allowance is designed to compensate
for the loss or decrease in income. These allowances are having large effects on the
flow of female employees in and out of the labor market.
A survey taken between December 1994 and December 1995, found a 26% decrease in
labor market participation has been recorded among mothers of two children. This
shows that after July 1994, one-third of mothers with two children quit their jobs or
job-searching and received benefits from the Education Allowance. On July 25, 1994,
The Family Law extended the holiday periodSranted to working mothers needed for
child care. The following are holidays (leaves) related to child care: long-term chid care
leave, short-term non-paid leave for sick child/ren, as an alternative to germanent
emplayment. and freedom to choose for temporary work.
The Family Law of 1994 extended the pre-birth and post-birth leaves and adoption
leaves. The pre- and post-birth leaves are 16 weeks for one or two children; 26 weeks
for more than two children; and 34 weeks for twins. The varying periods are meant to
consider the physical burdens of the mothers(Ibid.,.55~56)
The payments during pre- and post-birth leaves are calculated according to the
net-wage of the employee for three months before leave. As of January 1, 1995,
adoption leaves are also granted to parents who adopt children from foreign countries.
When adopting brothers or sisters, the leave can be extended to 22 weeks. The adoption
allowance is provided as of the receiving day ( or when the child arrives). The
maximum period of benefit is 21 months, and the amount is 964 francs per month.
SWEDEN'S FEMALE EMPLOYMENT POLICY
Sweden’s employment policy has focused on giving every society member a job.
This is due to Sweden’s socialist democratic tendency of emphasizing equality, and its
emphasis on equal distribution rather than equal opportunities in designing its national
policies. In this respect, female employment policy in Sweden starts from the
understanding that female employment involves both genders, not just one.
A. Laws and Administrative Bodies
1. Laws(Elim, Kim, (1999) A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Employment Equality
System; The Office of the Ombudsman for Equality (1999), "Act on Equality between
Women and Men: The Equal Opportunities Act.")
Sweden is known as a country highly advanced in realizing equality between men and
women. The Act Concerning Equality between Men and Women, executed as of July 1,
1980, enhanced the already very advanced standards of gender equality in terms of
female employment and gender wage difference in Sweden. This law applies to all areas
of employment relations, including those in the public and private sectors. The act has
worked to stimulate gender equality by way of working through prohibitions against
discrimination based on gender and through promotion of equality. The major content of
the law on gender equality contains the responsibilities of the employer to plan so that
employees of both genders can work under equal conditions. In addition, when hiring,
employers must hire without distinguishing between genders and must make an effort to
hire have an equal number of female and male employees hired through mechanisms
such as training.
An equal number of employees means that each gender must be at least 40% When
one gender is short of 40%, the minority gender is given priority. However, although
Sweden’s gender equality law contained such progressive elements, some are of the
opinion that this policy has drawn the female work- force into the part-time labor
market and has therefore actually worsened the status of women and has increased
wage differences. Even after the law was enacted, problems of low wages for women,
increase in the number of temporary positions and part-time jobs, and the burden of
housework and childcare still persisted. In this regard, legislation of a new law to
correct all the problems mentioned above, that is, problems having been identified during
the 10 years since the legislation of the Act Concerning Equality between Men and
Women, was recommended. As a result, the Equal Employment Act between Men and
Women was legislated in 1991(Bette known as the Equal Opportunities Act With the
legislation of this law, the previous Act Concerning Equality between Women and Men
was abolished)
In this act, provisions on the equality between men and women were strengthened;
gender discrimination is prohibited from the job-searching stage; lawsuits can be filed
for wage discrimination; sexual harrassment must be explicitly prohibited; direct and
indirect discrimination is prohibited; employers are required to develop an equality plan;
and the scope of monitoring by the Equality Ombudsman is expanded.
The Equal Employment Act between Men and Women was revised in 1994 to once
again strengthen the provisions on equality. The newly strengthened provisions were
related to wage discrimination; if one gender receives lower wages or has to work
under worse working conditions compared to the other gender where the employer is
the same or the value of the work is the same, this is regarded as an illegal act.
2. Administrative Bodies
The Minister for Gender Equality takes care of the overall gender equality- related
matters in Sweden. In order to resolve gender equality-related problems, the State
Secretary and Political Advisor are referred to, and the Division for the Gender Equality
Bureau is operated which has the authority similar to a central government.
However, the Division for Gender Equality cannot develop gender equality policies
independently. Thus, matters related to the equality of men and women are virtually
dealt with by the ministers of related departments, and the Gender Equality Bureau
functions as a monitor.
The Division for Gender Equality is situated under the Ministry of Industry,
Employment, and Communications. It is comprised of the Equal Opportunities
Ombudsman, the Council on Equality Issues, Equal Opportunities Commission, and
Regional Experts for Gender Equality. First, the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman was
established in 1980 along with the Act Concerning Equal Employment for Men and
Women, and it mainly checks on how well the Equal Employment Act for Men and
Women is implemented. Thus, the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman provides advice and
information on the Equal Employment Act for Men and Women, and solves disputes
relating to violations of prohibited provisions and mediates between individual employers
and employees. Second, the Council on Equality Issues is comprised of 30 members,
including women activist group representatives, political party representatives, and
organizations of employers and employees. The chairperson is the Minister for Gender
Equality. The council holds forums and promotes exchanges of opinions on gender
equality issues, thereby providing adjustments and advice so as to have
gender-cognitive perspectives reflected in various policies. Third, the Equal Opportunities
Commission consists of lawyers, representatives of the social partners and employees,
and experts on the labor market and on gender equality issues. The commission? major
activity is to impose penalties on employers charged by the Equal Opportunities
Ombudsman with violating the Equal Employment Act and to monitor whether or not
employers perform the duties required of them by the Equal Opportunity Act. Last, one
Regional Expert for Gender Equality is assigned to each regional government to deal
with the region’s equality issues and gender mainstreaming issues.
[Figure 1] Government Bodies Related to Equality Between Men and Women
+-----------------------------------+
| Minister for Gender |
| Equality |
+-----------------------------------+
| State Secretary and Political |
| &nb | | |