Book Description

Over the last decades, the activity rate of women has strongly increases throughout Europe and has been one of the major changes affecting our societies in general and the workplace in particular. Many reasons explain this increase, such as the recognition of their high level of education, the wish for autonomy and social recognition, the necessity of a double income. But while more women work (in some coutries the activity rates for men and women are identical), they still face problems in the workplace to get the same status as men (the "glass ceiling"), and they are still overwhelmingly responsible for family and domestic duties. In 1991 and 1996 the Foundation carried out statistical surveys on working conditions in all Member States. The Second European Survey on Working Conditions (1996) was designed with gender specific issues in mind. The present document reports on its finding with regard to gender differences in the workplace and discusses them in the light of the ongoing debate on equal opportunities. With this report the Foundation hopes to provide policy makers with a better understanding of the problemes to overcome in order to promote gender sensitive workplaces Editor