Gender segregation in education,

training and the labour market:

Emerging findings from

the Beijing Platform for Action report

dr. Lina Salanauskaite,

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

STEM Gender Equality Congress

QUICK BACKGROUND

STEM: share of graduates

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

EU2

8N

L* ES IE PL

UK

** BE

FR DK

IT** C

YLU SK LV LT BG

HU PT FI CZ SE AT SI

MT

DE EE HR

RO EL

Natural sciences, mathematics and statisticsInformation and Communication TechnologiesEngineering, manufacturing and construction

2013-2014

• Engineering, manufacturing and construction with 20% of all graduates is the largest study field of STEM disciplines.

Main STEM occupations

• Science and engineering (associate) professionals refer to the largest STEM occupation type - in 23 EU countries, from 22% to 45% of all STEM employees

• In RO and HU – metal, machinery and related trades workers is the largest occupation; in Bulgaria – stationary plant and machine workers; in Cyprus –building and related workers.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

EU2

7

GR IE CY ES BE LV LU LT HR

BG

UK IT RO NL

PT PL

FR HU DK SI SK AT SE EE FI DE

CZ

Stationary plant and machine operators Electrical and electronics trades workersMetal, machinery and related trades workers Building and related trades workersICT technicians Science and engineering associate professionalsICT professionals Science and engineering professionals

• Demand for STEM professionals and associate professionals is expected to grow by around 8% by 2025, much higher than the average 3% growth forecast for all occupations (Cedefop)

• Major skills shortages of STEM and ICT professionals are already observed across all EU countries and expected to exacerbate with future demographic developments (i.e. large retiring foreseen)

• In spite of a series of measures, women participation in STEM studies, in particular in engineering, remains low in most Member States

• An insufficient supply of STEM skills and a low participation rate of women in STEM studies are perceived as barriers, which could impede a job rich recovery and growth of economy

Rising demand, major shortages

MONITORING BEIJING PLATFORMFOR ACTION (BPFA)

EIGE’s report

Beijing Platform for Action

• To support better informed policy-making at EU and Member State levels, EIGE provides support to the Presidencies of the Council of the EU.

• EIGE’s reports assess progress in gender equality in the critical areas of concern of the BPfA chosen by the Presidencies.

• Gender segregation in education, training and the labour market – the topic chosen by the forthcoming Estonian Presidency of the Council.

BPfA areas of concernCurrent BPfA Indicators

B. Education and Training of Women

• Proportion of female graduates and male graduates of all graduates in mathematics, the sciences and technical disciplines (tertiary education);

• Proportion of female/male ISCED 5a-graduates of all ISCED 5a-graduates and proportion of female/male PhD graduates of all PhD graduates by broad field of study and total

F. Women and the economy

Proportion of women and men among tertiary graduates of all graduates (ISCED levels 5 and 6) in natural sciences and technologies at the EU and Member State level

K. Women and the environment

Gender segregation: gender pay gap

L. The girl child • Proportion of girl students in tertiary education in the field of science, mathematics and computing and in the field of teacher training and education science

• 15-year-old girls and boys: performance in mathematics & science

Rationale

• Gender segregation in education and training labour market stratification results in:

supporting gender stereotypes; narrowing life-choices and employment options; gender pay gap, etc.

A causal link.

• Addressing: participation of women in STEM; participation of men in education, health and welfare (EWH).

• Policy context: a need of active intervention guided by evidence.

EMERGING FINDINGS: STEM

Achievements: science and mathematics

• Gender difference in 15 year olds’ mean achievement in science and mathematics: 2015

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

FI CY

BG

MT

LV EL LT RO SI SE SK UK FR HU EE NL

HR

DK PL

ES LU CZ

PT

DE IE BE IT AT

Science

Math

Source: OECD PISA http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/

Women’s share in STEM

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

EU2

8 NL

BE SI LU SK IT AT PL

CZ

HU DE

PT FI

MT

FR LT ES LV UK IE DK

HR EE SE EL RO CY

BG

Natural sciences, mathematics and statisticsInformation and Communication TechnologiesEngineering, manufacturing and construction

Source: Eurostat, UOE data collection on education: educ_uoe_grad02

2013-2015

Changes over time

• Progress stalled or eroding: 2004 to 2014

Segregation by education level

• Gender segregation in STEM is much worse within vocational education than within tertiary education level (2013-2015);

• About 55% of all students are enrolled in vocational education programmes.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

IT UK

NL IE BE

AT ES DE FI FR MT

LU LT HU SI HR LV SE CZ

DK SK EL BG CY

PT PL

EE RO

tertiary education vocational education

Graduates working in STEM field

• No smooth transition to the labour market, especially for women with vocational education level

22%24% 24% 26% 26% 25% 24%

26% 26% 27%30%

46%48% 49% 50% 50% 48% 48% 47% 47% 46%

50%

8%11% 12% 12% 13% 12% 11% 10% 10% 10% 10%

36%38% 40% 40% 41% 40% 39% 39% 39% 38%

41%

0%

60%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

STEM women, tertiary STEM men, tertiary

STEM women, vocational STEM men, vocational

If leaving STEM: occupations of STEM graduates

EU, 2014

Tertiary Vocational

women men women men

Teaching professionals 21% 12%

Business and administration professionals 11% 11%

Business and administration associate

professionals10% 10% 4% 4%

Production and specialized services managers 5% 13%

Sales workers 7% 4% 20% 7%

Food Processing, Woodworking, Garment and

Other Craft and Related Trades Workers11% 10%

Personal Services Workers 10%

Drivers and Mobile Plant Operators 3% 15%

Labourers in Mining, Construction,

Manufacturing and Transport4% 10%

Share of women in STEM occupations

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

BG PT LT EE HR

RO LV SI

HU FR SE FI IE DK

GR

EU2

7* ES BE

CZ

DE

UK SK IT PL

CY

LU AT

NL

2013-2014

Share of women in STEM occupations

Essentially progress recorded since 2004 with 1 p.p. at the EU level.

Share of women employed in ICT, 2008-2015

SELECTED INFLUENCES

• Stereotypes, social norms and cultural practices• Negative image of STEM • Welfare policies • STEM fields not considered as family-friendly • Family background and the absence of women role

models• Male dominated culture • Biased recruitment, appraisal and promotion

procedures• Limited access to networks, information, funding or

institutional support, biased research evaluation procedures, low recognition in the field

Design of education systems matters

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZDE DK

EE

ELES

FI

FR

HR

HU

IEIT

LTLU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SESISK

UK

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

8 10 12 14 16 18

Shar

e o

f w

om

en

gra

du

atin

g in

STE

M, %

Age of pupils at the first placement into different educational tracks

Structure and size of labour markets

y = -0.4081x + 0.186R² = 0.1014

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2

Shar

e o

f w

om

en

in S

TEM

Size of EHW employment

y = -0.8069x + 0.3491R² = 0.1256

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

0 0.1 0.2 0.3

Shar

e o

f m

en

in E

HW

Size of STEM employment

Effect of narrowing the gender gap in STEM on GDP per capita

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

Rapid improvement in gender equality Slow improvement in gender equality

Improvement in GDP per capita by 0.7 to 0.9% Improvement in GDP by €130 to €180 billion

Improvement in GDP per capita by 2.2 to 3.0% Improvement in GDP by €610 to €820 billion

Effect of narrowing the gender gap in STEM on employment

Conclusions

Gender segregation in education and the labour market is associated with creating and perpetuating gender inequalities in and beyond the labour market

Segregation narrows employment choices and reinforces gender stereotypes

The objective of gender equality policy should not necessarily be a homogenisation of the labour market by gender, although gendered roles shall be equally valued and remunerated

Gender inequalities are dragging down women’seconomic opportunities and affecting the entire EUeconomy

Leading to shortfall in terms of achieving inclusive andsustainable growth

To reach the goal of smart, sustainable and inclusiveeconomic growth, the EU must improve existing andintroduce further gender equality measures

Conclusions

Thank you!