Poland, labour market gender

As for Poland, in terms of the impact of the crisis on the labour market, employment rates increased both for women (52.2% in 2005 and 53.2% in 2012) and men (66.1% in 2005 and 66.4% in 2012). Unemployment rates increased as well both for women (2.9%) and for men (2.7%): this led to an increase in the gender unemployment gap, which reached 1.6% (9.4% for men and 11% for women). The financial and economic crisis has affected job quality as well since the number of temporary and part-time contracts increased both for men and for women between 2008 and 2013. Moreover, the Polish anti-crisis measures package has produced an increase in measures favourable for employers without implementing measures targeted at easing the effects of the crisis on employees.

 In Poland, the economic sectors with the highest feminisation rates are: activities of households as employers (94%); human health and social work activities (81%); and education (78%). In the reporting period, the feminisation rate remained quite stable except for the service activities sector, whose feminisation rate increased by 4% (from 60.8% in 2005 to 64.7% in 2012), and in the real estate sector, whose feminisation rate decreased by 6% (from 59% in 2005 to 53% in 2012). Regarding childcare: the total coverage of formal childcare services for children under three years of age was 5% in 2013; the total coverage rate for children between three years to compulsory school age stood at 38% in 2013; for children from compulsory school age up to 12 years, the total coverage was 95% in 2013.

 As for the GEI, Poland’s score increased by one point in the reporting period (from 43.7 in 2005 to 42.7 in 2012): the overall score is far below the EU average, though. The score of the Sub-index Work decreased by three points (from 58.5 in 2005 to 55.5 in 2012): more specifically, the sub-component of participation increased by 3.3 points (from 67.8 in 2005 to 71.1 in 2012); the sub-components of segregation and quality of work decreased dramatically by 7.2 points. These data suggest that, while female participation in employment increased in the reporting period, the quality of women’s jobs worsened and job market segregation deepened. 

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571358/IPOL_STU(2016)571358_EN.pdf