Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 11 Oct 2000

Vol. 523 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Equal Opportunities.

Ms O'Sullivan:

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House tonight to take this motion.

The publication this week by the ESRI of a report on the differentials between wages and conditions for women and men prompted many positive media headlines and commentary. The overriding message was that legislation outlawing labour market discrimination is working and women and men are on their way to being equals when it comes to work opportunities and pay. However, I will hold my breath before celebrating about a figure which shows that wages for women remain 15% below the average wage for an Irish male worker. In addition, women are far less likely to benefit from health insurance provision, a pension or from such facilities as sports and leisure activities associated with their workplace.

It has taken a full decade for the differential between women's and men's pay to drop by five percentage points. I hope it will not take three more decades before women are in receipt of the same average wages and benefits as their male counterparts.

In its report, the ESRI went a long way to explain why disparities still exist in wages for women and men. Women, according to the report, accrue less workplace experience because of child care responsibilities and, therefore, it takes longer for them to reach the same wage levels as their male colleagues. Should not the workplace facilitate the rearing of the next generation? I am sure the Minister of State will agree with me that it should.

The ESRI report this week highlighted once again the abysmal provisions, both at a private level in companies and by the State, in the area of child care. Access to proper child care, which is both affordable and of a high quality, would ensure that working women could pursue their careers and raise their families. In addition, the responsibilities of parenthood must be shared and they should be an issue for men in the workplace as well as for women, employers and the State.

Contrary to the feel-good factor from this report that women are at last on their way to being equals in the workplace, the latest live register statement for September showed a worrying trend. While there was a welcome drop in the figures, the extent of the reduction in the numbers of women signing on was an indication that many are in insecure employment and are forced to sign on during summer months and other holiday periods.

It is an unacceptable trend that large numbers of women join the live register in June and July yet come September they appear to be back in employment. This pattern of signing on and signing off suggests that women are the main victims of casual, atypical and temporary employment. The Government has placed a strong emphasis on encouraging more women to join the labour market. Its controversial introduction of individualisation to the tax code is just one example of its enthusiasm to get more women working. However, not enough is being done to ensure that when women enter the workforce they are afforded better working conditions which do not see them signing on while the rest of us take holidays. Up to 73% of part-time workers are women and their rights are not always protected.

There is an obligation on the State to promote and make way for equality of access to men and women in the labour market. The introduction of paid parental leave, paternity leave and better access to child care facilities are all crucial elements in ensuring that parental responsibility is shared and assisted by both working parents.

Another relevant requirement is to ensure that girls at school have full access to more technical subjects and that they are encouraged to take them up. Germany, Sweden and other EU states show much higher participation rates of girls in technical subjects, which it seems in Ireland are still the preserve of boys

I wish to focus attention on the large number of women who are currently not in the active labour market because their need to care for children and older people in the home are preventing them from accessing paid employment. An assessment of the value of such work must be undertaken. In addition, there are thousands of farm women who make a huge contribution to the management of farms throughout this agri culture-dependent economy who are not recognised under the tax code. Equally, women's contribution in this regard needs to be considered in a meaningful way.

Equality must be meaningful to women in the workplace, it must result in equal numbers of women in management positions, equal access to work related benefits, parity of pay and recognition of work carried out in the home, on the farm and in the community.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Miss M. Wallace):

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this important issue. This motion is timely because of the launch this week of the ESRI's report, How Unequal? Men and Women in the Irish Labour Market, which records a narrowing of the gap in hourly earnings between men and women. The 1997 data shows that women earn 84.5% of the average male wage as compared with 80% in 1987. This data includes all economic sectors and benefits such as pensions. It is the most comprehensive and up to date data we have on this subject and it complements the CSO figures on manufacturing industry which show a wider gap of 28% in male and female earnings. The CSO figures relate to one in five of women workers and are not representative of the full economy.

Narrowing of the gap marks sustained progress on the achievement of equal opportunities between women and men at work. Most of the remaining gap of 15.5% arises from the fact that women spend on average six years out of the work force with child care responsibilities over their working lives. When this difference is taken into account the gap between male and female hourly earnings narrows to 5%.

The Deputy's chief concern is to establish what initiatives we have taken to continue to make a difference. In launching the ESRI research on 9 October, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform highlighted the need for a continued focus on equality of opportunity to ensure that women get fair treatment in employment. The additional resources provided to the Equality Authority and the Director of Equality Investigations will assist in this by ensuring a swift, professional response to inquiries from employers, trade unions and employees. Also, the current labour market creates a favourable climate for furthering gender equality.

As a further support for ensuring that pay and conditions for women at work are the same as their male counterparts, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has provided the Equality Authority with funding to carry out gender audits in conjunction with employers, trade unions and employees. A number of employers have already expressed an interest in embarking on this process. There will be a focus on mapping the gender profile of organisations and recording the recruitment and promotion systems to ensure they conform with best practice. The intention is that this funding will help bring a greater level of equal opportunity between men and women to the workplace.

The ESRI research referred to by the Deputy noted that the concentration of women in low paid jobs prevented further narrowing of the gender pay gap. Further inroads to tackling the gender pay difference must therefore focus on equipping women with relevant labour market qualifications. Also relevant is the development of education and training systems which combine lifelong learning with employment. The equality for women measure which the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform announced on 5 October will provide funding for such initiatives including projects offering women the opportunity to retrain, up-skill and advance in their careers. Employers, trade unions and groups of employees are invited to submit project proposals which aim to tackle the gender pay gap including mentoring programmes, personal development courses and networking supports.

The ESRI research also noted the need for supports for women who are returning to the work force after a long absence. The Partnership 2000 report on women's access to labour market opportunities sets out a number of recommendations in this regard. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is funding further research in this area concerned with identifying the information and guidance needs of women returning to the labour market.

Also relevant in tackling the gender pay gap is the question of statutory rights relating to maternity and parental leave, child care supports and family friendly working arrangements. The review of the maternity protection legislation which is being chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and includes the social partners and relevant Departments and bodies is at an advanced stage. The Parental Leave Act makes an important contribution to gender equality by providing for the right for each parent to parental leave, which is not transferable from one to the other.

Other initiatives by the Government which are likely to have a positive effect on the gender pay gap are: the adoption in April 2000 of the Statutory Minimum Wage of £4.40 per hour; the forthcoming carers' leave Bill which will make it possible for employees to take carer's leave from their employment and employment rights will be protected during this absence. This is expected to be particularly important for women, who constitute the majority of carers; the forthcoming Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Bill, 2000 which seeks to provide equal treatment for part-time workers with their full time colleagues. As women constitute 71% of part-time workers this is clearly of major importance to them.

The Government remains committed to working on all of these different levels and within social partnership to ensure that pay and conditions for women at work are the same as for their male counterparts.

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this issue which is very timely because of the equality for women measures announced on 5 October and the ESRI research which was launched on 9 October.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 October 2000.