About time: gender equality in Malta's working-time regime?

Camilleri-Cassar, Frances

doi:10.1017/s1474746416000294

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Intercountry data on male and female sickness absence and labor supply suggest that the gender gap in sickness absence is also associated with the increased participation of women in the labor force (e.g., in Sweden and Norway compared to France) [86]. In Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Iceland, and Italy, men are much more likely to be a part of the labor force than women [87][88][89].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of Sickness Absenteeism in Europe—Analysis from an Intercountry and Gender Perspective

Antczak

Miszczyńska

2021

IJERPH

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This study aims to extract and explain the territorially varied relation between socioeconomic factors and absence rate from work due to own illness or disability in European countries in the years 2006–2020. For this purpose, several causes were identified, depending on men and women. To explain the absenteeism and emphasize gender as well as intercountry differences, geographically weighted regression was applied. For men, there were five main variables that influenced sickness absence: body mass index, the average rating of satisfaction by job situation, employment in the manufacturing sector, social benefits by sickness/health care, and performing health-enhancing physical activity. For women, there were five main variables that increased the absence rate: the risk of poverty or social exclusion, long-standing illness or health problems, employment in the manufacturing sector, social protection benefits, and deaths due to pneumonia. Based on the conducted research, it was proven that the sickness absence observed in the analyzed countries was highly gender and spatially diverged. Understanding the multifactorial factors playing an important role in the occurrence of regional and gender-divergent sickness absence may be a good predictor of subsequent morbidity and mortality as well as be very useful to better prevent this outcome.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of Sickness Absenteeism in Europe—Analysis from an Intercountry and Gender Perspective

Antczak

Miszczyńska

2021

IJERPH

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“…The other ten participants suggested that while qualifications, experience and technical skills Gender pay gap were important for any job, soft skills including "adaptability", "proactivity and flexibility" were highly valued. The organisational culture within the Maltese Financial and Insurance sector values long working hours and availability (Camilleri -Cassar, 2017). "I think if you're female and you work like a man, then you're fine .…”

Section: Edi 431mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the gender pay gap in the Maltese financial and insurance sector: a macro and micro approach

Farrugia,

Borg,

Thake

2023

EDI

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PurposeAlthough women have advanced in the economic sphere, the gender pay gap (GPG) remains a persisting problem for gender equality. Using Acker's theory of gendered organisations, this study strives to gain a better understanding from a macro and micro approach, how family and work-related policies, especially family-friendly measures (FFMs), and their uptake, contribute and maintain the GPG in Malta and specifically within the Financial and Insurance sector.Design/methodology/approachTwo research instruments were used. National policy documents were analysed through the gender lens, followed by structured interviews with HR managerial participants within this sector.FindingsFindings suggest that at a macro level, family and work-related policies could be divided into two broad categories: A set of family-friendly policies that contribute to the GPG because of their gendered nature, or because the uptake is mostly taken by women. These include make-work pay policies, which initially appear to be gender neutral, but which attracted lower educated inactive women to the Maltese labour market at low pay, contributing to an increase in the GPG. Second, a set of policies that take on a gender-neutral approach and help reduce the GPG. These include policies like the free childcare and after school care scheme that allow mothers to have a better adherence to the labour market. At the micro level within organisations, pay discrepancies between women and men were largely negated and awareness about the issue was low. Here, “ideal worker” values based on masculine norms seemed to lead to covert biases towards mothers who shoulder heavier care responsibilities in the families and make a bigger use of FFMs. Because men are better able to conform to these gendered values and norms, the GPG persists through vertical segregation and glass ceilings, among others.Research limitations/implicationsSince not all the companies in the Eurostat NACE code list participated in this research, results could not be generalised but were indicative to future large-scale studies..Practical implicationsAt the macro and policy level, some FFMs take on a clear gendered approach. For example, the disparity in length between maternity (18 weeks) and paternity leave (1 day) reinforces gender roles and stereotypes, which contribute to the GPG in the long run. While some FFMs like parental leave, career breaks, urgent family leave, telework, flexible and reduced hours seem to take on a more gender-neutral approach, the uptake of FFMs (except childcare) seems to generate discriminatory behaviour that may affect the GPG. When considering the make-work pay policies such as the “in-work benefit” and the “tapering of benefits”, this study showed that these policies attracted lower educated and low-skilled women into the labour market, which in turn may have further contributed to the increasing GPGs. On the other hand, the childcare and after school policies relieve working mothers from caregiving duties, minimising career interruptions, discriminatory behaviour and overall GPGs.Social implicationsThis study confirmed that organisations within the Financial and Insurance sector are gendered and give value to full-time commitment and long working hours, especially in managerial roles. Managerial positions remain associated with men because mothers tend to make more use of FFMs such as parental leave, reduced, flexible hours and teleworking. Mothers are indirectly penalised for doing so, because in gendered organisations, the uptake of FFMs conflict with the demands of work and ideal worker values (Acker, 1990). This maintains the vertical segregation and widens the GPG within the Financial and Insurance sector.Originality/valueBy using the gender lens and taking a wider and more holistic approach from the macro and micro level, this study highlights how interlinking factors lead to and sustain the GPG in the Financial and Insurance sector in Malta.

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Deutsch¹,

Gaunt²

2020

Creating Equality at Home

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About time: gender equality in Malta's working-time regime?

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

Causes of Sickness Absenteeism in Europe—Analysis from an Intercountry and Gender Perspective

Causes of Sickness Absenteeism in Europe—Analysis from an Intercountry and Gender Perspective

Investigating the gender pay gap in the Maltese financial and insurance sector: a macro and micro approach

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