L.C.Warth@lse.ac.uk Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics GeNet - Gender Equality...

‡ L.C.Warth@lse.ac.uk

Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics

GeNet - Gender Equality Symposium, Queen’s College Cambridge, 26 September 2008

Persuading employers to be family-friendly: a comparison of government information campaigns and

the implications for gender equality

Lisa Warth ‡

Outline

Gender inequality in access to family-friendly working arrangements

Why some employers provide and others don’t: awareness, willingness and ability

Government strategies to inform, persuade and enable employers to be family-friendly: information campaigns

Implications for gender equality

Limitations of information campaigns, conclusions and outlook

Flexible working and gender equality

Allocation of time to work and care deeply gendered

Access to family-friendly working time arrangements can advance gender equality

If left unregulated, provision spreads unevenly across and within workplaces

Women are more likely to have access than men

Access inequalities across workplaces

Why are some employers more likely to provide?

Conditions for provision

Reasons for non-provision

Awareness Need for time flexibility is not known because not communicated or ignored

Willingness Attitude and beliefs of employers

Ability “Know-how” and/or operational capacity

Information campaigns

Work-Life Balance Campaign, UK

(2000-2005)

Success Factor Family Campaign, DE

(since 2005)

Strategies to inform, persuade, and enable

Information and awareness-raising

Persuading employers to support employees with care responsibilities

Capacity-building and “know-how”

Awareness-raising

High media visibility of the issues through high profile supporters and events

Commissioning of research and dissemination of findings

Creation of an infrastructure for exchange

Methods of Persuasion

Construction of a business-case/win-win scenario

The use of credible information channels

Provision of PR opportunities

Capacity building

Expert advice/consultancy services

Guidance materials

How was gender inequality addressed?

UK: targeting of male-dominated sectors

DE: awareness-raising on work-family reconciliation pressures of fathers

BUT in the main, gender neutral

Implications for gender equality

Provision has increased overall

But: access to family-friendly working arrangements has remained unequal

Access inequalities remain

Percentage of female employees Less than 10%

10-24% 25- 49% 50% or more

Working part-time 84 79 94 97

Job sharing 42 39 60 69

Working flexitime 61 46 67 55

Working a compressed working week 38 31 43 45

Working reduced hours for a limited period 61 61 70 82

Working from home on a regular basis 26 25 31 26

None of these 14 10 1 2

Availability of flexible working arrangements

Source: Third Work-Life Balance Employer Survey 2007 Base: All workplaces with 5 or more employees. Figures are weighted and based on responses from 1,462 managers

Limitations of information campaigns

In the main gender neutral, do not attempt to redress access inequalities, rather aim to increase overall provision.

Business-case argumentation is gender-biased

Diffused outreach can create knowledge-gap effect

Non-binding campaigns cannot enforce equal access

Conclusions

Information campaigns on their own insufficient to tackle gender access gap

Can reinforce rather than redress gender division in work and care.

Outlook

Gender-sensitive approach needed: attitudes towards men as carers

Dual encouragement strategy: men as well as employers must be encouraged to make use of family-friendly working arrangements to promote more equal gender division of labour

Thank you

Access inequalities across workplaces