| 2015-09-16ETUI, Brussel, 4th March 20151 Unequal working conditions in female and male dominated operations in Swedish municipalities Mats Ryderheim,

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Unequal working conditions in female and male dominated operations in Swedish

municipalities

Mats Ryderheim, Swedish Work Environment Authority

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Commission by the Swedish Government 2011:

Develop and implement directed initiatives aiming at preventing the exclusion of women from working life due to factors in the work environment – a 3,5 year project

• Build knowledge

• Disseminate information

• Train inspectors

• Carry out national inspection activities

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Research on differences in municipal operations from a gender perspective

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• Doctoral thesis by Tina Forsberg Kankkunen, Stockholm University, 2009

• CHEFiOS – organisational prerequisites and managers’ and employees’ strategies for the creation of ”good jobs” in male- and female predominant municipal operationsProfessor Annika Härenstam, Gothenburg University

ETUI, Brussel, 4th March 2015

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The research approach

Make visible ---------the first step towards change

Compare--------- male and female-dominated operations

Reflect---------How come?

What would we like to do?

What does it take?

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Social home care services and technical services

56 Swedish municipalities, 7000 – 310 000 inhabitants

Parallel inspections of two operations, in the same way from a gender perspective

Inspections of female and male dominated municipal operations


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Our purpose with parallell inspections

Compare similarities and differences in the employers' strategies to cater for both women and men having a good working environment regardless of in which operation they work

Contribute to increased awareness and knowledge among the employers


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3. Municipality

1. Social administra-tion manager

1. Technical administra-tion manager

Social home care units

2. Employee representatives and first line managers

Technical service units

2. Employee representatives and first line managers

Design of the inspection activities


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Facts, 56 municipalities

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Social home care Technical services

Number of employees that we met

1000 850

Percentage of women 92 % 21 %

Part time 42 % 4 %

Full time 55 % 94 %

Fixed-term contracts 4 % 4 %

Permanent employment 92 % 90 %


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Number of managers we met 228 205

Percentage of women 94 % 24 %

< 20 employees/manager 4 % 65 %

21-30 employees/manager 23 % 21 %

31-40 employees/manager 39 % 6 %

> 40 employees/manager 34 % 4 %

(4 % not answered)

Facts, 56 municipalities


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Main shortcomings – employees

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Work demands/work load 77 % 23 %

Resources/work equipment 66 % 33 %

Systematic work environment management

53 % 47 %


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Main shortcomings – managers

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Work demands/work load 64 % 36 %

Resources/work equipment 86 % 14 %

Systematic work environment management

54 % 46 %


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Overall comparison

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Social home care Technical servicesMainly financed by revenues Mainly financed by grants

Task-driven Assignment driven

Workload, staffing and other resources not adapted to work goals

Workload, staffing and other resources rather well adapted to work goals

Equipment is not available to the extent necessary

Equipment is usually available to the extent necessary


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Social home care Technical servicesLow degree of self-monitoring and job decision latitude

Difficult to manage the high work load

Almost always stressed

Quite good degree of self-monitoring and job decision latitude

Can manage the work load

Sometimes stressed

Overall comparison - employees


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Social home care Technical services73 percent of managers more than 30 employees

Time constraints, much administrative work, many relations, difficult to be present in the daily work and support the employees

Highly stressed

10 percent of managers more than 30 employees

Pretty good possibilities to support the employees, can be present and manage problems in the daily work

Stressed

Overall comparison - managers


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Social home care Technical servicesSystematic work environment management shortcomings

Systematic work environment management shortcomings

Lack of knowledge of work hazards

Lack of knowledge of work hazards

Lack of incident reporting Lack of incident reporting

Overall comparison - Systematic Work Environment Management, employees and managers


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Conclusions

* Systematic differences in the work environment conditions

* Systematic differences in the organizational prerequisites

* The prevailing gender pattern in the society at large and in working life emerges

* The inspections confirm the research results


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Follow up inspections6 months after the inspections

Most shortcomings according to the Work Environment Act were either resolved or put into action plans


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A brief evaluation 12-16 months after the inspections

11 telephone interviews with managers

Some municipalities had started to develop their work organisation. They used our documents as a basis. Many decisions had to be taken on the political level.

The Report 2014:3E is available on www.av.se/inenglish/


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Thank you for your attention!


Documents

| 2015-09-16ETUI, Brussel, 4th March 20151 Unequal working conditions in female and male dominated operations in Swedish municipalities Mats Ryderheim,