Statistics in Focus: Population and social conditions. Gender gaps in the reconciliation between work and family life.

Abstract

Within the European Union, participation inemployment and the amount of time worked by women aged between 20 and 49 are closely linked to the number and age of their children1, which is less the case for men. In EU-25, the employment rate for women aged 20-49 is 60% when they have children under 12, compared with 75% when they do not (Chart 1). For men with children under 12, however, the employment rate is 91%, five points above the rate for men without children. Part-time work – defined here as fewer than 30 hours normally worked per week – is much more common for women than men. In EU-25, part-time work accounts for 27% of total employment in the case of women, and 4% for men. It also occurs more often in the case of women with children (38% of total employment, compared with 20% for those without), which is not the case for men, for whom the rates are fairly similar.