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Topics: Gender equality

  • Crisis point: Well-being of young people still defined by the economic crisis

    Across the EU, 14% of young adults are at risk of depression, and 4% of young people aged 15-24 suffer from chronic depression. Young women are more likely to find themselves not in employment, education or training, and are significantly more likely to suffer depressive symptoms than young men

  • EU on the horizon? Eurofound explores quality of life in the candidate countries

    There are high levels of optimism for the future in most EU candidate countries – including for future generations. However, current material hardships, deprivation, urban-rural disparities, gender inequalities and demographic ageing are fundamental challenges, and could undermine the current positive climate and future social cohesion.

  • Les salaires minima ont augmenté dans toute l'Europe, mais les travailleurs à bas salaires sentiront ils la différence ?

    La plupart des États membres de l'UE ont enregistré des hausses de salaires pour les bénéficiaires de salaire minimum et les bas salaires, les salaires minimums et les bas salaires ont en effet progressé dans la plupart d'entre eux, du fait de l’augmentation des salaires minima légaux qui ont augmenté dans presque tous les pays depuis janvier 2018.

  • Minimum wages have increased across Europe, but will low-wage workers feel the difference?

    There have been wage increases for minimum and low-wage earners in most EU Member States, with rises in statutory minimum wages in almost all countries since January 2018. While these increases are welcomed as good news for minimum wage workers, Eurofound’s research shows workers may not automatically feel the positive impacts of these changes.

  • What now for Europe?

    The votes have been cast, tallied and declared and we can now see the political landscape of the new European Parliament. To what extent have mixed developments in employment and quality of life contributed to the more fractured political landscape? And can the EU continue to deliver to the more diverse demands of citizens across Europe?

  • Workers in Europe in good health, but emotional demands take their toll

    People at work in Europe report good health and well-being, and increased control over their work activities. However, Eurofound data shows that work is also becoming more emotionally demanding, which poses a risk to health, as well as the long-term sustainability of work itself.

  • ICT-enabled flexible working – All plain sailing?

    Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re even luckier, it is YOU who decides upon your schedule and place of work.

  • We need to boost motivation at work to ease Europe’s demographic headache

    Motivated workers have higher levels of engagement, better health and are able to work longer. Improving motivation at work is therefore a key component in meeting the challenges of Europe’s ageing workforce and improving the EU’s long-term competitiveness on a global scale. This means that fostering motivation at work isn’t just about personal or business success, it's about Europe’s success.

  • Women in management: If we want to get serious about gender equality we need to talk about job quality

    After more than 60 years of European policy on the equal treatment of women and men, men still outnumber women in management positions by almost two to one. The women who do make it into management are more likely to be in non-supervising management roles where they manage operational responsibilities but not staff, and the minority that do manage staff are more likely to be managing other women.

  • Zum langsamen Start der Lohntransparenz in Deutschland: Ein Blick nach Europa

    Ein Jahr nach der Einführung des Entgelttransparenzgesetzes sind die ersten Befunde noch nicht wirklich beeindruckend. Dieses Gesetz ist Deutschlands Antwort auf die Empfehlung der Europäischen Kommission von 2014, zumindest eine von vier Lohntransparenz-Maßnahmen einzuführen, um die Lohnschere zwischen Männern und Frauen zu schließen.

  • Wage and task profiles of employment in Europe in 2030

    Structural change is expected to move much faster in the Member States who joined the Union after 2004, and we forecast big changes in the occupational wage and task structure in these countries in the run up to 2030.

  • Quality of life improving in Ireland but challenges remain

    Quality of life is improving in Ireland, particularly in relation to social cohesion, with the country recording some of the highest levels optimism in the EU and lowest reported levels of tension between racial and ethnic groups. However, a number of challenges remain, notably in public transport, childcare services, and social housing – all of which are rated below EU averages.

  • Platform work – Breaking barriers or breaking bad?

    Platform work is neither good nor bad – it just is. We need to adapt to this reality by finding ways to capitalise on the positive while at the same time counteracting the negative. This needs to be done in a differentiated way, taking account of the great variety in platform work. One-size solutions simply will not fit all.

  • Pay is just one aspect of disadvantage for women on the labour market

    ​The equal treatment of women and men has been a fundamental principle of the European Union since its inception, but women in Europe still earn on average 16.2% less than men. Tomorrow, Saturday 3 November, marks the moment in the year when women symbolically stop getting paid compared to their male colleagues.

  • Progress in paternity and parental leave for fathers – Are baby steps enough?

    Few events challenge the equilibrium between work and life like the arrival of a child. As gender roles continue to change in Europe, supporting the uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers is fundamental, not just to close the ‘caring gap’ between men and women, but also to provide the best possible outlook for coming generations.

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