Hybrid working may be 'double-edged sword for women' who shoulder most of the burden

Eurofound concluded that "where flexibility at the household level was required to deal with unforeseen domestic responsibilities, it was primarily women who took up the slack." File photo: Joe Giddens/PA

Working between home and the office in the future could be a "double-edged sword" for women who disproportionately bear the brunt of "longer hours, working during free time, and isolation".

That is one of the conclusions of an analysis from the Dublin-based EU agency European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, or Eurofound, into genders better sharing the workload across the 27 member states.

The analysis by John Hurley said that although "one of the most striking developments of the last half-century has been the huge rise in female labour market participation in advanced economies", social structures across the bloc were not keeping pace with the changes.

2/3 net new jobs in the EU over the last two decades have been taken up by women.

But the gender employment gap is stagnating - costing the EU €320 billion a year.

Register for our #AskTheExpert webinar with @eurogender tomorrow: https://t.co/lONFLlmeHz

Let's #BreakTheBias. pic.twitter.com/uEKB1oPgMN

— Eurofound (@eurofound) March 7, 2022

That means women are shouldering most of the burden when it comes to the likes of childminding and domestic tasks, he said.

"More than two out of every three net new jobs created over the last two decades in the EU have been taken up by women, who now account for 46% of the workforce in the EU27. In 2002, the comparable figure was less than 43% and in the early 1990s it was less than 40%," Eurofound said.

The EU aims to bridge this gap even further over the next decade, with an ambitious target of three new jobs for women compared to one for men up to 2030. However, that means significant changes to the social burden, which is not happening, Eurofound said.

"The provision of good quality and affordable childcare is uneven across EU member states and remains an impediment to a full and active labour market participation, especially for working mothers. Working women continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid work in terms of domestic tasks and caring for dependents."

How does a segregated labour market affect women's careers?

🎧 Listen to the full #EurofoundTalks podcast episode on #genderequality with @MariaJepsenEF and @CarlienScheele this #InternationalWomensDay to find out: https://t.co/XwdCPptJqK#IWD2022 #BreakTheBias @eurogender pic.twitter.com/9Ur3xl4SiS

— Eurofound (@eurofound) March 7, 2022

Caring for others is not only disproportionately borne by women at home but also in the workplace and labour market more generally, the agency said.

"The large expansion of female employment over the last two decades has taken place primarily in jobs which already had a majority of female employment, notably ‘caring’ jobs in the predominantly State-paid sectors of health, education and social care."

The Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation, according to Eurofound.

"Women were also more likely than men to have shifted to working from home during the crisis or to have reduced their paid working hours, in part as a response to closures of schools and care facilities. Again, where flexibility at the household level was required to deal with unforeseen domestic responsibilities, it was primarily women who took up the slack."