Gender Equality Index 2020 Digitalisation and the future of work Acknowledgements The authors of Gender Equality Index 2020 are Davide The thematic focus of Gender Equality Index 2020 Barbieri, Jakub Caisl, Dr Marre Karu, Giulia Lanfredi, has benefited greatly from expert advice received Blandine Mollard, Vytautas Peciukonis, Maria Belen Pilares from the European Commission, in particular the La Hoz, Dr Jolanta Reingardė and Dr Lina Salanauskaitė of Gender Equality Unit at the Directorate-General for the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). Justice and Consumers, the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, the A special thank you goes to Bernadette Gemmell, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and Cristina Fabre and Jurgita Pečiūrienė of EIGE for their the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, highly relevant contributions to the report and to Gráinne Entrepreneurship and SMEs; the European Founda- Murphy (Milieu Consulting) for her editorial support. tion for the Improvement of Living and Working Con- ditions; the International Labour Organization; the Many thanks to other colleagues at EIGE for their European Women’s Lobby; MenEngage; Business­ intellectual insights, administrative support and Europe; and Professor Dr Aysel Yollu­Tok, Professor encouragement. Dr Timm Teubner, Professor Dr Miriam Beblo and Dr Irem Güney-Frahm. Important contributions to the analysis of digitalisa- tion and the future of work were made by Professor EIGE is very grateful to the many other individuals Ursula Huws, Eleni Kampouri, Neil H. Spencer and and institutions who provided valuable contributions Matt Coates of the University of Hertfordshire in the and support to this update on the Gender Equality United Kingdom. Index. European Institute for Gender Equality The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is an Tel. +370 52157444 autonomous body of the European Union established to strengthen gender equality across the EU. Equality Email: [email protected] between women and men is a fundamental value of the EU and EIGE’s task is to make this a reality in Europe and http://www.eige.europa.eu beyond. This includes becoming a European knowledge centre on gender equality issues, supporting gender http://twitter.com/eurogender mainstreaming in all EU and Member State policies, and fighting discrimination based on sex. http://www.facebook.com/eige.europa.eu http://www.youtube.com/eurogender European Institute for Gender Equality, EIGE Gedimino pr. 16 http://eurogender.eige.europa.eu LT-01103 Vilnius LITHUANIA https://www.linkedin.com/company/eige/ Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 Print ISBN 978-92-9482-568-1 ISSN 2599-8927 doi:10.2839/076536 MH-AF-20-001-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-9482-569-8 ISSN 2599-8935 doi:10.2839/79077 MH-AF-20-001-EN-N © European Institute for Gender Equality, 2020 Cover image: © Myvisuals/Shutterstock.com Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged, the original meaning is not distorted and EIGE is not liable for any damage caused by that use. The reuse policy of EIGE is implemented by the Commission Decision of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (2011/833/EU). Gender Equality Index 2020 Digitalisation and the future of work Foreword Foreword The coronavirus disease (COVID­19) pandemic of power has contributed 65 % of the overall gain was a wake-up call for gender equality in Europe. in gender equality in the EU. This shows us that It reminded us about everyday gender inequali- change is possible, when legislative measures ties in our society that often go unnoticed – from and other proactive government actions are the shortage of men working in the care sector implemented. to the reality of violence facing women in abusive relationships. While it will still take time to fully This year, the Index report focuses on the effects understand the consequences of COVID­19 for of digitalisation on the world of work and the gender equality, it’s clear that it poses a serious consequences for gender equality. This topic is threat to the fragile achievements made over the extremely relevant in the light of the COVID­19 past decade. pandemic, and the ways in which the working lives of women and men have been affected by it. The European Institute for Gender Equality’s New types of jobs and innovative ways of working Gender Equality Index, as the EU’s monitoring through online platforms were analysed to gain tool for gender equality, will play a crucial role in an understanding of who is doing these jobs and assessing these impacts and bringing evidence whether they help or hinder gender equality. to policymakers in the years to come. Previous reports on the Index show us how Member With a detailed analysis for the EU and each States’ policies following the global financial cri- Member State, the Index shows country­level sis affected gender equality, often to the disad- achievements and areas for improvement. More vantage of women. We can learn from the past than ever, policymakers need the data that the to ensure that recovery measures post COVID­19 Index provides. We hope that our findings will leave no one behind. help Europe’s leaders to design future solutions that are inclusive and promote gender equality The EU’s progress on gender equality is still slow, in our post­COVID­19 society. with the Index score improving on average by 1 point every 2 years. At this rate, it will take over 60 years to reach gender equality. The big- gest improvement has been in decision-making, Carlien Scheele which has been driving most of the change in the Director Gender Equality Index. Since 2010, the domain European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) Gender Equality Index 2020 — Digitalisation and the future of work 3 Abbreviations Abbreviations Member State abbreviations Frequently used abbreviations BE Belgium AI artificial intelligence BG Bulgaria AsT assistive technology CZ Czechia CEO chief executive officer DK Denmark COVID-19 coronavirus disease EHIS European Health Interview Survey DE Germany EQLS European Quality of Life Survey EE Estonia EU European Union IE Ireland EU2020 Europe 2020 strategy EL Greece EU-LFS European Union Labour Force Survey ES Spain Eurofound European Foundation for the FR France Improvement of Living and Working HR Croatia Conditions IT Italy EU-SILC European Union Statistics on Income CY Cyprus and Living Conditions LV Latvia EWCS European Working Conditions Survey LT Lithuania FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights LU Luxembourg FTE full-time equivalent HU Hungary GDP gross domestic product MT Malta ICT information and communications NL Netherlands technology AT Austria ILO International Labour Organization PL Poland ISOC Digital Economy and Society PT Portugal JRC Joint Research Centre RO Romania LGBTQI*(1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, SI Slovenia queer, intersex and other non­dominant SK Slovakia sexual orientations and gender FI Finland identities in society MS Member State SE Sweden OECD Organisation for Economic UK United Kingdom Co-operation and Development EU 28 EU Member States (2013–2020) p.p. percentage point(s) PPS purchasing power standard R & D research and development SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SES Structure of Earnings Survey STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics WAVE Women Against Violence Europe WHO World Health Organization WiD Women in Digital WMID Women and Men in Decision-Making (EIGE Gender Statistics Database) (1) This report uses the abbreviation LGBTQI* as it is the most inclusive umbrella term for people whose sexual orientation differs from heteronormativity and whose gender identity falls outside binary categories. The language used to refer to this very heterogeneous group continuously evolves towards greater inclusion. For this reason, different researchers and organisations have adopted other versions of the abbreviation, such as LGBT and LGBTI. Accordingly, the report will use those researchers’ and organisations’ chosen abbreviations when describing the results of their work. 4 European Institute for Gender Equality Contents Contents Foreword 3 Highlights of the Gender Equality Index 2020 11 Introduction 17 1. Gender equality in the EU at a glance 19 1.1. Gender equality will be reached in over 60 years, at the current pace 19 1.2. Gender equality needs faster progress in all domains 21 1.3. Without gains in power, gender equality would barely be progressing 21 2. Domain of work 25 2.1. Increases in women’s employment have not challenged gender segregation 26 2.2. Slow progress leaves women from vulnerable groups behind 29 2.3. Europe 2020 employment target unlikely to be achieved without increased employment of women 30 3. Domain of money 32 3.1. The pursuit of women’s economic independence: nothing less than an uphill battle 33 3.2. Ending gender inequalities in earnings and pensions – the EU is decades away without targeted action 34 3.3. Grave risk of poverty is the harsh reality for older women and every second lone mother 36 4. Domain of knowledge 38 4.1. Stalled progress in the domain of knowledge 38 4.2. Women continue to gradually outpace men in educational attainment 39 4.3. Low engagement in adult learning and gender divide in educational choice remain major barriers 41 5. Domain of time 44 5.1. Gender equality in time use: some gains but not sufficient to offset overall stalling 45 5.2. Insufficient care infrastructure pushes women to fill the gaps 46 5.3. Gender, age and education affect workers’ access to social activities 47 6. Domain of power 49 6.1. Halfway to gender equality in decision-making 49 6.2. Legislative action advances gender equality in politics 51 6.3. Progress on gender equality is most notable on company boards 52 Gender Equality Index 2020 — Digitalisation and the future of work 5 Contents 7.