For Information : FOR INFO: ETUC Gender Equality Survey 2019 - Final Report

Brussels, 2 May 2019

  • To all ETUC Member Organisations
  • To the Members of the ETUC Women's Committee

Dear colleagues,

please find attached the report of this year ETUC Gender Equality Survey.

The first part of the report looks at trends in female trade unions' membership and in unions' decision-making positions among ETUC confederations and ETUFs.

The second part of this year survey draws unions' views to tackle the gender pay gap and increase pay transparency, also in the context of current EC action in this area.

We take the opportunity to thank the several members that contributed, this year again, to the positive outcome of this survey.

Best regards,

Montserrat Mir

Confederal Secretary


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Key findings (Part I) -> Women in membership and decision making positions

  • The level of responses to this the 12th Annual Gender Equality Survey has been slightly higher than in 2018, although lower than in previous years. 
  • In total, 41 confederations from 26 countries replied.  This corresponds to some 38 million members, around 80% of the total members of the 88 confederations affiliated to the ETUC.
  • The average proportion of women members in the confederations replying to the 2019 survey is 45.1%.  This is slightly lower than the proportion of women among employees in the 35 countries covered by Eurostat (47.1%).
  • The proportion of women among union members ranges from three-quarters (77.4%) in STTK (Finland) to three out of ten (29.7%) in SGB/USS (Switzerland).
  • Most confederations report an increase or no change in the proportion of women in membership. if the comparison is limited to the 18 confederations replying every year since 2008, a clear upward trend is evident, with the proportion of women in union membership going up from 44.9% in 2008 to 48.9% in 2019.
  • Looking at union leaders, 11 of the 41 confederations have a woman as the key leader. However, as two confederations have a joint leadership, where the president and general secretary share the top spots, there are 43 leadership positions, of which 11 (25.6%) are held by women.
  • The 11 confederations where this is the case are:  ABVV /FGTB  (Belgium) and ACV / CSC (Belgium), both confederations where leadership is shared, LIGA (Hungary), ASÍ (Iceland), ICTU (Ireland), CISL (Italy), LPSK/LTUC (Lithuania), UNIO (Norway), ZSSS (Slovenia), TCO (Sweden) and the TUC (UK).).
  • An analysis of the leadership team as a whole, including vice-presidents, deputy general secretaries, and treasurers as well as the top leaders, shows that there are 15 confederations where 50% or more of the team is female, although there are also five where there are no women in the leadership, although this may reflect the specific leadership structure of the confederation rather than the real influence of women. The average proportion of women in these senior positions is 37.1%. This is almost the same as 2018, when it was 37.2%.
  • The proportion of women on the key decision-making bodies between congresses is 35.0%, which is slightly up on the 2018 figure of 33.5%. In eight confederations women made up more than half of this body.
  • The replies on recent action taken to respond to the ETUC’s 2011 recommendation for improving gender balance in trade unions indicate that most confederations are taking action in this area, with many having introduced measures to guarantee the presence of women in decision-making bodies and many other regularly reporting on progress. There is also evidence of training and mentoring for women, and the crucial role of women’s structures is also clear.
  • Overall, on the basis of the statistics on women in leadership, the report finds that, while progress is being made, movement forwards in not guaranteed every year.

Key findings (Part II) –> Gender Pay Gap

  • The latest figures from Eurostat show the average gender pay gap, excluding those working in public administration, to be 16.0% in the EU, ranging from 25.6% in Estonia to 3.5% in Romania. However, a very low gender pay gap may not necessarily be positive. It may simply mean that there are fewer women in the labour force.
  • Most confederations indicated that the impact of the Equal pay Directive had been limited, particularly in terms of mainstreaming pay transparency and preventing pay discrimination, where a majority considered it had made no difference or resulted in only minor changes. It was seen to have had slightly more impact in enforcing pay discrimination measures and ensuring access to justice, but no confederation assessed its impact as very major.
  • Despite that most confederations thought the Directive had been useful, particularly in ensuring common progress.
  • The Recommendation on Pay Transparency was also seen to have had only a limited impact, as only 12 confederations from eight states said it had been implemented domestically, with confederations putting forward a variety of reasons why this was the case. In some countries, like Ireland, the legislation is still in process of being introduced, and in others, like the Netherlands, the government thinks the existing legislation is sufficient. Only 10 confederations said that they had been consulted on the Recommendation.
  • On the impact of other European and international obligations or standards the responses indicate that ILO Conventions in particular have been useful, but that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been used by some employers as an excuse nor to provide details on pay and pay structures.
  • On national legislation on equal pay for work of equal value, the overall picture was positive, with almost half the confederations considering the legislation to be “very” or “somewhat” effective.  However, the information on its application was less encouraging, with most saying that there was no information on the number of cases brought under the legislation. And where this information was available most confederations thought the number was low relative to the scale of the problem.  Most confederations though the legislation was hard to use.
  • There are 13 states with gender pay reporting, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland (where the implementation regulations are still awaited) and the UK.   Ireland is expected to join this group shortly. The thresholds range from zero in Sweden and 25 in Iceland to 250 in the UK. The figures are for average pay, although sometimes with other details. And companies must normally report either every year or every other year. In most countries only employee representatives within the organisation see the full figures, although sometimes figures also go to the government or government bodies. However, there are three countries where the figures are published more widely (Germany, Iceland and the UK). There are two states, France and Iceland, where evidence showing the existence of a gender pay gap may produce more direct consequences for the company. In France, persistent low scores on an index, of which the gender pay gap is part, can lead to fines. In Iceland, an “Equal Pay Certificate” is an essential requirement to operate. Confederations have a generally positive view of this legislation.
  • The confederations were also asked for their views on the main causes of the gender pay gap, and overall most of them identified labour market segregation as a main cause of the gender pay gap in their countries and 19 saw the impact of actual or perceived family responsibilities as a key cause of the gender pay gap.
  • Most confederations  said that they had taken action, and the most common form of action, was “Making a reduction of the gender pay gap a policy/priority for the organisation”, this was followed by “Lobbying government on the gender pay gap”, and “Setting collective bargaining targets to reduce the gender pay gap”. The least common form of action, was “Analysing progress by … affiliates in reducing the gender pay gap through collective bargaining
  • Most confederations also reported that their affiliates were using collective bargaining to reduce the gender pay gap, and the most frequently found area of action related to work-life balance, followed by increased flexibility for workers, improved pay transparency, larger increases for lowest paid, longer hours for part-timers, and improved training.
  • Finally, the responses to the request for specific recommendations on improving the implementation of the principle of equal pay generally concentrated on solutions to specific national problems. However, the overarching themes were: greater pay transparency, improved rights for representatives and stricter implementation of the rules by governments.