Equal rights for women in labour market in Lithuania
Table of Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................2
Introduction.............................................................................................................3
Background: the development of labour market and women situation in Lithuania in 1990-2007.....................................................................................................................5
The Lithuanian gender policy: legal framework and institutional mechanism.......................................................................................................................................9
Analysis: the problems faced by women in Lithuanian labour market and their reasons.................................................................................................................12
The results of gender inequality in labour market in Lithuania................................................15
Example of the Northern countries: what could be learnt.......................................................17
Conclusion............................................................................................................19
Bibliography.........................................................................................................21
Abstract
Gender equality is nowadays one of the main factors that describe a democratic society. In EU the policy on gender equality is a fundamental principle and the implementation of it is sought after in many countries. The development of gender equality in Lithuania and the present situation address the fact that conditions in the area of gender equality are getting better. Yet, the situation in labour market with respect to gender equality has a tendency to retrogress; such trend has recently been widely discussed in Lithuania. Consequently, I have developed an interest in the area of gender equality concerning women in labour market. The research question of this paper, therefore, is to what extent do women have equal rights with men in labour market in Lithuania?
The scope of this research was to analyse the development of the situation of women position in labour market during the years 1990 to 2007, i.e. from the regaining of independence of Lithuania from the USSR. The main areas of focus were unemployment, differentiation of pay, categorisation of specialities and difficulties in the management of family and work life. Later, I attempted to present the policies of the state in the area of gender equality. The findings in these two sections led to the analysis of the existing situation and its impact on welfare of the state. Finally, an example of Scandinavian countries was used to suggest the improvement measures.
My conclusion reaches the position that though Lithuania has a strong legal framework on gender equality, the reality demonstrates that there is a lack of implementation of it; there are still many cases in which women are under-represented in labour market in Lithuania.
Work Count: 279
Introduction
Human rights are international norms that protect people from being politically, socially or legally abused and refer to such basic principles to which all people are entitled as liberty, freedom of expression, equality before the law and other social, cultural and economic rights. Gender equality is one of the most important parts of human rights. It is also one of the most significant and valued principles of democratic society. Gender equality is associated with equal presentation, positioning in the social hierarchy, possibilities and responsibilities for both, men and women, alike.1 It is also amplified that equal rights are the absence of disadvantages for both sexes in participation in the economic, political and social life.2
Though it is widely acknowledged that equal rights are the fundamental principle of nowadays democratic society, there are still many difficulties in achieving the real equality de facto not only in Lithuania, but also in other democratic countries. The question of gender equality in Lithuania, especially in the labour market, is still a complex issue and there are different opinions about it. Some consider that Lithuania is advancing in promoting the policy of gender equality while others argue that country still lacks reasonable approach to this policy and its implementation.
Despite the arguments, the problem of equal rights in labour market exists, yet several attempts have been made to improve the situation in Lithuania. Since the declaration of independence in 1990, many important economic changes such as rapid development of private sector, decrease of labour force in size, growth of unemployment occurred in Lithuania bringing about the raise of competition and inequality among different groups of people and influencing their everyday life.3 The question of gender equality was not immediately raised at that time, but then, in 1994, when the position of State
Counsellor on Women's Issues was created, the interest in equal rights began to rise and later the first Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Eastern and Central European countries was adopted in Lithuania on December 1, 1998 (came into force on March 1, 1999). Recently, in the World Economic Forum in 2007 Lithuania has been ranked number 14 in the Gender Gap Index and has been said to have made the biggest advances among top 20 countries.4 Increase in equality between men and women in labour market and the reduction of the gap in payment are referred to as the main reasons for this evaluation.
In spite of the fact that Lithuania is presented as an example for many other states in the field of gender equality, according to the data from the Department of Statistics of Lithuania the situation for women gets worse in the labour market: the percentage of their payment is dropping compared to that of men. Women still have fewer prospects to promotion and are rarely seen in the head posts or science areas. The stereotypes of different roles of men and women are quite strong: women are encouraged to stay at home, with children while men should meet their needs and provide the family with amenities.
So the main question of this paper is: to what extent do women have equal rights with men in labour market in Lithuania? The aim of this work will be to analyse:
* the problems faced by women in Lithuanian labour market: the creation of gender stratification by earnings, employment rates and stereotypes imposed on people;
* the reasons of gender gap and results of such a situation;
* what could be done to improve the situation.
Background: the development of labour market and women situation in Lithuania during the years 1990-2007
When Lithuania was a part of the Soviet Union, the position of men and women in labour market was quite equal: in the planned economy women were encouraged to work, participate in social life and seek career.5 Women were seen as an important part of society which could benefit the country as much as men. After the regaining of independence in 1990 the changes in economic life were radical: Lithuania switched to market economy. This shift resulted in several changes in social, political and economic life in Lithuania. As a consequence, the position of women and men changed, ...
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When Lithuania was a part of the Soviet Union, the position of men and women in labour market was quite equal: in the planned economy women were encouraged to work, participate in social life and seek career.5 Women were seen as an important part of society which could benefit the country as much as men. After the regaining of independence in 1990 the changes in economic life were radical: Lithuania switched to market economy. This shift resulted in several changes in social, political and economic life in Lithuania. As a consequence, the position of women and men changed, for any alteration of situation in economy results in demographic and employment variations. The most evident trend became the decrease of women role in labour market.
The main features of the post-soviet Lithuanian economy were the growth of unemployment rates, the increase of people in business and workers in private sector and the increase of people in agriculture. In the period of 1990-1997 the number of employers in the state sector decreased by 60%, as the private sector became double what it had been and in the early 1998 the total of 68.3% of workers were in the private sector.6 This proved to be one of the main reasons for the decline of women role in Lithuania since women were in the majority in the state sector whereas men were evidently more active in the private sector.7
The increase in unemployment of women in those years is evident compared to that of men. The decrease of women in labour market in the years 1991-1997 was 18.6% whereas that of men was only
4.5%.8 The percentage of women decreased in almost every sector of economy, but mostly in industry (by 8.2%), transport and communication (by 10.4%) and marketing (by 16%).9
In 1997, the growth in Lithuanian economy could be observed. As a result, unemployment rate decreased; however, this was due to the increasing percentage of men in labour force from 75.4 % to 77.8%.10 The number of men employed increased not only in so called "masculine areas", but also in areas previously dominated by women, for example, marketing. The amount of women participating in labour market continued to decrease from 80.4% to 79.0%.11 However, the economic crisis in Russia in 1999 had a considerable impact on situation in Lithuania and slowed down the economy growth. There were a reduction in vacancies in the state sector, collapse in the finance sector, many companies went to bankruptcy. The year 2002 was a turning point as unemployment rate began to decrease and reached the least value over the years of independence: the number of workers increased in the service sector, industry and constructions.
In the year 2003, the rate of women employed was quite equal to that of men; it exceeded the average employment rate in the EU and was 58.4%.12 The employment rate of men was 64.6%.13 The situation kept improving and the statistics of year 2007 show that the position of women is even closer to that of men. Their employment rate increased and reached 62.2% while that of men became 67.9%.14 The unemployment rates decreased and were 4.3% for men and women alike according to the data of the Department of Statistics of Lithuania.15 The disturbing fact is that among the unemployed the
percentage of women who have the higher education is considerably higher than that of men: almost 1/5th of all unemployed women have higher university or non-university education whereas the quota of men is 11.8%.16
One of the main trends in Lithuanian labour market over the years of independence became the differentiation of pay for men and women. The data in the Table 1.clearly show that in all main sectors of economy women are paid less than men. Statistics also show that those specialities where women make a majority are paid less than those where the majority is that of men. In the sectors of education, health care and hotel and restaurant administration, which are the most popular among women, the average salaries were one of the least in 2007; in sectors such as defence, transport and communication, electricity, water and gas supply, which are more popular among men, their average pays were higher than that of women. The situation in Lithuania, when considering equal pay, only worsened over the last years: in 2006 the average monthly pay for women was 82.1% that of men and in 2007 it decreased by almost 2% and was 80.2% that of men.17
Table 1. The average gross monthly earnings by kind of economic activity in the whole economy, 200718
Finally, a common trend in Lithuanian labour market is difficulties in managing family and work life. Very often women are considered to be the ones responsible for the child care and thus their possibilities to seek a career are severely reduced. The mainstream in society is that men are responsible for alimentation of the family and women should stay at home and take care of the children. Such situation demonstrates that there is a lack of integration of gender and family policies in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian gender policy: legal framework and institutional mechanism
The general principle of equal rights and opportunities in Lithuania is enshrined in the 29th article of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania which states that: "All persons shall be equal before the law, the court, and other State institutions and officials. The rights of the human being may not be restricted, nor may he be granted any privileges on the ground of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, belief, convictions, or views."
However, in the first years after the regaining of independence, the question of gender equality was not immediately raised in Lithuania. It took time until 1994 when the position of State Counsellor on
Women's Issues was established. After another four years, the first document, the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men which 5th Article states that employers are obliged to grant equal possibilities for men and women when hiring or promoting, also to pay men and women equally for the same kind of work, to be issued.19 This document also stressed the need to establish the Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman which was done in 1999.20 The position now is occupied by Mrs. Aušrine Burneikiene.
The Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman is now said to be one of the most transparent institutions in Lithuania. The confidence of people in this structure of the state has increased over the last years. This is evidently shown by the fact that people more often appeal to this institution with their problems. The table below represents the data from the annual report of the Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman in 2007 about the number of complaints that were received over the last decade. The problem remains that more than 80% of all the complaints were issued in three biggest cities of Lithuania (Vilnius - 61%, Kaunas - 17%, Klaipeda - 5%); almost none of the complaints came from rural areas.21
Table 2. The number of complaints and investigations issued by Ombudsman in recent years22
When regarding the complaints related to gender equality issues women have addressed the institution of Ombudsman more actively than men during the years 1999 - 2004; from 2005 the number of men complaining grew rapidly and in 2007 it was almost equal to that of women.23 It is worth noticing that number of complaints related to sex discrimination increased almost by 1/3 during the last few years as can be seen from the data in the table below.
Table 3. The number of complaints related to sex discrimination in recent years24
Another important documents dealing with gender equality and labour market are Labour Code, Law on Support for the Unemployed, Law on Safety and Health of Workers. Lithuania also has the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2005 - 2009 which analyses the problems not only in labour market, but also in other areas of social life such as politics, religion and nationality. This programme is aimed at improving the situation and offers various means to deal with current situation.
The Minister of Social Security and Labour was commissioned to coordinate the gender issues in 2001.25 What is more, all other ministries are obliged to implement gender equality in their particular area of competence; also, more than 80 non-governmental organisations exist in Lithuania which draw attention to the needs of women and try to influence the development of gender-equal society.26
Evidently, Lithuania has established quite a good legal basis in the field of gender equality. However, at some points the legal acts do not ensure themselves that equal possibilities will be established and often the mechanism does not work efficiently enough to secure the gender equality. The following analysis shows that much more should be done in order to improve the situation.
Analysis: the problems faced by women in Lithuanian labour market and their reasons
One of the most important problems in Lithuanian labour market regarding gender equality is unequal pay for women and men for the same work, e.g. horizontal segregation. Another tendency could be also observed that the areas most popular among women are paid the least.
Table 4. The most popular occupations among women and pay in litas (Lt) 27
Specialty
Hotels & restaurants
Education
Health & social work
Other community, social & personal service activities
Pay
081
541
721
375
Table 5. The most popular occupations among men and pay in litas (Lt)28
Specialty
Construction
Transport & communication
Electricity/gas/water supply
Public administration, defence & compulsory social security
Pay
2252
922
2454
2564
The data from the Table 4. and Table 5. could be interpreted as a sign that the division of "feminine" and "masculine" professions still persist in Lithuania.
Clearly, the specialities in education, social work and health sectors could be seen as "feminine" professions as they demand such character qualities as kindness, compassion, friendliness which are considered to be natural for women. Thus, these professions can be seen as less demanding for women; consequently they could be paid less. Such stereotypical view also leads to women choosing "feminine" professions, which are less paid, as they would not want to feel ignored, undermined or
pressured.29 Women who choose "masculine" professions are often not seen as professionals: women in a collective of men will most often be seen as a composition of all stereotypes regarding her sex.30
Another situation is with the "masculine" professions. In order to work in such areas as constructions or transport and communication one should put a lot of effort and time to become an expert. Thus, the work of such kind needs to be paid more. However, such a view is stereotypical and needs to be changed as work in such areas as education or social work demands good qualifications and strong character as well. As a result, it should be equally well paid and can be done by women and men alike.
Another reason for unequal pay of men and women could be explained by human capital theory. It is believed that women input in organisations' work is less than that of men as women are less qualified and experienced, they are not so eager to seek a career and, finally, they have children to take care of which can result in cessation in their career and loss of qualifications.31 In Lithuania, however, claims that women are less qualified would be inaccurate. In 2007, 43.1 thousand specialists were graduates from higher education institutions, 67% - women; more women (61%) than men (39%) acquired a doctoral degree, 66% - bachelor's degree.32 Evidently, the statistic data show that women get a better education and are qualified enough.
What is more, it could be that women themselves expect a lower pay.33 In Lithuania the range of possible pay is often stated, so employee could negotiate her/his pay. If women are satisfied with lower salaries and do not try to talk about their pay, it is not surprising that they are paid less.
Another problem in Lithuanian labour market is that the percentage of women employed is still less than that of men. Here, once again, the persisting view that women have to take care of household influences the employers when deciding who should be employed. Women still have to deal with personal questions from employers about their marital status and any plans of having children. Men are more attractive to employers not only because they do not have to contribute that much to the taking care of children, but also because they are seen as more determined, better orientated to seek their goals and thus more valuable to the enterprise.
A very serious problem is the lack of coordination in state's gender and family policies. The situation in Lithuania nowadays is that for woman to arrange her work and family life is becoming more and more difficult. The development of labour market demands more and more from the employees, consequently women are forced to choose less paid, less demanding job or even work only part-time so as to be able to take care of their families. However, some positive steps have been made in order to improve the situation as in 2006 the amendments of the labour Code were made which legitimated paternity leave.
Finally, there is a lack of knowledge among women about the gender policy in Lithuania. They often know nothing about the guarantees in labour, the legal basis of gender equality. Others do not even know where to appeal in case of discrimination. Also, there is a lack of political campaigns in promoting gender equality and raising public awareness of it.34
The results of gender inequality in labour market in Lithuania
The unequal positioning of men and women in Lithuania causes several problems to the whole country. Firstly, the fact that by not creating the equal opportunities the state loses its economic and intellectual resources should be considered.35 It is evident that the better those resources are used the stronger the state is. In order to create and use the potential of both genders, the state should provide the possibilities to get a proper education and then use it effectively in the labour market.36 In Lithuania, the education is secured for both genders equally, in fact more women get a better education, higher percentage of them have bachelor, master or doctor degrees. However, in the labour market the situation is quite the reverse. Men have higher, better-paid positions. The disturbing fact is that the percentage of unemployed women with higher education is greater than that of men by almost 10%. Such situation demonstrates that in Lithuania potential of women is used only partially. By such policy the state not only loses the intellectual potential, but also the economic one as it has invested in education of both genders equally.37
The discontent of women with the situation led to high emigration rates. As women cannot create the conditions that would satisfy them in Lithuania, they choose to look for them in other countries. This way the human resources which are so important for the improvement of the situation are being lost.
What is more, the attitude towards working women with children has forced them to consider the possibility of becoming mothers. Many prefer career to family life as managing career and family seems to be too difficult nowadays, especially, when labour market is so demanding and there are few guarantees that the position one is in can be secured in case of pregnancy. Consequently, the decrease in birthrates occurs weakening the country and its potential.
Finally, a very serious problem of the country becomes the feminization of poverty. The fact that women get paid less and that there is a higher percentage of unemployed women than men means that women will pay less security contributions; this leads to the situation when women depend on their husbands or to feminization of poverty among the elderly people.38 It should be also mentioned that due to the fact that there is a high percentage of single mothers, they alone bear the care of the children and as a result of their difficult situation in the labour market many of such families live on the poverty level.
Example of the Northern countries: what could be learnt?
Northern countries are often characterised by universal principles of equality and social partnership principles. The idea of integration of the aspect of gender policy which rose in the Northern countries was implemented there very successfully into everyday lives of people. Nowadays, these countries are represented as the positive example in the area of gender equality; their policies are often implemented in other countries.
One of the main principles that make Northern countries a perfect example is that young girls are educated to have professional aspirations and ambitions to seek the career.39 Using different positive measures it is attempted to change women's attitude towards work, they are encouraged to choose respectful professions. However, such policy is often criticised as it concentrates mainly on women as a problem to the society; such policy, by trying to adapt to masculine standards, seems to legitimate the gender inequality.40 Yet, lately, these countries have started to emphasise the need to change not only women's, but also men's attitude to work and women in "masculine" positions. This combination of the education concentrated on the promotion of career women with the changing of ideological views proved to be quite successful.41
In Northern countries the social movement of women is very active; women are widely represented and take part in decision making and reorganisation of projects on gender equality.42 The increasing importance of women in politics proved to be important in seeking the equality in occupation as there are more possibilities to promote the idea of gender equality. Women in Lithuania should also participate more actively in gender policies, seek proper representation and embark on campaigns increasing the public awareness of the issue.
Northern countries also highlight the demand for researches on gender issues, their analysis and recommendations in order to change the situation.43 Such policy should be implemented in Lithuania as well. It is necessary that the coordination between the various scientific research projects in the area of gender equality is made more effective in order to create an accessible directory of ongoing researches and their results should be effectively provided to the competent state bodies so that the findings could be transformed into public policies.44 Also, information on gender equality should be made more accessible, i.e. available in various forms. If people were more aware of the problem of gender inequality, there would be more demand for the changing of the situation.
Conclusion
In this work I aimed to answer to what extent do women have equal possibilities in labour market with men. After analysing the development of labour market during the years of independence and the institutions and legal basis on gender equality it can be stated that though Lithuania has created a strong basis for establishing gender equality the real situation reveals that position of women compared to that of men is still worse in many aspects and the policy of gender equality is not implemented fully.
After the analysis of the problems of women in Lithuanian labour market, it can be observed that the most evident tendencies are the unequal pay for equal work, the categorisation of work to "feminine" and "masculine" professions, also the lack of coherent policy in integration of family and work life. Women still suffer because of the existing stereotypes and gender roles: they are still referred to as "mothers", "wives", "householders", but not "businesswomen", "professors" or "chief executives". The persisting situation is also due to the fact that women often accept the current situation and do not demonstrate serious actions towards the changing of the situation.
The analysis shows that existing situation not only affects women, but also influences the state life. Such problems as loss in human resources, feminization of poverty and decrease in birthrates show that the equality of men and women is not only the empty talks of feminists. The coherent and systematic policy towards gender equality would benefit both women and men as it would result in the improvement of the overall situation of the state.
Finally, to reach the best results the state should start to raise public awareness of the issue and encourage people not to be silent, but talk about the problems. The priority should be the rural areas of Lithuania as there is still lack of information about gender issues and understanding of the problem. It is also very important to start changing the mainstreams in society about the roles of men and women,
for such policy would improve the possibilities of women in labour market and would also help to lead a better policy of family and work integration.
Word count: 3.966
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Reingardiene J. "Lyciu lygybes strategija ir užimtumo politika Europos Sajungoje" ("The Strategy of Gender Equality and Employment Policy in the EU"). Kaunas: Vytautas Magnus University Press, 2004, page 33.
2 Ibid, page 33.
3 Daukantiene N. "Darbo rinkos pokyciai Lietuvoje: moteru ir vyru padeties aspektai" ("The Change of Labour Market in Lithuania: Aspects of Standing of Women and Men"). Vilnius: Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Publishers, 2006, page 47.
4 Available at: http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/Global_Gender_Gap_2007; (accessed on 18 March, 2008).
5 Daukantiene N. "Darbo rinkos pokyciai Lietuvoje: moteru ir vyru padeties aspektai" ("The Change of Labour Market in Lithuania: Aspects of Standing of Women and Men"). Vilnius: Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Publishers, 2006, page 47.
6 Ibid, page 47.
7 Ibid, page 47.
8 Daukantiene N. "Darbo rinkos pokyciai Lietuvoje: moteru ir vyru padeties aspektai" ("The Change of Labour Market in Lithuania: Aspects of Standing of Women and Men"). Vilnius: Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Publishers, 2006, page 48.
9 Ibid, page 48.
0 Ibid, page 48.
1 Ibid, page 48.
2 Available at: www. stat.gov.lt/en/ (accessed on 10 March, 2008)
3 Available at: www. stat.gov.lt/en/ (accessed on 10 March, 2008)
4 Available at: www. stat.gov.lt/en/ (accessed on 10 March, 2008)
5 Available at: www. stat.gov.lt/en/ (accessed on 10 March, 2008)
6 "Women and Men in Lithuania". Vilnius: The Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2008, page 50.
7 Ibid, page 54.
8 "Women and Men in Lithuania". Vilnius: The Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2008, page 56.
9 The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Article 5; (ratified on 1st December, 1998, Nr. VIII-947).
20 The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Article 10; (ratified on 1st December, 1998, Nr. VIII-947).
21 The Annual Report of the Officer of Equal Opportunities 2007, page 20; available at http://www.lygybe.lt (accessed on 8 March 2008).
22 The Annual Report of the Officer of Equal Opportunities 2007, page 3; available at http://www.lygybe.lt (accessed on 8 March 2008).
23 Ibid, page 4.
24 Ibid, page 5.
25Mackeviciute I. "Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. Monitoring Law and Practice in Lithuania". Vilnius: Center for Equality Advancement, 2005, page 19.
26 Ibid, page 19.
27 "Women and Men in Lithuania". Vilnius: The Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2008, page 56.
28 Ibid, page 56.
29 Jankauskaite M., Mackeviciute I. "Lyciu dialogui atvira bendruomene" ("Society Open to Gender Equality"). Vilnius: Center for Equality Advancement, 2005, page 18.
30 Ibid, page 18.
31 Ibid, page 19.
32 Ibid, page 19.
33 Ibid, page 20.
34 The National Programme for Women and Men's Equal Opportunities 2005-2009, Article 11-6; (ratified on 26th September, 2005, Nr. 1042).
35 Purvaneckiene G. "Darbo ir šeimos pareigu derinimas" ("The Integration of Work and Family Life"). 2005, page 17.
36 Ibid, page 17.
37 Ibid, page 17.
38 Mackeviciute I. "Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. Monitoring Law and Practice in Lithuania". Vilnius: Center for Equality Advancement, 2005, page 43.
39 Reingardiene J. "Lyciu lygybes strategija ir užimtumo politika Europos Sajungoje" ("The Strategy of Gender Equality and Employment Policy in the EU"). Kaunas: Vytautas Magnus University Press, 2004, page 53.
40 Ibid, page 53.
41 Ibid, page 53.
42 Ibid, page 61.
43 Reingardiene J. "Lyciu lygybes strategija ir užimtumo politika Europos Sajungoje" ("The Strategy of Gender Equality and Employment Policy in the EU"). Kaunas: Vytautas Magnus University Press, 2004, page 54.
44 Mackeviciute I. "Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. Monitoring Law and Practice in Lithuania". Vilnius: Center for Equality Advancement, 2005, page 58.
