A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE, WOMEN IN THE WORLD OF WORK

Sara Polo, central services management and administration, and Alba Berenguer, people management and talent development technician.

Surely, if I ask you if you think that nowadays, men and women have the same working conditions and opportunities, you will answer with a timid Yes?

Historically, men and women have not enjoyed equal rights. While men have been considered the stronger sex and have enjoyed privileges, women have traditionally been seen as weak, less competent and even less intelligent.

This male superiority has allowed men to control political, social and cultural decisions, as well as leadership in the world of work for many centuries. Meanwhile, women have been relegated to reproductive, curative and domestic tasks, considered of lesser value and unpaid.

This gender inequality has long been accepted as “normal”.

If we place ourselves in the historical context from the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment, with the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, it was a turning point in the collective awareness of the equality of all citizens. This gave rise to the feminist movement.

One of the first important transformations was the industrial revolution that was born in the United Kingdom around 1760, until the end of the 19th century and spread throughout Europe and the United States. It was in the United States where Suffragism originated at the end of the 1840s, which promoted not only the right to vote, but also equal education for men and women and the right to receive the same salary as men for the same work. The right to vote was key to the recognition of women in society and represented a significant advance in reducing inequality.

At the same time that market demand exceeded men’s capacity, women had the opportunity to enter the labor market. Unfortunately, they did so under segregated conditions and at lower wages than men, while maintaining their responsibilities as caregivers in the home. For example, in the United Kingdom, women were paid one or two thirds less than men, depending on the locality and sector of production, in agriculture they were 50% and in education between 45 and 65%, according to the article “Gender Inequalities in the Labor Market”, from the Gender and Economy block.
Even so, these events marked an important starting point for the progressive insertion of women in the labor market, although there was still a long way to go to achieve real equality in this area.
For example, according to the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia, in the article “Women’s occupations in the industrial world”, during industrialization in Catalonia and the rest of Spain, women not only received lower wages than men, but also performed more dangerous manual tasks, thus increasing the risk of occupational accidents.

Some of the tasks in which women specialized were, for example, the taperas, when the production process was mechanized, specialized labor was no longer needed and they began to hire women who received a lower salary. Another example of a trade was that of cigarette makers, who were paid for each unit produced, allowing them to have the flexibility to perform household chores. In the railroad sector, women worked as guardesas or guardabarreras, performing tasks such as controlling level crossings, watching over train traffic, keeping backrails clean and managing crossings. These jobs were among the few allowed for women in a male-dominated sector. Women in this sector were hired on the margins, often as relatives of workers who had died or become disabled, thus offering them an opportunity to escape poverty.
In the textile industry, on the other hand, women played a more important role. Women’s tasks were centered on texturing and spinning. Some of the most common jobs they performed were those of stitchers, cannoneers, weavers, knotters and warpers, as well as other specific jobs depending on the type of fiber used in the factory.

Continuing with the historical chronology, the second major milestone is in the First and especially in the Second World War, where women took on tasks that had been reserved for men because of the shortage of male labor due to military conscription. From the 1950s onwards, European women began to acquire labor rights, but it was in the last decades of the 20th century that a significant change in their participation in the world of work was seen. Despite this, there are still significant inequalities.
In the case of Spain, the milestones were achieved in a different political context. During the Second Republic of 1931, women obtained labor rights and the right to vote. However, during the Black Biennium of the Second Republic, these measures were halted. After the Civil War and General Franco’s rise to power, equality policies were suppressed and women lost many rights. As explained in the article “La Igualdad, Asignatura Pendiente” in Mundo, the Civil Code of 1889 was reinstated, with which, among others, married women needed their husband’s permission to have a passport, open a bank account, manage property and work, with the husband receiving the salary (Ley Fuero del Trabajo). This license was not abolished until 1975, shortly before the death of the dictator.
As National Geographic explains in its article “Advances in women’s equality in Spain since 1975”, it was this last fact, which brought about a change in the inequality between men and women, first in 1976, the Labor Reform Law was passed, which included improvements for the reconciliation of maternity and work.

And finally, the new Constitution of 1978 brought a new perspective to the female labor market, since at the end of the seventies, the activity rate of Spanish women was 22%, a figure that increased to 33% in 1984, and will be 54% in 2023.

It is crucial to recognize the historical inequalities between men and women in the world of work and the efforts made to achieve equal opportunities. Although today gender differences seem to be diminishing, the data still reveal the presence of inequalities in the labor market.

The main gender inequalities in the world of work in the 21st century include the wage gap, with women earning an average of 16% less than men on average worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). Likewise, the phenomenon of the glass ceiling is a worrying reality, with women occupying only 28% of management and senior management positions within organizations, according to the International Institute for Labor Studies (IILS). On the other hand, the labor participation gap is also notorious, with women registering a labor participation rate of 63.5% compared to 78.7% for men according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2021.

However, in order to address the discrepancies in the world of work, it is essential to analyze the trend between genders in the choice of studies and profession. Statistical data from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and several national and international researches show that women tend to opt for studies related to education, health and welfare, while men prefer scientific-technological and industrial careers and training cycles. For example, only 11% of university girls in Spain have graduated in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), compared to 36% of men, according to the study “The Employability of Women in the Just Energy Transition in Spain” (2023), prepared by the Naturgy Foundation.
These differences between the studies chosen by men and women are also present in Vocational Training. For example, women are the clear majority in families such as Personal Image (79.6% in Basic Vocational Training, 87.2% in Intermediate Vocational Training and 93.0% in Higher Vocational Training), and Sociocultural and Community Services (52.5% in Basic Vocational Training, 86.7% in Intermediate Vocational Training and 86.6% in Higher Vocational Training), according to statistics from the MEFP, corresponding to the 2021-2022 academic year.
On the contrary, men monopolize families such as Installation and Maintenance (97.4% in Basic Vocational Training, 97.7% in Intermediate Vocational Training and 95.5% in Higher Vocational Training), and Vehicle Transport and Maintenance (97.3% in Basic Vocational Training, 96.5% in Intermediate Vocational Training and 95.3% in Higher Vocational Training), among others in the technological and industrial fields.

The lack and low visibility of female references in these sectors can be an obstacle for young women who might be interested in these areas, but who do not see themselves represented or valued in these fields. For example, it was Ada Lovelace who created the first algorithm to be processed by a computer. And Lise Meitner, who calculated the energy released in nuclear fusion. Another would be Gertrude B. Ellion, who developed the first immunosuppressive agent used in organ transplantation. Finally, Margarita Salas who discovered DNA polymerase, which is responsible for DNA replication.
This discrepancy has a direct impact on the existing gap in the different sectors and occupations, which is maintained over time.

But what is the reason why the scales tip so clearly one way or the other when it comes to choosing a career? Are we making a free choice? The factors underlying these differences are surely varied, including predispositions acquired in the family and social environment.

A clear example, which affects us directly, is the third sector. Historically, this sector has been predominantly feminized and, currently, it still is. This situation is largely due to the fact that women have traditionally assumed the role of caregivers and we have not yet completely broken this stereotype.

As indicated in the report “Calidad en el empleo en el Tercer Sector: un panorama integral en el 2023” by La Plataforma del Tercer Sector, in 2023 79.3% of the people working in the social sector were women, which implies that it is one of the most feminized sectors in Spain.
However, these figures do not imply that the difficulties women encounter in other sectors do not affect them in this one. According to a study prepared by Fundación Lealtad, despite the fact that 4 out of every 5 workers is a woman, only 45% of Spanish NGOs are headed by women and 48% are in the governing bodies.

We can go even further, since the difference in the presence of women in the governing bodies varies according to the type of entity and the budgets it manages, in those where the budget is less than 1M, 53%, compared to 42% when the figure is higher.
Thus, despite reaching parity in the quotas established for management positions and positions of responsibility, the presence of the glass ceiling is not eliminated. On the other hand, if we compare it with the rest of the sectors, 39% of the companies in Spain do not have any woman in their board of directors. And 37% of those with more than 200 workers do not include any women in their management team.

One of the challenges of incorporating women into the labor market is the precariousness of working conditions. Despite the fact that, as we have already mentioned, incorporation is not a problem in the third sector, precariousness continues to be present. For example, there is a high level of part-time work, with 48.1% of contracts being part-time, compared to 12.6% in other sectors in Spain. On the other hand, 10.2% of women hired are on temporary contracts, compared to 5.8% of men.
However, third sector organizations are increasingly implementing work-life balance measures more widely than other sectors, with flexible schedules, intensive working hours and teleworking.
On the other hand, 64% of third-sector entities in Spain have an equality plan, and 30.4% have a complaints channel for cases of discrimination. These measures contribute to equal opportunities between men and women, since they establish clear criteria for action in different situations.

And what does the future hold?

It is clear that there are certain structural changes that are essential for continued progress. One of them is the elimination of gender stereotypes, especially those that condition people in education and in their professional choices. The belief that men are better suited for certain tasks and women for others must be eradicated. In order to move towards equal opportunities, society must undergo profound changes in the perception of the role of women, not only in the work context, by increasing measures of conciliation, but also at a global level.
Not only this, the process of transformation towards equality has been promoted from various regulatory frameworks. Organizations also have to contribute and try to alleviate gender inequalities. It is essential to always keep the gender perspective in mind, from recruitment to personal and professional development.

What about the third sector? As we have observed, there are also gender inequalities that need to be identified, analyzed and addressed. Who better than people committed to others to carry out this task?