Does equality pay? Can gender equality and WLB promote economic development and reduce effects of crisis?

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Does equality pay? Can gender equality and WLB
promote economic development and reduce effects
of crisis?

• Liss Schanke
• Norwegian Association
• of Local and Regional Authorities

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Background Norwegian Association of Local and
Regional Authorities (KS)

• Represents the interests of all Norwegian local
  authorities
• Participates in international projects EEA and
  Norway Grants projects in 12 EU countries on a
  broad range of issues
• Projects on gender equality in 4 countries,
  Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Czech Republic e.g.
  pol. participation and WLB
• Work life balance facilitate balance for men
  and women between family life and working life,
  e.g. flexible working hours, parental leave and
  services for children and elderly. (Flexible
  working hours, not flexible contracts)
• WLB is not new, earlier it has been seen as
  challenge of each individual woman to combine her
  job and family now it seen as a structural
  challenge for society.

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1. Can gender equality and WLB promote economic
development?

• Gender equality and work life balance is a
  luxury that only rich countries can afford, not
  relevant for countries in financial crisis.
• The contrary is true gender equality and work
  life balance represents substantial economic
  advantages to individual and national
  economy,very relevant in financial crisis.

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Higher birth rates

• Work life balance makes it easier for young
  couples to dare to start a family and easier to
  combine work and children. WLB thus leads to an
  increased birth rate
• Birth rate is a key factor for future economic
  stability and growth.
• The sustainable birth rate is 2.1. The rates in
  Europe vary between 1.3 and 2.2.
• Very relevant for Greece the birth rate is
  approx. 1.4.

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Higher employment rates

• Work life balance requires new services to
  provide care for children and elderly people
  creates new jobs.
• Lower unemployment rates very relevant for
  Greece Unemployment in Greece 26 in sept. 2012
  higher for women than men. Youth unemployment
  57.6
• Higher employment rates for men/women(S 53/67,N
  74/78)

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More taxes and better public services

• 2 salaries families generally earn more, and pay
  more taxes
• Taxes are the basis for all public services
  transport, schools, child care, hospitals, care
  for elderly and disabled
• Taxes are the basis for employment in the public
  sector
• The basis for the democratic contract

•  

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Increased purchasing power and consumption

• Work life balance enables both men and women to
  work outside the home
• Generally implies increased family income and
  increased purchasing power.
• Purchasing power is the basis for the whole
  private sector shops, factories, restaurants,
  services
• Purchasing power is the basis for all jobs in the
  private sector

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Better quality and higher productivity?

• Conservative minister, launched the 2003 law on
  40 quota in reg.private company boards.
• Success of private companies is linked to the
  quality/diversity of the board, e.g.to assess the
  market
• 2003 6 women, 2009 40
• Very possible to find qualified women, 60 of EU
  university students are women.

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Economic crisis as opportunity Spanish EEA WLB
project 2008-2011

• Develop low cost WLB Best Practices based on
  local analysis and priorities in Spanish
  communities
• Local government WLB planning for staff and
  inhabitant
• Flexibility with regard to working hours in
  private business and local governments
• Day care programs, play groups, open space etc.
  for children
• Support for elderly living at home and their
  families
• Time banks exchange of voluntary services
• Such initiatives has a double effect improve
  WLB, but also
• Increases voluntarism, social networks and
  social capital

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IDS report 2012 Equality and Growth Win-Win?

• To what extent does gender equality contribute
  to economic growth? And to what extent does the
  reverse hold true?
• A review of literature suggests that the
  relationship between gender equality and economic
  growth is asymmetrical.
• The evidence that gender equality, particularly
  in education and employment, contributes to
  economic growth is far more consistent and robust
  than the relationship that economic growth
  contributes to gender equality in terms of
  health, wellbeing and rights.
• From a growth perspective, therefore, the
  promotion of certain dimensions of gender
  equality may appear to offer a win-win solution

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OECD report 2012 Closing the Gender Gap

• The OECD report focuses on gender equality in
  education, employment, entrepreneurship
• Summary Gender gaps are pervasive in all walks
  of economic life and imply large losses in terms
  of foregone productivity and living standards to
  individuals and the economy.

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2.Does equality within a country generally pay?

• - Spirit level a tool to check whether something
  is flat, level, in balance
• - Main message A society benefits from greater
  economic equality not only the poor but the
  whole population.
• - Examples Life expectancy, literacy, infant
  mortality, homicides, imprisonment, mental
  illness, drug addiction

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Income differences between the richest and
poorest 20
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Health and Social Effects

• Negative effects
• Mental illness incl. drug alcohol addiction
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Obesity
• Positive effects
• Life expectancy
• Social mobility
• Math Literacy
• Trust

Source Wilkinson Pickett, The Spirit Level
(2009)
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Summing up

• Gender equality and work life balance represent
  substantial economic advantages, e.g. increased
  birth rates, employment and taxes - with positive
  short term and long term effects.
• This is especially relevant during a financial
  crisis as key elements for a long term strategy
  to overcome the crisis.
• It is also important to discuss how the crisis
  can be used as an opportunity to develop
  mechanisms that will have a positive effect on
  gender equality and WLB not a negative effect.
• Gender equality and work life balance is of
  course equally relevant for women and men!