Number of women working remotely up 300% during coronavirus pandemic

The number of women working from home increased threefold during the pandemic, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The agency’s latest “women and men in Ireland” statistics indicate the incidence of women working remotely jumped by 306 per cent between 2016 and 2022. At the same time the number of men working from home rose by 114 per cent.

While female participation in the Irish labour force lags the international average, it jumped during the pandemic with flexible arrangements suiting more women, particularly those with additional caring roles.

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Countries with higher levels of female empowerment tend to be more productive and therefore more prosperous. At the height of the Celtic Tiger between 2007 and 2008, female participation reached 57.6 per cent in the Irish workforce before falling in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

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The pandemic had appeared to change this pattern, however. It now stands at above 60 per cent (male participation is typically about 70 per cent).

The CSO’s report indicated the Gender Pay Gap here in 2022 was 9.6 per cent, meaning the average man earned 9.6 per cent more than the average woman.

While women accounted for almost half of all “employments” in the Irish economy, only one in four (25 per cent) positions in the top 1 per cent of earnings were held by women, underscoring long-running complaints that women were underrepresented at the top echelons of business.

The data also indicated that more than half (57 per cent) of those whose highest level of education in 2022 was a postgraduate diploma or degree were women. Conversely, of those living in consistent poverty, a greater proportion (54 per cent) were women.

While almost a third (31 per cent) of working women are part-time, only 14 per cent of men held part-time positions.

Statistician Emma Hogan said the agency’s latest women and men in Ireland statistics were aimed at facilitating “a growing need for equality-based data”.

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