Breaking down gender segregation in the workplace would help address the skills shortages the economy is facing in certain sectors as well as potentially reducing gender pay gaps and enhancing work-life balance, according to a new study.
In a quarterly skills bulletin, the State’s further education and training agency, Solas, says the longer hours worked in male-dominated sectors appear to be a particular problem.
Men working in those sectors were more likely to feature among those working more than 40 hours a week, the report says. That, Solas says, was a “potential barrier for women entering or remaining in” such male-dominated occupations.
They are also less likely to have a partner working full time.
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“Working 40 hours or more was a particular feature for male-dominated occupations such as ICT professionals, food preparations trades (eg chefs), drivers, engineers, protective services (eg gardaí) and construction trades,” said Joan McNaboe, research manager of the skills and labour market research unit in Solas.
Women who had children tended to work fewer hours, especially those working in occupations where they are the dominant labour source, such as teaching, health and social work. On the flip side, the more children men had, the more hours they worked, especially when those children were young.
The study is based on data from the Central Statistics Office’s labour force survey for the fourth quarter of 2023. A more recent survey shows no improvement in achieving greater gender balance in male-dominated occupations.
Ms McNaboe said the number of hours worked was something that would need to be addressed if the State was serious about reducing gender segregation.
“The majority of skills shortages identified in last year’s Solas national skills bulletin occurred in occupations which are male dominated,” Ms McNaboe said. “If we continue to access only half of the labour supply pool to meet demand in key areas, it will make bridging the skills gap incredibly difficult.”
She said changing work practices for both genders could reduce gender segregation across workplaces, pointing to research by Harvard economic professors Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz. It found the growth of pharmacies in retail chains helped to introduce more women into that workplace. It also helped to narrow the wage gap between genders across the profession.
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