Despite the progress made in recent years, gender gaps – in the plural – are still present in the labor market. The differences between women and men are even greater in some aspects among the older population, as concluded by the IV Senior Talent Map presented this Tuesday by the Mapfre Foundation and the ClosinGap association, which points out that, among those over 55 years of age, female workers face worse activity and employment rates than their male colleagues and have lower salaries – the gap It is 14.4% between the ages of 55 and 64 and shoots up to 27% from the age of 65 onwards. Unravel for 20 minutes these inequalities CEO of ClosinGap, Lucila GarcÃawhich for a year has been part of this association made up of 17 large companies and dedicated to analyzing the impact of gender gaps in the economy and society.
Why is the activity rate lower in women over 55 years of age? Are there disincentives to extend working life?As women age, the obstacles to staying in the workplace increase. At 50 years old, only 43% of women are still active compared to 60% of men. Furthermore, wage disparities discourage many women from continuing in the labor market and family responsibilities fall disproportionately on them. 60% of women report that they assume exclusively or rarely shared care tasks for their immediate family members and this sometimes forces them to reduce their working hours and even abandon employment.
Is the greater bias in female employment a symptom of the persistence of gender bias in care?Yes, the reduction in women’s participation in the labor market in terms of working hours is more evident as age increases. Co-responsibility is poorly distributed. In the ClosinGap report that we prepare annually with PwC, we analyze an exclusive gender gap in terms of conciliation or co-responsibility, which is 43%, it is the largest gap within the five variables that we measure. Increasing flexibility and distributing care responsibilities is essential so that more senior women can participate fully in employment.
Why is the wage gap for the population over 55 years of age the highest among the different age groups?It is largely explained by partiality and hours worked, which is why there are such big differences that do not occur in younger generations. Now it is mandatory to publish the wage gap and I believe that this will narrow the differences, thanks to the initiatives that are being launched from the public and private spheres.
Does this gender gap have an impact on women’s lives in the long term once they finish working?
On average, the public pension that a man receives is, according to the latest ClosinGap report, 1,160 euros and that of a woman is 740. This difference is not only in the money he will receive, but also in the ability to invest in care own, for example. When making decisions about retirement or active aging, women have much less disposable income. Also due to family responsibilities they have less time available for self-care or for leisure or even sports and that in the end has an impact on their health. Women live longer than men but with worse health, healthy life expectancy in women is reducing.
There are also differences in self-employment. Why do senior women undertake less business than men?The entrepreneurship gap also has a woman’s name. In the entire population there are 1.2 million self-employed women compared to 2.1 million men, almost double. When we add the innovation component, the gap widens. 91% of senior ventures that are related to technological innovation are driven by men. This leaves a very small percentage of women to work on, because entrepreneurship is also a focus of developing second careers and opportunities for women who can contribute to the future.
What is the reason for the lack of visibility of senior female workers? Are there any references missing?The generation that now makes up senior talent is a generation that, due to economic, social and cultural issues, had less availability and fewer opportunities to access the labor market. This is manifested in the few references we have of women in management positions or sometimes even in intermediate positions. For example, the number of senior women must be increased, not only in senior management positions but at all levels, so that it is seen that women can continue working and contributing until retirement age. Sectorization is also important. More than 90% of senior women work in the tertiary sector, mainly in healthcare, education and hospitality. In sectors that are more masculinized, it is important for girls and young women to see women as role models.
‌How can gender gaps in the senior population be reduced?
Everything that supports flexibility and co-responsibility, not only for women but also for men, I believe helps so that, during the stages of life in which needs change, you can have time to contribute to the company and to attend to your personal commitments. Everything that promotes these practices has a positive impact, including everything related to training, upskilling and the reskilling. There are companies that have different programs so that people who are in the organization can have a different career related to other aspects that the company needs to develop or even to attract senior talent from abroad.