Women still underrepresented in senior positions

Stavrou, Polina

Overview

Article

Women still underrepresented in senior positions

Published: 2 September 2008

Polina Stavrou

Gender equality

A new report from the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Στατιστική Υπηρεσία της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας, CYSTAT [1]) provides an insight into the current status of women in Cyprus and their situation in previous years. Published in March 2008, The statistical portrait of women in Cyprus (in English and Greek, 2.5Mb PDF) [2] covers a broad range of issues such as participation in the labour force and representativeness in public life. The data for the report were collected by the Social Statistics Department, mainly from CYSTAT publications such as the Demographic Report, Labour Force Survey, Census of Population and Education Statistics.[1] http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/index_en/index_en[2] http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/All/812E5C1BA7E22562C225741A00353FC4/$file/Potrait_of_Women_in_Cyprus.pdf

The Statistical Service of Cyprus has published a report entitled ‘The statistical portrait of women in Cyprus’. The research outlines the status of women in Cypriot society at present and in recent years, giving statistical data for a broad range of issues such as participation in the labour force and representativeness in public life. Although women’s labour market participation has grown, the study reveals that wide gender gaps can still arise, particularly in senior positions.

A new report from the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Στατιστική Υπηρεσία της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας, CYSTAT) provides an insight into the current status of women in Cyprus and their situation in previous years. Published in March 2008, The statistical portrait of women in Cyprus (in English and Greek, 2.5Mb PDF) covers a broad range of issues such as participation in the labour force and representativeness in public life. The data for the report were collected by the Social Statistics Department, mainly from CYSTAT publications such as the Demographic Report, Labour Force Survey, Census of Population and Education Statistics.

Employment and women

Age and gender

According to the CYSTAT report, there is a substantial difference in the labour force participation rates of the two sexes, although in recent years women’s participation has been increasing significantly. Table 1 shows that men’s and women’s rates of labour market participation have followed the same pattern according to age group.

**Table 1: Labour force participation rates, by sex and age group, 1999–2006 (%)**
Age	1999		2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006
Age	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
15–24	40.9	39.5	42.3	39.6	43.0	42.0	40.9	38.7	42.4	40.0	45.7	38.2	46.6	39.0	45.0	38.3
25–54	95.2	65.3	95.3	68.6	95.4	72.1	95.1	74.7	95.2	76.7	95.4	77.4	95.3	76.5	95.3	77.4
55–64	69.8	30.1	69.5	33.6	69.7	34.9	68.9	33.8	72.7	33.3	74.4	32.0	73.2	32.8	74.1	37.8
65	14.1	2.5	17.5	4.5	18.4	4.5	19.4	3.9	21.8	4.6	17.8	5.0	19.6	4.7	17.0	4.4
Total
15–64	72.5	46.7	72.5	49.1	72.6	51.8	72.2	52.4	73.4	53.9	73.5	53.3	73.9	53.3	73.4	54.4
65	81.8	54.7	81.3	57.3	81.6	60.6	81.0	61.6	82.1	63.1	83.0	62.9	82.9	62.5	82.7	63.8

Source: CYSTAT, The statistical portrait of women in Cyprus, 2008, p. 42

Education and training

As Table 2 indicates, both sexes have approximately equal rates of participation in third-level education. However, the proportion of men with less than an upper secondary education is consistently higher than for women. It is interesting to note that, among employed people with lower education levels, the number of women is proportionally lower than that of men.

**Table 2: Employed persons, by sex and educational attainment level, 2003–2006**
Level of education	2003			2005			2006
Level of education	Total	M	F	Total	M	F	Total	M	F
Less than upper secondary	100,640	60,681	39,959	101,378	62,510	38,868	95,616	58,771	36,844
Upper secondary and post-secondary (excluding third level)	120,302	65,382	54,919	137,531	79,542	57,989	142,147	82,747	59,400
Third level	106,153	55,543	50,610	109,122	55,295	53,827	119,518	58,840	60,678
Total	327,094	181,606	145,487	348,031	197,347	150,684	357,281	200,359	156,922

Source: CYSTAT, 2008, p. 44

Part-time employment and unemployment

One important parameter regarding working conditions is part-time employment. According to the 2006 Labour Force Survey, the number of female part-time workers was over 20,000 women, corresponding to 70% of the total number of part-time workers. The CYSTAT report explores the reasons why women resort to or opt for part-time employment: some 33% of women state that they could not find a full-time job, 22% cite responsibility for caring for children or adults, 3% report illness or incapacity, and 39% mention family or personal reasons.

The study also examined unemployment rates for people aged 15 years and over in the 2003–2006 period. Over the years, women’s unemployment rates appear to be higher than men’s, with a difference of about 0.8–2.7 percentage points. According to the CYSTAT research, the 15–24 age group shows the highest rate of unemployment, both for men and for women, compared with all other age groups. In all age groups, women have higher rates of unemployment than men, although the difference is not substantial.

Women and public life

Senior public servants

During the 1990–2006 period, the number of women in senior positions in the public sector increased steadily, although the figures still showed a wide gap between men and women. In 1990, men held 98% of senior civil service jobs; by 2006, this proportion had declined to 73.2%.

Members of municipal councils and judges

Female members of municipal councils have increased in number during the period under examination, with women now representing 20% of the total number. However, despite the fact that women’s participation in this area grew by 8%, it remains at much lower levels than that of men. It is worth noting that in 1980 there were no women judges in Cyprus, whereas by 2006 38% of the total number were women.

Government ministers and members of parliament

Unfortunately, few women are appointed to the government’s Council of Ministers in Cyprus; the number of women on the council has never exceeded more than one minister – with the exception of 2007, when their number increased to two ministers. The same does not appear to be the case regarding the proportion of female members of parliament, which in recent years has been gradually increasing. More specifically, by 2006 it had risen to 14.3%, from 5.4% in 1991.

Commentary

It seems that women’s position both in employment and in public life is regarded as complementary and not essential. Over the years, the total unemployment and part-time rates of women are higher than those of men in almost all age groups. Moreover, according to the statistical data, few developments occurred in the occupational distribution of women during the past four years. This reveals the limited change in social stereotypes regarding women in employment. It is clear that new progressive public policies are needed to improve the position of women in Cypriot society.

Polina Stavrou, Cyprus Institute of Labour (INEK/PEO)

Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.

Eurofound (2008), Women still underrepresented in senior positions, article.