A Job of One’s Own. Does Women’s Labor Market Participation Influence the Economic Insecurity of Households?

Lara Maestripieri

doi:10.3390/soc8010007

Abstract

Background: The article investigates the phenomenon of economic insecurity from a feminist perspective, assessing the role of women’s labour market participation in predicting the phenomenon. It draws on the work of Trifiletti (1999) to analyse women’s role in providing welfare for the entire family. Methods: Stemming from a cross-sectional analysis of European Union statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2013, logistic regression models (for women in a couple and for single women) are provided for six countries. Results: The descriptive analysis shows that economic insecurity affects single women more than single men, while couples fare better in all countries considered. Transversal factors that explain the phenomenon in logistic regressions are household type and wealth of the family, while the role of women’s labour market participation and economic dependency from partners or from a welfare system varies across countries. Conclusions: Empirical results show that countries only partially comply with the theoretical model proposed by Trifiletti (1999), which proceeded from the welfare regime debate. Italy and Spain show more difference than similarity. The results for Italy and the United Kingdom confirm those of previous investigations that indicate their similarity, while France and Spain are closer to the Mediterranean archetype. The results for the Czech Republic confirm its proximity to the breadwinner model, as Denmark epitomises the heuristic capacity of the Universalist model in Northern European countries.

Highlights

Economic insecurity is an increasingly prominent topic of sociological debate [1]
The results showed that economic insecurity is a phenomenon that occurs more frequently among single women than women in a couple, the magnitude of the phenomenon varied by country
This article has addressed the issue of economic insecurity by assuming a feminist approach, which required an individual-level analysis [30,54,55,56,57]

Summary

Introduction

Economic insecurity is an increasingly prominent topic of sociological debate [1]. In a period still characterised by the consequences of the financial crisis in Europe, unpredictable life events are more likely to result in economic loss for individuals that have a weak integration into the labour market, which can only be partially mitigated by the welfare provision, in light of the move to austerity.the decisive role of gender has been underplayed in this debate [2,3,4,5,6], the increased likelihood of women to be poorer than men has long been recognised [7]. The hypothesis guiding this article is that women’s labour market participation can mitigate the risk of economic insecurity that occurs across households, as one-income families should be more likely to suffer economic losses [9] and women have a weaker integration into labour market compared to men [10]. The article investigates the phenomenon of economic insecurity from a feminist perspective, assessing the role of women’s labour market participation in predicting the phenomenon. It draws on the work of Trifiletti (1999) to analyse women’s role in providing welfare for the entire family.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion