Economic Recession, Austerity and Gender Inequality at Work. Evidence from Greece and Other Balkan Countries

Abstract

Historically, a gender pay gap in participation, employment and earnings of women is exhibited all over the world. The pay gap issue and employment of women may vary across countries, economies and cultures. In the current work, we present some data of gender inequality at work and the possible contributing factors to this persisting phenomenon. The recent global financial crisis and austerity measures may have resulted in increased gender inequality at work and put a pressure for women to work for less or enter professions with lower earnings. The data indicate that internationally, progress in gender equality at work is stalled during receccion. This is particularly important for the Balkan countries which have exhibited some progress in gender equality at work over the past years but was stalled during the recent global economic recession.