Labour market impact of four recessions on women and men in Greece: Comparative analysis in a long term perspective

Abstract

<p>The current economic crisis in Greece has<br />produced a dramatic fall in male and female<br />employment and driven unemployment to<br />historically unprecedented levels. This article<br />compares gender differences in the labour<br />market impact of the current crisis with those<br />of the three previous recessions: 1974, 1980-83,<br />1990-1993. We have found large discrepancies in<br />the gender impact between the four recessions.<br />These are due to differences in their nature and<br />duration, the sectors and industries hit each<br />time and the trends of women’s labour force<br />participation before the eruption of the crisis.<br />The structural nature of the current crisis and the<br />negative repercussions of the deep and prolonged<br />recession on the services sector that concentrates<br />the great bulk of female employment explain<br />why the gendered labour market impact of the<br />current crisis is different from that of previous<br />recessions. Male employment has been more<br />hit than female employment until now, but<br />the spread of the recession to services reversed<br />the long term trend of increase in the female<br />employment rate. By contrast, in all three<br />previous recessions, the tertiary sector had played<br />a protective, compensating and enhancing role<br />for women’s employment.</p>