Women’s Involuntary Part-Time Employment and Household Economic Security in Europe

Abstract

The rate of involuntary part-time work among women has increased sharply. Scholars have demonstrated its links with diminished career opportunities, deteriorated working conditions, and low pay at an individual level. However, less attention has been paid to the effects of these contracts on economic security at the household level. This article investigates to what extent women being in part-time work involuntarily hinders their household’s ability to attain reasonable living standards and examines whether this would be any different if women were in part-time employment voluntarily. The results show that part-time work in itself does not necessarily constitute a threat to household economic security, but when it is involuntary, part-time employment jeopardizes a household’s financial well-being. This occurs in countries that deregulated peripheral corners of their labor markets, or “dualized” countries such as Italy, Spain, and France, and fully liberalized countries, such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. HIGHLIGHTS Dualization refers to application of deregulation in peripheral corners of labor markets, increasing the precariousness of only certain categories of workers. In dualized and fully liberalized European countries, women’s involuntary part-time work threatens households’ economic security. It is the involuntary nature of part-time work, and not just reduced work hours, which lowers household economic security. Countries should implement forms of monetary support for low-work-intensity households.