|
|
On closer examination of the available data, however, the development of part-time work does not seem to have followed a consistent pattern. Thus, while the OECD data for 1980 showed some relationship between part-time work and women's labour force participation (figure 1), the situation was less clear by 1995 (figure 2). Some of the former communist countries (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland) combine a high rate of female participation with a low incidence of part-time work possibly a reflection of the employment structure under the former system coupled with the slow development of the services sector. Finland and the Netherlands were already exceptions in 1980, with two contrary configurations: a high level of female participation and little part-time work in Finland and the reverse in the Netherlands. In Mexico, where female participation rates are low, part-time work could be considered akin to underemployment. In other countries, while the relationship may be more apparent, it remains strongly subject to national income levels, cultural factors such as religion or attitudes towards women's role in society and, of course, regulatory frameworks. The above-mentioned CES study classified countries according to their ratios of part-time to total employment in 1993: under 10 per cent were Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Luxemburg, Finland and Austria; between 10 and 20 per cent were the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Belgium; and over 20 per cent were Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. It also observed the following developments over the past two decades:
|
