Part-time strategies of women and men of childbearing age in the Netherlands and Australia

This chapter contributes to the dualization debate by investigating the extent to which gender unequal part-time work patterns reflect insider - outsider labour market effects (e.g. based on gender and occupational effects) by comparing the Netherlands - a country with high protection of part-time workers - with Australia - a country with minimal protection. We focus on the part-time work strategies of men and women of childbearing age, bridging dualization theory with work-family theory. We explore both the extent of dualization between men and women (how women and men differ in their part-time employment patterns) as well as possible dualization effects within part-time work, considering variation in part-time work strategies among women in both countries. Our findings suggest dualization between part-time and full-time workers exists in both countries. Crucially, we find that dualization exists within part

Introduction

The introduction chapter outline the conceptual framework for the volume and describe the current patterns of part-time work. Part-time work has been a much visited research topic and the typical part-time worker still is a woman with children. Although gender and work-life balance continue to be at the heart of this topic, part-time work is increasingly connected to the political and academic debates about labour market outsiders. The ambition of this volume is to provide an up-to-date account of what kind of labour market phenomenon part-time work is to different categories of workers across Europe, the USA, Australia and South Korea and to explore how part-time is linked to precarious work and labour market dualisation. We discuss how the politics, regulations and institutions at different levels (supranational, national and workplace) have the capacity to influence part-time work. Based on the contributions to this book we present a typology of part-time work which moves beyond the traditional insider/outsider divide and provides a more diverse vocabulary for later analysis of part-time work.

Dualisation or normalisation of part-time work in the Nordic countries: work insecurity and mobility over time

In this chapter we discuss the development of part-time work in Finland and Norway and ask if there is a trend towards more marginalised part-time work also in the well-regulated Nordic labour markets. Furthermore, we investigate if there are differences between Norway, with its long tradition for normalised part-time jobs among women, and Finland, where full-time work has been the normal choice for women. Part-time jobs are more common among young persons, women, and in the service sectors. In both countries, part-time jobs are more insecure than full-time jobs. However, there is no strong tendency towards more insecure part-time jobs over time. We also examine mobility from part-time jobs to other positions in the labour market. In both countries, part-time work is characterised by high stability. Hence, the results do not give support for increased polarisation in terms of increased work insecurity among part-time employees. in terms of increased work insecurity among part-time employees.

How good is half a job? Part-time employment and job quality in the US

In January 2018, about 17 percent of the workforce in the United States had a part-time job. Part-time employment increased between 1955 and the 1980s as large numbers of women entered the workforce. Since then it has fluctuated in response to rising and falling unemployment. The majority of part-time workers are between 24 and 60 and about two-thirds are women, who often divide their time between work and family. Like other forms of nonstandard work, part-time workers are more likely to have bad jobs, and they are more apt to live in families that are poor, even when controlling for a multitude of labor related variables. Although some part-time jobs offer health and retirement benefits and wages above the poverty threshold, most do not. Only a small share of part-time jobs-between 16 and 17 percent-are located in the primary labor market. When compared to whites, we find that blacks, Hispanic non-citizens, and persons of mixed-race descent are more likely to work part-time. Part-time workers in these groups are also more likely to have jobs in the secondary labor market. Finally, we find that as percentage of part-time workers in occupations increases, the negative effect on job quality associated with the percentage of women in an occupation is greatly reduced or disappear

Stepping in, stepping out or staying put? Part-time work and immigrant integration in Norway

Migrants are often at a disadvantage in the labour market. Increased migration has therefore led to a strong focus in receiving countries on policy that can facilitate employment. Less attention is paid to working hours, contracts or type of work. The workplace is viewed as an arena where immigrants can improve language skills and establish contacts through which they can achieve upwards mobility in the labour market. We investigate transfers out of part-time work among immigrants and natives in Norway. By means of competing risk event history analyses, we compare transitions from part-time work to either full-time positions or exits from the labour market over five years among Norwegians and different groups of immigrants. Stable part-time is less common among immigrants than among natives, as immigrants have higher transfers to both full-time work and unemployment. Immigrants - men and women - have the same or higher likelihood of transitioning from part-time to full-time compared to natives. This suggest that immigrants are more often involuntarily in part-time and that they benefit from the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to employers. However, immigrants also have higher exit risk and this risk increases with short working hours, indicating a higher level of precariousness.

Part-time work in Danish private services: a (mis)match between wage flexibility and living hours

This chapter explores how the institutional framework for working time and wage regulation affects the prevalence of marginal part-time employment (less than 15 working hours per week) and its implications for men and women's hourly earnings within retail, industrial cleaning, hotels and restaurants. Analytically, we draw on the concept of living hours and find that the combined effects of wage and working time regulation influence the take-up of contracts of few hours and the workforce composition. We argue that the institutional framework of collective agreements, in some instances, facilitates a win-win situation for employers and employees alike and narrows the gender pay gap. In other instances, the very same agreements seemingly promote dualisation, especially for young people and migrants in terms of wage penalties and contracts of few hours, indicating the dual nature of the institutional framework.

So close, so far? Part-time employment and its effects on gender equality in Italy and Spain1

This chapter analyses the cleavages among the insiders and outsiders of different groups of women in Italy and Spain with a particular focus on part-time employment. Given the prevalence of dualisation in Southern European labour markets, people employed in part-time work and non-standard employment are particularly vulnerable to precarious conditions. Only a minority of part-time contracts are voluntarily entered into by women. The authors argue that, in comparison with other European countries, part-time employment in Italy and Spain appears to be a form of implementing external labour market flexibility rather than an instrument created to ease work/family conflicts for women. Using an intersectional analytical approach, the authors show how the distribution of non-standard and involuntary part-time work is unequal among different groups of women, exposing young (in Italy) and low educated (in Spain) women in particular to deteriorated labour market conditions. The situation of disadvantage is magnified when there is a particular combination of lack of education, age and childcare requirements.

The interplay of welfare state policies with supply- and demand-side factors in the production of marginalised part-time employment among women in Germany

In the early 2000s, Germany's Red-Green government introduced a new type of marginal employment in the form of 'Minijob' legislation. In the context of the dualisation strategy of the German welfare state, Minijob legislation has supported firms in extending the secondary segment of marginal jobs. However, Minijobs are associated with particularly low social security and high poverty risks, and these positions are primarily staffed by women. Therefore, the extension of the Minijob system has contributed to the persistence of traditional structures of gender inequality. This empirical study examines how demand and supply side factors interact with welfare state institutions and politics in the production of marginal employment of women in part-time jobs. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we used logistic regression to analyse women's risk of working in Minijobs based on family, educational, biographical and workplace characteristics. The research results identify both supply side and demand side factors as being significant in shaping a situation whereby married women with small children and lower levels of education who work in small, non-public firms are particularly exposed to the risks of marginal employment in Minijobs.

Workplace responses to national regulations to reduce involuntary part-time work

The growth in marginalized part-time work is a phenomenon often seen as part of an ongoing dualisation process in the labour market. Involuntary part-time is closely associated with marginalization. In Norway, the policy makers have tried to combat involuntary part-time work by introducing changes in the Working Environment Act (WEA). The intention was to make it easier for involuntary part-time workers to increase their working time. In this chapter, we focus on the Norwegian health care sector, a sector characterised by both part-time work and labour shortage. Drawing on in-depth interviews with employers and workers, we study if the WEA amendments have been effective in terms of providing increased working time for involuntary part-timers. Surprisingly, we find that the changes in the law seem to have produced unintended consequences at the workplace level. Our analysis suggest that some employers interpret the labour law changes as attempts to limit the managerial prerogative and adapt strategically to avoid its implications. This adaptation reduces the chance to escape involuntary part-time for low educated workers with limited power resources, while workers with higher education and a stronger bargaining position to a larger degree can benefit from the new regulations.

Conclusion and prospects

In the concluding chapter, we summarise the volume's main findings and discuss some of the possible, future prospects of part-time work. We return to the question of dualisation of part-time work and discuss the capability of policy and regulations to influence the divide between good and bad part-time jobs and labour market insiders and outsiders. The book makes four contributions to the literature and to public debates on part-time work. First, it offers new perspectives and analyses on the regulation of part-time work at the supranational, the national and the workplace levels. Second, it develops a typology of part-time work that goes beyond the traditional insider-outsider divide and provides a more diverse vocabulary for later descriptions and discussions of part-time work. Third, it provides an up-to-date account of part-time work and its consequences in a range of countries and regime types. Fourth, it initiates a debate on the role and implications of part-time work among men.