Part-time work from a gender perspective.

The case of Spain and Italy

Abstract

The latest economic crisis has led to the loss of overall quality of employment for the most vulnerable workers, especially women. One manifestation of this deterioration is the growth of atypical forms of employment, such as part-time work, which has experienced significant growth in recent years. The reasons for this growth have been diverse, but one of them draws particular attention: is being promoted as a job creation formula because of the advantageous conditions that the employer entails for the adaptation of the production requirements to a job offer with less rigid contractual links. Spain and Italy have experienced higher growth than the rest of Europe, especially significant among women. This paper analyzes some of the hypotheses that explain this increase, pointing out the similarities of these two cases and affecting the position of women in the labour market. The methodological strategy is based on the analysis of aggregate data from various statistical sources in European Union countries. In order to arrive at conclusive results on this subject, a gender perspective has been adopted, analysing the economic and structural factors involved in the growth of this atypical form of employment in both countries. The position of women in the labour market completes an analysis which concludes that the weaker position of women in the labour market is behind the positive evolution of part time work in these countries.