Women's part‐time jobs: “Flexirisky” employment in five European countries

Abstract

European countries currently have segmented labour markets with flexible but insecure –“flexirisky” – jobs, resulting in significant inequality between different categories of workers. Part‐time jobs are one example: their flexibility may help workers reconcile work and family life, and increase women's labour force participation, but part‐time employment can also result in new forms of inequality, thereby undermining EU equal opportunity policies. Empirically analysing labour market transitions in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, this article shows part‐timers – who are mostly women – to be at higher risk of unemployment. It calls for strengthening equality between part‐time and full‐time workers in terms of employment stability.