Press Release 07/03/2022
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY. 2022
28% of women were employed on a part-time contract in the Basque Country versus 9% of men
In the domestic workers sector, where 90% of employees were women, the majority had more than one job
The working conditions of employed women were more precarious than the average for the population regarding important aspects such as type of contract, working hours and flexibility of hours, as can be seen from the data in the Statistical report prepared by Eustat to mark International Women’s Day celebrated tomorrow, 8 March, which this year focuses on the position of women in the labour market, joint responsibility and conciliation.
According to data from the Report, 28% of women in the Basque Country worked part time versus 9% of men (2020). Furthermore, 18% of women “always” worked on weekends compared to 10% of men, and 18% of women worked six to seven days a week as opposed to 13% of men.
As regards flexibility in finishing times at work, 29.3% of working women and 35% of working men benefited from this, with more women working from home. The rise in teleworking brought about by the pandemic has led to a higher percentage of women working from home at least half of the time, going from 6.1% in 2019 to 11.7% in 2020.
Employment characteristics of the employed population of the Basque Country (%). 2020
| | Women | Men |
| Basque Country (%) | 449,1 | 484,5 |
| Shortterm contract | 29,6 | 19,6 |
| Extend the day almost always | 24,4 | 22,5 |
| Six to seven days a week | 18,0 | 13,0 |
| Part-time contract | 28,0 | 9,0 |
| Always work weekends | 18,0 | 10,0 |
| Flexible finish time | 29,3 | 35,6 |
| Work at home (50%=<) | 11,7 | 10,0 |
Date March 7, 2022
Source: Eustat. Survey on the reconciliation of work, family and personal life
Another statistic that, according to the report, indicates increased job insecurity is the greater presence of temporary employment among women. The salaried population on a temporary contract grew between 2016 and 2021, and the incidence of temporary employment was, and continues to be, higher among women than men.
If we look at a specific group, such as domestic workers, employment in the sector revealed that there were far more jobs than employees, 76,700 compared to 57,560, and far fewer full-time jobs, 30,123 (2019). These figures show that domestic workers, 90% of whom were women, often had more than one job and worked part-time.
Working women accounted for 47% of all women, a percentage that stood at 55% for men, and they were overrepresented in both paid and unpaid care work (77% of women’s employment was linked to care, including healthcare, social services and education), while men were underrepresented.
Double shifts: Women in a relationship who had children and single mothers worked double shifts in more than 22% of cases
Caring for the family and keeping a job requires a lot of time and energy, so much so that the combined working hours (domestic and external work) exceeded 60 hours a week in 18% of families and households in 2019, with a difference in hours of work between women and men of 5 percentage points.
It should be pointed out that the average annual employment rate for women with one dependent child in 2021 was 49.5% (three percentage points higher than the rate in 2017) and for women with two or more children it rose to 70.4%. In this regard, the report shows that Basque women did not exit the labour market due to maternity, but rather single mothers and women in a relationship who had children worked double shifts in more than 22% of cases.
Women spent 4.6 hours a day looking after children, while men spent 3.4 hours on childcare. With regard to looking after dependent persons, the difference was greater, with women spending 2.3 hours on this task and men 1.6 hours.
In the case of children under 5 years old, it can be seen that from the age of 3, more than 90% attended nursery or an education centre, making it possible to maintain employment. However, families with reference persons of more than one nationality (besides Spanish) were more likely to choose not to send their children to nursery at an early age.
Employed population of the Basque Country for daily hours dedicated to domestic work activities, care work for minors and dependents according to sex (Average). 2020
| | Total | Women | Men |
| Basque Country (%) | 933,6 | 449,1 | 484,5 |
| Household tasks | 1,9 | 2,2 | 1,6 |
| Care of dependent persons | 2,0 | 2,3 | 1,6 |
| Care of young children | 4,0 | 4,6 | 3,4 |
Date March 7, 2022
Source: Eustat. Survey on the reconciliation of work, family and personal life
As regards household chores, women once again spent more time on these tasks, 2.2 hours a day compared to 1.6 for men.
It was precisely this uneven distribution of tasks that meant that women were not very satisfied with the household chores carried out by their spouse or partner, giving them a score of 5.9. Men, on the other hand, were quite satisfied with their wife or partner and gave a score of 7.4.
Employed population of the Basque Country by degree of personal satisfaction with the time spent on aspects of reconciliation according to sex (Average out of 10). 2020
| | Total | Women | Men |
| Basque Country (%) | 933,6 | 449,1 | 484,5 |
| Care of dependent persons | 5,9 | 5,9 | 5,9 |
| Household tasks of spouse/partner | 6,7 | 5,9 | 7,4 |
| Personal life | 6,0 | 5,9 | 6,1 |
| Household tasks | 6,1 | 6,1 | 6,1 |
| Care of young children | 6,7 | 6,9 | 6,4 |
| Overall | 6,3 | 6,1 | 6,4 |
Date March 7, 2022
Source: Eustat. Survey on the reconciliation of work, family and personal life
Para más información:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Servicio de Prensa: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62