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AbstractWe investigate the changes in women's participation patterns across 15 EU countries over the last 20 years using individual data from ECHP and EUSILC databases. Our findings show that the observed trends in female participation differ substantially both across countries and across different groups of women. We explore such heterogeneity in trends by looking at the effects of policies and labour market institutional factors on the participation of women with different family and individual characteristics. Our estimates reveal a role of policies and institutions that is stronger than what has so far been assessed. Labour market institutions and family-oriented policies explain almost 25% of the actual increase in labour force participation for young women, and more than 30% for highly educated women. Surprisingly, changes in the institutional and policy settings contribute less in explaining the participation of low-skilled women. We also find that reforming the institutional framework towards a model of "flexicure" labour market is effective in enhancing women labour supply only when deregulation is accompanied by sufficient social compensation.JEL ClassificationJ11, J21, J2

We investigate the changes in women's participation patterns across 15 EU countries over the last 20 years using individual data from ECHP and EUSILC databases. Our findings show that the observed trends in female participation differ substantially both across countries and across different groups of women. We explore such heterogeneity in trends by looking at the effects of policies and labour market institutional factors on the participation of women with different family and individual characteristics. Our estimates reveal a role of policies and institutions that is stronger than what has so far been assessed. Labour market institutions and family-oriented policies explain almost 25% of the actual increase in labour force participation for young women, and more than 30% for highly educated women. Surprisingly, changes in the institutional and policy settings contribute less in explaining the participation of low-skilled women. We also find that reforming the institutional framework towards a model of "flexicure" labour market is effective in enhancing women labour supply only when deregulation is accompanied by sufficient social compensation.

Abstract We investigate the changes in women's participation patterns across 15 EU countries over the last 20 years using individual data from ECHP and EUSILC databases. Our findings show that the observed trends in female participation differ substantially both across countries and across different groups of women. We explore such heterogeneity in trends by looking at the effects of policies and labour market institutional factors on the participation of women with different family and individual characteristics. Our estimates reveal a role of policies and institutions that is stronger than what has so far been assessed. Labour market institutions and family-oriented policies explain almost 25% of the actual increase in labour force participation for young women, and more than 30% for highly educated women. Surprisingly, changes in the institutional and policy settings contribute less in explaining the participation of low-skilled women. We also find that reforming the institutional framework towards a model of "flexicure" labour market is effective in enhancing women labour supply only when deregulation is accompanied by sufficient social compensation. JEL Classification J11, J21, J2

We investigate the changes in women's participation patterns across 15 EU countries over the last 20 years using individual data from ECHP and EUSILC databases. Our findings reveal a role of social policies and institutional factors that is stronger than what has so far been assessed. Labor market reforms explain almost 25% of the actual increase in labor force participation for young women, and more than 30% for highly educated women. The effects of labor market reforms on the participation of low skilled women in the labor force are instead surprisingly small. We also find that reforms of the institutional framework towards a model of flexicure labor market are effective in enhancing women labor supply only when deregulation is accompanied by sufficient social compensation.

The paper proposes an enlargement of the traditional notion of human capital,
by conceptualising knowledge in a comprehensive and multidimensional way. In
our empirical approach, knowledge encompasses several formal and informal
skills, to complement the mainstream view narrowly concerned with education
and on-the-job training. Our results for Italy point out that despite much
rhetoric about the reduction (or even the reversal) of gender gaps in
education, women often lack the main skills and competencies that can
profitably be deployed in the labour market. Unsurprisingly, in Italy women?s
accumulation of labour market experience is mostly hindered by unpaid
housework burdens. However, when adopting an extensive definition of
knowledge these activities may be regarded as a source of relevant knowledge.
Yet, they do not seem to be positively valued by the market, either in terms
of employability or in terms of wages, thus calling for a serious rethinking
of the role of knowledge in shaping men?s and women?s economic opportunities.

In order to help Member States mobilise those who can work and provide adequate support to those who cannot, the European Commission in 2007 proposed a holistic strategy that can be termed active inclusion (1 ). It combines three pillars, (1) adequate income support (2) inclusive labour markets and (3) access to quality services. Active inclusion shapes an active welfare state by providing personalised pathways towards employment and ensuring that those who cannot work can live in dignity and contribute as much as possible to society. Active inclusion has a number of implications from a gender perspective: the gender disparities in exposure to poverty show higher rates for women than men and do so in a life-cycle perspective. This is partly due to women's greater likelihood for slower, shorter and/or interrupted careers and on average lower earnings than men. Furthermore, the disadvantages faced by women of certain groups tend to be more accumulated than those for men from the same groups. Finally, access to quality services (including childcare, long-term care and health services) is particularly important for the social and labour market participation of women who still have in many Member States the main responsibility for caring for the most vulnerable members of the household (children, elderly, sick and disabled). ; peer-reviewed