Suchergebnisse

The current discussion in the EU of the increase in life expectancy as it relates to pension reform misses a big part of the picture. The increase in life expectancy in Europe, as in the US, is accompanied by an increasing risk of disability in the later years. The time between the onset of a chronic disease and death has increased dramatically in the last half century. It has also created a situation where older workers risk being limited in the kind of paid work they can do and the very old risk having two or more chronic diseases. The high prevalence of chronic diseases and disabilities in aging populations has not yet been recognized by the new policy of "Live Longer Work Longer" (Keese, M. et al. 2006). How are workers to work longer if they are limited in the kind and type of work they perform? Official European Union documents stress the demographic changes in Europe primarily the increase in life expectancy but not the increase in disability

Portugal has been described as a singular case in terms of the participation of women in the labour market and work–life balance policies. Unlike the other so-called Southern European countries, where a belated and somewhat slower move away from the male breadwinner model has been found, Portugal stands out from the other EU member states with its relatively high rate of female employment and the prevalence of the dual-earner model based on continuous and fundamentally full-time employment. Moreover, the "early return to full-time work and a gender equality oriented model" calls for a separate analysis of this country's case. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the singularities of Portugal's employment patterns and work–family articulation policies, this article substantially adds to the existing literature by bringing new analytical angles to the debate. The intention is therefore to shed light on the political discourses that fuelled the policy debate throughout the three decades following Portugal's transition to democracy, up until the latest and most decisive policy changes. This article also examines the key social actors' views about the political process sustaining the development of policies in this area and identifies the major players promoting the most progressive legislative advances in the country.

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between household employment insecurity and the risk of children's exposure to household material deprivation in Spain and Portugal. Specifically, using EU-SILC microdata for 2012, 2016 and 2020, it examines how this relationship evolved during the Post-Great Recession period. Although in both countries there was an improvement in the employment situation of individuals and families after the Great Recession, the main findings reflect an increase in the risk of children's exposure to material deprivation in households where no adults have a secure job. However, there are some differences between the two countries. In the case of Spain, the results seem to indicate that the incidence of household employment insecurity on material deprivation was higher in 2016 and 2020 than in 2012. In Portugal, the increase in the effect of employment insecurity on deprivation seems to have occurred only in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Purpose
This study aims to analyze the interplay between male and female board members' beliefs about women's competence to fill board positions (valence), the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced boardroom (value) and the significance attributed to the gender quota law as a relevant instrument in eliciting change in board composition.


Design/methodology/approach
Looking through the lens of expectancy-value theory, the authors investigate whether the perceived benefits of a gender quota law mediate the path between the beliefs about women's competence to become board members and the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced representation in the boardroom. In addition, the authors investigate whether female and male board members share the same beliefs about a gender-balanced representation.


Findings
The results show that there are differences in beliefs about women's competencies to become board members and the perceived benefits of a greater gender-balanced boardroom. Female board members hold stronger beliefs on the competence of women to fill board positions and, thus, assign greater importance to the gender quota law, which, in turn, impacts the greater significance attributed to equal representation of women in the boardroom.


Practical implications
The findings shed new light on the debate concerning gender quotas aimed at promoting gender-balanced boardrooms by pointing out that differences in value expectations between male and female board members may prevent intraboard gender-equal dynamics.


Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by adding new insights on how male and female board members perceive the value of legally bound gender quotas, in association with their beliefs about women's competence to fill board positions (valence) and their expectations in terms of the beneficial outcomes of a more gender-balanced board composition.

This paper seeks to analyse the potential for change in the gender quota law on corporate boards in Portugal. This is achieved by incorporating concepts and insights drawn from political science and the study of quotas in politics and adjusting these to the boardroom context. It adds to the literature on women on boards by shedding light on the importance of looking at descriptive representation, substantive representation, substantive equality and transformative institutional change, in order to understand a quota law's potential for eliciting gender balance in the boardroom, as well as greater gender equality in directorship positions, in board dynamics and at the workplace level. This study uses multi-strategy research methods. Evidence provided by the quantitative analysis of survey data, combined with the qualitative analysis of interviews undertaken with female and male board members and the contents of Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs), shows that there have been some changes in terms of descriptive representation, but fewer in relation to substantive equality, as men are still largely over-represented in positions associated with effective power and influence over decision-making. Moreover, although the promotion of gender equality at the workplace is valued by both groups, and particularly so by women, weaknesses have been found in the materialisation of such a commitment (substantive representation) through the adoption of GEAPs designed to tackle gendered patterns at the workplace (transformative institutional change).

Purpose
This study aims to provide a comparative portrait of the profile of men and women in the boardrooms of listed companies (Euronext Lisbon, Portugal) during the first stage of the gender quota law, by comparing the profile of those board members appointed before the mandated quota law and those appointed after it. This study also seeks to contribute to a critical review of the main reservations expressed by some core institutional actors, who initially voiced their concern that it might be difficult to find women in equal conditions to men in terms of their cumulative experience and qualifications to serve as board members.


Design/methodology/approach
In addition to providing a comparative descriptive analysis of male and female board members' profiles before and after the mandated gender quota law, an aggregate professional endowments measure (professional endowments Index) is also calculated.


Findings
The research findings show that, in the first stage of the quota law, men and women appointed as board members after the mandated gender quota law are fundamentally similar in their professional attributes, forming a more homogeneous boardroom than those holding board positions before it.


Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on the profile of the men and women serving on the publicly listed company boards in Portugal, by comparing their profiles before and after the mandated gender quota law. This study also fills a gap in the literature, as studies about gender quotas and corporate boards relating to Portugal and Southern European countries in general are still relatively scant. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study carried out into the gender quota law on corporate boards in Portugal.

AbstractUsing Eurostat data for 2007, 2010 and 2012, the authors examine the effects of the 2008 crisis on the situation of male and female workers in Italy, Ireland and Portugal, with particular attention to changing labour market dynamics, (intra‐household) employment patterns, and incomes. The gender gaps in employment, unemployment and precarious employment are narrowing, but this trend cannot be interpreted as progress toward gender equality: it is driven by men's increasingly vulnerable position resulting from the generalized deterioration of labour market conditions, including the growth of precarious and/or low‐paid employment, unemployment and poverty to the detriment of household living standards.