Europe 2020 and female access to the labour market : the cases of Denmark and Malta

Abstract

Amongst other targets, the Europe 2020 strategy is aiming to increase the overall employment ratios in all EU member states. Several studies outline how reaching the employment targets and increasing the female participation in the labour market are inter-related. It is widely known and stated that increasing the female emancipation leads to further economic growth in each of the member countries. In the majority of the cases, there is a general trend that the employment ratios of males are higher than that of females. This research process seeks to analyse the cases of Malta and Denmark with regards to the female access into the labour market under the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy. The labour market and female employment in the European Union will be outlined together with the European Employment Strategy and the Lisbon agenda, which paved the way for the Europe 2020 strategy. The targets set out by the strategy, together with the country specific recommendations for both Malta and Denmark, will be explained. The child care provisions together with other family friendly measures and the European policy initiatives in the female employment sector will also be analysed. Part-time segregation in both countries and the link between education attainment and female employment will be discussed, together with recent reports identifying the situation of both Malta and Denmark with regard to gender pay gaps. The analysis will provide an insight on the factors leading to differences in employment ratios in relation to the Europe 2020 strategy. It will also identify and outline what is being done and what needs to be done through the conducting of elite interviews.