Diapositiva 1

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Man Breadwinner and Dual-earner couples in the EU
Partners earnings evidence from EU-SILC
Linda Laura Sabbadini, Lucia Coppola, Sara
Demofonti Work Session on Gender Statistics
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
The analysis of partners earnings provides and
interesting insight in the division of roles in
the couple. Focusing on partners earnings
allows to consider that part of personal income
that the individual actively produces, by working
and by balancing the commitment to the
employment career and the family needs. This
approach provides quite an innovative perspective
on gender roles, and is fundamental to complete
the picture usually provided by the consolidated
analysis of partners time use and decision
making.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
In fact, the division of economic roles is also
associated with the balance of partners power in
the family as well as access and management of
household resources. Thus, considering
partners economic roles represents a further
instrument to pay the necessary attention to
gender roles. By comparing the proportion of
womens earnings on the couples earnings, we can
provide an overview of the different strategies
of division of economic roles in the EU
countries. To this purpose, we use data from the
EU-SILC 2008 (cross-sectional release) for
representing a rich source of information on
income components but also on households and
household members characteristics.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics

• According to the womans contribution to the
  couples earnings, we define six strategies of
  partners' division of economic roles.
• Man Sole Provider
• The couple is characterized by a complete and
  traditional specialization of partners, with the
  woman devoted to the housework and the family
  care, and the man completely responsible for the
  households economic needs (she has no earnings)
• Man Main Provider
• The couple adopts a strategy of
  semi-specialization the woman actually
  contribute to the household economy, but plays a
  secondary economic role (she earns less than the
  40 of the couples earnings)
• Equal Providers
• Both partners similarly contribute to the
  household economic support (she earns between the
  40 and the 60 of the couples earnings)

Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics

• Woman Main Provider
• In this couples, the woman earns more than her
  partner, and is mostly responsible for the
  economic needs of the household (her earnings
  represent more than 60 of the partners
  earnings)
• Woman Sole Provider
• The women is the only provider of economic
  support to the household with her earnings (he
  has no earnings)
• Both partners without earnings
• None of the partners has any positive earnings
  in the year of observation
• According to these definitions, we show the
  distribution of the different types of couples
  across the EU countries.
• We select couples characterized by partners aged
  between 25 and 54 year, for being less likely out
  of the labor market because still involved in the
  educational career, or already retired.

Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
The proportion of Man Sole Provider
couples There is an important variation across
EU of the proportion of traditionally specialized
couples. In Northern countries (IS, SE, NO, DK
and FI), women do not contribute to the household
economic needs in less than 10 of the
couples. In contrast, in Mediterranean countries
(ES, IT and GR), and PL, IE, LU and RO, such a
traditional division of economic roles is adopted
by more than 25 of the couples.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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The proportion of Man Main Provider
couples The most frequently preferred strategy
in all countries but DK, SK, HU, and RO. The
traditional specialization is substituted by this
form of semi-specialization. Lowest proportions
are observed in Eastern countries as HU, PL, RO
(between 20 and 30). Highest proportions are
observed in IS, NO, NL (higher than 50).
Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
The proportion of Equal Providers
couples This is the strategy more spread in DK,
SK (around 40), HU, and RO (around 30). High
percentages are observed also in SE, NO (about
37). Lowest proportions (less than 25) in NL,
UK, AT, PL, IE, LU, IT and GR.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
The proportion of Woman Main Provider and
Woman Sole Provider couples The woman is the
Main or the Sole Provider in a minority of cases
in all countries. These situations are possibly
due to mens unfavorable economic conditions
instead of womens good earning capacity. The
highest percentages of Woman Main Provider are
mostly in Eastern countries (about 10 or above)
as LV, LT, HU, PL. The Woman Sole Provider
strategy is used by less than 5 of couples in
all countries but LT, SK, HU, and PL. The
proportion of couples where none of the partners
has any earning is extremely small in most of the
countries. Once again, PL and HU show the highest
percentages (about 5 and 6 respectively).
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
The distribution of couples by partners economic
roles across EU shows an interesting
heterogeneity mostly for the diffusion of the
traditional Man Sole Provider model, that is rare
in Northern countries while still frequently
adopted in Mediterranean countries. The
persistence of a model of semi-specialization of
partners (Man Main Provider) in most of the
countries shows that an asymmetric division of
gender roles is still convenient for couples
women actually support the economic needs of the
households, but their economic role is mostly
secondary, suggesting higher levels of
responsibility for the care of the household
members, and domestic activities. The problem of
reconciliation of work and family mostly relies
on womens efforts also in Nordic countries,
where womens activity rates are extremely high.
Where part-time solutions are more easily
available, a semi-specialization is favored.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Where more than 30 of women have access to
part-time employment a higher percentage of Man
Main Provider couples is observed. NL shows the
highest levels for both indicators. If
conciliation is a need, part-time represents a
feasible solution.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Mediterranean countries show relatively low
levels of female part-time, but also relatively
high levels of Man Main Provider couples. In
these cases, womens lower earning capacity may
be due mostly to a segregation in less well paid
employment sector, that possibly easy family-work
reconciliation (public sector?), than to a
reduction of working time.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings
Work session on gender statistics
Eastern countries show an heterogeneous picture
in terms of diffusion of Man Main Provider
couples, but always very low levels of part-time
employment .
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
Italy differentiates from the other EU countries
mostly for the persistence of a high percentage
of Man Sole Provider couples. The traditional
partners specialization either in economic or
domestic activities represents a solution still
widely adopted by Italian couples. The origin of
this phenomenon may be found both in the
diffusion of traditional values and social norms
and in the lack of adequate public policies
aiming at easy work-family reconciliation. Conseq
uently, Italian women opt more easily than their
European colleagues for renouncing to the labor
market, in favor of the family. Such a strategy
is also socially diffused and accepted. However,
partners' and households characteristics may
play a role in determining opportunity costs of
the different strategies of division of economic
roles.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics

• We investigate the relationship between the
  distribution of the different strategies of the
  economic roles, and some couples characteristics
• In particular we consider
• Womans age
• Womans education
• Partners relative education
• Number of children
• Household income
• Region of residence
• Geneva, 26-28 April 2010

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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Sole Provider Womans educational level
and partners relative education show to be
associated with the diffusion of this strategy of
partners division of economic roles when she is
lowly educated, about 48 of couples prefers a
traditional division of economic roles vs. the
11 of the couples where she has achieved at
least a university degree when she is more
educated than the partner, than only 23 of
couples is in a Man Sole Provider regime, vs. the
42 of couples where she is less educated.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Sole Provider The proportion of couples
that prefers this model of division of economic
roles increases with the increase of the number
of children the higher the number of children to
take care, the harder the work-family
reconciliation, and the more efficient for the
partners the complete specialization of their
activities and responsibilities.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Sole Provider The proportion of couples
that prefer this model of division of economic
roles dramatically decreases with the increase of
the household economic wellbeing. Moreover, there
is a higher percentage in the South and Islands
(above 50) than in the rest of Italy.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Main Provider and Equal Providers The
proportion of couples that prefer these models,
increases with the womans educational level and
the households income. This would suggest that
these strategies are favored by women who have
invested in human capital, and have good
potential on the labor market, and neither
strategies hamper the households economic
well-being.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Woman Main Provider This model is quite
rarely adopted in Italy. However, it is more
frequent when she is highly educated, and more
than the partner. But also in the highest fifth
of the household income.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Woman Sole Provider This model is extremely
rare. A higher percentage is found only in the
poorest fifth and in the South and Islands.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Sole Provider vs. The Dual-Earner
model In order to consider at the same time the
relationship between the couples characteristics
and the strategy of economic roles division, we
use a logistic regression to contrast the Man
Sole Provider vs. the Dual-Earner strategy.
(apart from the couples characteristics so far
discussed, we also control for womans age,
difference of age between the partners, type of
union) The model estimates show that couples
preferring a Man Sole Provider strategy to the
dual-earner one are characterized by women of
older age (45-54 years old), an important
difference of age between the partners (higher
than 5), low educated women, and less educated
than their partner, and a marriage instead of a
consensual union. Moreover, the higher the income
of the household, the lees likely the couple is
to be in a Man Sole Provider regime. Eventually,
the traditional specialization is more likely
observed in the South and Islands.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Partners earnings a focus on Italy
Work session on gender statistics
The Man Main Provider Woman Main Provider vs.
Equal Providers In a second step we focus on
Dual-Earner couples only, and use a multinomial
logistic regression to contrast the Man Main
Provider the Woman Main Provider models vs. the
Equal Providers. The model estimates show that
the most relevant characteristics associated with
the preference towards any of these models are
the partners' relative education, and the
household economic well-being. On the one hand,
the man is the main provider (instead of an equal
provider) when she is less educated, when the
increasing number of children hamper the
work-family reconciliation, when the household
has low or high levels of income, and when the
couple lives in the South or Islands. On the
other hand, the woman is the main provider
(instead of an equal provider) when she is
relatively old (between 35-44 years, or 45-54
years), and more educated than the partner, and
the household has low levels of income.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010
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Man Breadwinner and Dual-earner couples in the EU
Conclusions The diffusion of dual earner couples
in the EU is quite heterogeneous. Main
differences are observed for the persistence of
the traditional Man Breadwinner model (i.e. the
woman is devoted to domestic activities and the
man is responsible for the household economic
needs), which is still high in Mediterranean
countries, and very low in Nordic countries.
Among Mediterranean countries, Italy shows that
couples characteristics associated with the
preference towards the traditional partners
specialization are many. Significantly, if the
woman has not invested much in human capital, and
the presence of children hampers the work-family
reconciliation, the couple is more likely in a
man breadwinner regime. Moreover, these couples
are also more likely to experience lower levels
of economic well-being. Differences among the
preferences for alternative strategies of
dual-earner couples (i.e. man main provider,
woman main provider and equal providers) are less
evident. Still, the presence of children seems to
make more convenient for a woman to be less
responsible for the economic needs of the
households, although the investments in education.
Geneva, 26-28 April 2010