Gender Gaps in the Spanish Labor Market

The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the male-female differentials in Spain in terms of labor force participation, working conditions and professional development in order to identify the major obstacles in achieving gender equality. Data were gathered from a wide range of national and international sources, and a comparative analysis with other Western European countries was carried out in order to put the Spanish case into a wider context. Despite the great progress that has been made in the last two decades, which has brought Spain on a par with other European countries, the gender gap is still large in a wide number of areas. These are, for the most part, reflected in the existing gender pay gap, as well as in working conditions involving temporality, undesired part-time work, and over-qualification. Furthermore, women are highly under-represented in positions of power and authority in both public and private organizations and there is a high level of occupational and sectorial segregation. The uneven distribution of tasks at the household level is one of the most important factors behind gender inequality in the labor market, one that is likely further hindering the participation of women in the labor market and contributing to widening the gender gap in many other dimensions. Potential gender policy measures to correct the aforementioned situation in Spain are also discussed.