Why the difference? In large part it’s because men are more likely to work in sectors of the economy that are more prone to job losses during a typical slowdown – for example, construction and manufacturing of things like cars, TVs and kitchen appliances. During this recession, these sectors have been particularly hard hit: In particular, there’s been a sharp fall in construction in countries like Spain, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. By contrast, job losses have been less severe in services, where women are more likely to work.
But these headline figures don’t tell the full story. Strip away the impact of working in a sector like construction and women can be at higher risk of losing their jobs. That’s because they are more likely than men to work part-time or as temps; in a recession, these are often the workers that employers find easiest to let go, in part because their job contracts may offer less security than those of permanent staffers. However, because the loss of job in male-dominated sectors like construction has been so high, it’s outweighed the impact of this extra risk factor for women.
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