How do lifecycle, employment and childcare support contribute to the gender pension gap in Europe? The clustering methods analysis
Abstract
Despite ongoing efforts in Europe to tackle discrimination against women in the labor market and societal roles, gender inequality remains entrenched. This study shifts focus from the design of pension systems to explore other key factors impacting women’s careers. By examining life cycle demographics, career paths, and childcare support systems, we utilize clustering to categorize European countries based on factors influencing women’s pension capital accumulation, excluding pension design. Our innovative approach highlights the significance of these factors in the gender pension gap. Findings suggest demographic and social similarities across countries do not necessarily equate to equitable retirement scenarios for women compared to men, underscoring the potential of pension system design to mitigate disparities. Using Ward’s method and the silhouette index for country classification on 10 variables, our analysis reveals distinct differences in gender pension gaps across Southern, Northern, Western, and Eastern Europe. This divergence, alongside observed differences in retirement outcomes for women affected by prior pension regulations, points to increasing challenges for younger European women in achieving pension parity with past generations.
First published online 10 October 2024
Keyword : gender gap, pension gap, maternity, labor market, pension system, sustainable development, cluster analysis
How to Cite
Jędrzychowska, A., Kwiecień, I., Poprawska, E., Cichowicz, E., & Gałecka-Burdziak, E. (2024). How do lifecycle, employment and childcare support contribute to the gender pension gap in Europe? The clustering methods analysis. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 30(6), 1862–1889. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2024.21887
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Frericks, P., Maier, R., & de Graaf, W. (2006). Shifting the pension mix: Consequences for Dutch and Danish women. Social Policy & Administration, 40(5), 475–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2006.00500.x
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Gerber, C. (2022). Gender and precarity in platform work: Old inequalities in the new world of work. New Technology, Work and Employment, 37(2), 206–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12233
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Jefferson, T. (2009). Women and retirement pensions: A research review. Feminist Economics, 15(4), 115–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700903153963
Jędrzychowska, A., Kwiecień, I., & Poprawska, E. (2020). The motherhood pension gap in a defined contribution pension scheme – The case of Poland. Sustainability, 12(11), Article 4425. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114425
Kahn, J. R., García-Manglano, J., & Bianchi, S. M. (2014). The motherhood penalty at midlife: Long-term effects of children on women’s careers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(1), 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12086
Kaufman, L., & Rousseeuw, P. J. (1990). Finding groups in data. An introduction to cluster analysis. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470316801
Kreyenfeld, M., & Hank, K. (2000). Does the availability of child care influence the employment of mothers? Findings from western Germany. Population Research and Policy Review, 19(4), 317–337. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026556309080
Kuivalainen, S., Nivalainen, S., Järnefelt, N., & Kuitto, K. (2020). Length of working life and pension income: Empirical evidence on gender and socioeconomic differences from Finland. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 19(1), 126–146. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747218000215
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Möhring, K. (2018). Is there a motherhood penalty in retirement income in Europe? The role of lifecourse and institutional characteristics. Ageing & Society, 38(12), 2560–2589. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000812
Niessen-Ruenzi, A., & Schneider, C. (2022, March). The gender pension gap in Germany – Reasons and remedies. CESifo Forum. Ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, 23(2), 20–24.
OECD. (2021). Towards improved retirement savings outcomes for women. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/f7b48808-en
Picatoste, X., Mesquita, A., & González-Laxe, F. (2023). Gender wage gap, quality of earnings and gender digital divide in the European context. Empirica, 50, 301–321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-022-09555-8
Ponthieux, S., & Meurs, D. (2015). Gender inequality. In A. B. Atkinson & F. Bourguignon (Eds.), Handbook of income distribution (Vol. 2, pp. 605–675). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-59428-0.00013-8
Prabhakar, R. (2017). Why do people opt-out or not opt-out of automatic enrolment? A focus group study of automatic enrolment into a workplace pension in the United Kingdom. Journal of European Social Policy, 27(5), 447–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928717717656
Rousseeuw, P. J. (1987). Silhouettes: A graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 20, 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0427(87)90125-7
Samek Lodovici, M., Drufuca, S., Patrizio, M., & Pesce, F. (2016). The gender pension gap: Differences between mothers and women without children. European Parliament, Brussels. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571363/IPOL_STU(2016)571363_EN.pdf
Storelli, E., & Williamson, J. B. (2015). Class, pensions and old-age security. In M. Formosa & P. Higgs (Eds.), Social class in later lied. Power, identity and lifestyle (pp. 41–44). Policy Press.
Thorndike, R. L. (1953). Who belongs in the family? Psychometrika, 18, 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289263
Vara, M. J. (2013). Gender inequality in the Spanish public pension system. Feminist Economics, 19(4), 136–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2013.822525
Veremchuck, A. (2020). Gender gap in pension income: Cross-country analysis and role of gender attitudes. The University of Tartu FEBA. http://zbw.eu/econis-archiv/bitstream/11159/4575/1/febawb126.pdf
Ward, J. H. (1963). Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 58, 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1963.10500845
Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3), 789–865. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995
Böhmer, N., & Schinnenburg, H. (2018). Preventing the leaky pipeline: Teaching future female leaders to manage their careers and promote gender equality in organizations. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 19(5), 63–81.
Boniol, M., McIsaac, M., Xu, L., Wuliji, T., Diallo, K., & Campbell, J. (2019). Gender equity in the health workforce: Analysis of 104 countries (Health Workforce Working Paper 1). World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/311314
Bonnet, C., Meurs, D., & Rapoport, B. (2022). Gender pension gaps along the distribution: An application to the French case. Journal of Pension Economics & Finance, 21(1), 76–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747220000177
Burkevica, I., Humbert, A. L., Oetke, N., & Paats, M. (2015). Gender gap in pensions in the EU. European Institute for Gender Equality, Vilnius. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2839/221006
Chłoń-Domińczak, A. (2017). Gender gap in pensions: Looking ahead. European Parliament, Brussels. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/583150/IPOL_STU(2017)583150_EN.pdf
Ciminelli, G., Schwellnus, C., & Stadler B. (2021). Sticky floors or glass ceilings? The role of human capital, working time flexibility and discrimination in the gender wage gap (OECD Economics Department Working Papers, no. 1668). OECD Publishing.
Cordova, K., Grabka, M. M., & Sierminska, E. (2022). Pension wealth and the gender wealth gap. European Journal of Population, 38, 755–810. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-022-09631-6
Crepaldi, C., Samek Lodovici, M., Corsi, M., & Naaf, S. (2011). The socio-economic impact of pension systems on the respective situations of women and men and the effects of recent trends in pension reforms (Synthesis Report). Instituto per la Ricerca Sociale and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolin, Milan-Rome. http://www.sinisazrinscak.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/EU-Pension-+-Gender-Report-2011.pdf
Cribb, J., Karjalainen, H., & O’Brien, L. (2023). The gender gap in pension saving (Report R250). The Institute for Fiscal Studies. https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/IFS-REPORT-R250-The-gender-gap-in-pension-saving.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1920/re.ifs.2023.0250
Crystal, S., Shea, D., & Reyes, A. (2017). Cumulative advantage, cumulative disadvantage, and evolving patterns of late-life inequality. The Gerontologist, 57(5), 910–920. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw056
Cupák, A., Fessler, P., Schneebaum, A., & Silgoner, M. (2018). decomposing gender gaps in financial literacy: New international evidence. Economic Letters, 168, 102–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.04.004
Davies, D. L., & Boudin, D. W. (1979). A cluster separation measure. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence PAMI, 1(2), 224–227. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPAMI.1979.4766909
Dekkers, G., Van den Bosch, K., Barslund, M., Kirn, T., Baumann, N., Kump, N., Liégeois, P., Moreira, A., & Stropnik, N. (2022). How do gendered labor market trends and the pay gap translate into the projected gender pension gap? A comparative analysis of five countries with low, middle and high GPGs. Social Sciences, 11(7), Article 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11070304
Dessimirova, D. & Bustamante, M. A. (2019, July). The gender gap in pensions in the EU. Briefing. European Parliament, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/631033/IPOL_BRI(2019)631033_EN.pdf
Dewilde, C. (2012). Lifecourse determinants and incomes in retirement: Belgium and the United Kingdom compared. Ageing and Society, 32(4), 587–615. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X11000407
Dunn, J. C. (1973). A fuzzy relative of the ISODATA process and its use in detecting compact well-separated clusters. Journal of Cybernetics, 3(3), 32–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/01969727308546046
European Commission. (n.d.). The gender pay gap situation in the EU. Retrieved March 10, 2024, from https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/gender-pay-gap-situation-eu_en
European Institute for Gender Equality. (2022). Gender equality index 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic and care. https://eige.europa.eu/publications-resources/publications/gender-equality-index-2022-covid-19-pandemic-and-care
Eurostat. (n.d.). Gender pension gap by age group – EU-SILC survey. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ILC_PNP13__custom_5464680/default/table?lang=en
Fouarge, D., & Muffels, R. (2009). Working part-time in the British, German and Dutch labor market: Scarring for the wage career? Schmollers Jahrbuch: Journal of Applied Social Science Studies, 129(2), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.3790/schm.129.2.217
Frericks, P., Maier, R., & de Graaf, W. (2006). Shifting the pension mix: Consequences for Dutch and Danish women. Social Policy & Administration, 40(5), 475–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2006.00500.x
Gatnar, E., & Walesiak, M. (Eds.) (2004). Metody statystycznej analizy wielowymiarowej w badaniach marketingowych. Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomicznej im. Oskara Langego we Wrocławiu.
Gerber, C. (2022). Gender and precarity in platform work: Old inequalities in the new world of work. New Technology, Work and Employment, 37(2), 206–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12233
Hasler, A., & Lusardi, A. (2017, July). The gender gap in financial literacy: A global perspective. Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre, The George Washington University School of Business, Washington DC. https://gflec.org/research/?item=11053
Jefferson, T. (2009). Women and retirement pensions: A research review. Feminist Economics, 15(4), 115–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700903153963
Jędrzychowska, A., Kwiecień, I., & Poprawska, E. (2020). The motherhood pension gap in a defined contribution pension scheme – The case of Poland. Sustainability, 12(11), Article 4425. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114425
Kahn, J. R., García-Manglano, J., & Bianchi, S. M. (2014). The motherhood penalty at midlife: Long-term effects of children on women’s careers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(1), 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12086
Kaufman, L., & Rousseeuw, P. J. (1990). Finding groups in data. An introduction to cluster analysis. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470316801
Kreyenfeld, M., & Hank, K. (2000). Does the availability of child care influence the employment of mothers? Findings from western Germany. Population Research and Policy Review, 19(4), 317–337. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026556309080
Kuivalainen, S., Nivalainen, S., Järnefelt, N., & Kuitto, K. (2020). Length of working life and pension income: Empirical evidence on gender and socioeconomic differences from Finland. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 19(1), 126–146. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747218000215
Lannoo, K., Barslund, M., Chmelar, A., & von Werder, M. (2014). Pension schemes. European Parliament, Brussels. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2014/536281/IPOL_STU(2014)536281_EN.pdf
Lis, M., & Bonthuis, B. (2019). Drivers of the gender gap in pensions: Evidence from EU-SILC and the OECD pension model (Discussion Paper No. 1917). The World Bank, Washington DC. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/156741556876199964/pdf/Drivers-of-the-Gender-Gap-in-Pensions-Evidence-from-EU-SILC-and-the-OECD-Pension-Model.pdf https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1455-6_ch18
Möhring, K. (2015). Employment histories and pension incomes in Europe. A multilevel analysis of the role of institutional factors. European Societies, 17(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2014.934874
Möhring, K. (2018). Is there a motherhood penalty in retirement income in Europe? The role of lifecourse and institutional characteristics. Ageing & Society, 38(12), 2560–2589. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X17000812
Niessen-Ruenzi, A., & Schneider, C. (2022, March). The gender pension gap in Germany – Reasons and remedies. CESifo Forum. Ifo Institut - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, 23(2), 20–24.
OECD. (2021). Towards improved retirement savings outcomes for women. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/f7b48808-en
Picatoste, X., Mesquita, A., & González-Laxe, F. (2023). Gender wage gap, quality of earnings and gender digital divide in the European context. Empirica, 50, 301–321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-022-09555-8
Ponthieux, S., & Meurs, D. (2015). Gender inequality. In A. B. Atkinson & F. Bourguignon (Eds.), Handbook of income distribution (Vol. 2, pp. 605–675). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-59428-0.00013-8
Prabhakar, R. (2017). Why do people opt-out or not opt-out of automatic enrolment? A focus group study of automatic enrolment into a workplace pension in the United Kingdom. Journal of European Social Policy, 27(5), 447–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928717717656
Rousseeuw, P. J. (1987). Silhouettes: A graphical aid to the interpretation and validation of cluster analysis. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 20, 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0427(87)90125-7
Samek Lodovici, M., Drufuca, S., Patrizio, M., & Pesce, F. (2016). The gender pension gap: Differences between mothers and women without children. European Parliament, Brussels. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571363/IPOL_STU(2016)571363_EN.pdf
Storelli, E., & Williamson, J. B. (2015). Class, pensions and old-age security. In M. Formosa & P. Higgs (Eds.), Social class in later lied. Power, identity and lifestyle (pp. 41–44). Policy Press.
Thorndike, R. L. (1953). Who belongs in the family? Psychometrika, 18, 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289263
Vara, M. J. (2013). Gender inequality in the Spanish public pension system. Feminist Economics, 19(4), 136–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2013.822525
Veremchuck, A. (2020). Gender gap in pension income: Cross-country analysis and role of gender attitudes. The University of Tartu FEBA. http://zbw.eu/econis-archiv/bitstream/11159/4575/1/febawb126.pdf
Ward, J. H. (1963). Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 58, 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1963.10500845