Older women are more likely than men to carry the dual burden of both working and caring where there are care responsibilities in the family, resulting in lower labour market participation for this group according to a new report from Eurofound, the Dublin-based EU agency.

It further confirms that while women workers represent an increasing proportion of the workforce, the employment rates of older women remain substantially below those of men in most of the EU Member States and tend to be concentrated in part time work and temporary contracts. Women workers are also concentrated in certain occupational groups, such as care workers, clerical workers and service and sales workers.

Sweden continues to have the highest employment rate for older workers aged 55–64 in the EU. It is also the only country where the employment rate of older workers is almost on par with that of the overall employment rate (69.6% compared with 73.1%). Although there is a marked trend of shrinking differences in employment rates between men and women in Europe, the comparison found that the differences between men and women in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain are still around 20%. In Malta, the difference between men and women is closer to 40%, with just one in three women of working age in employment in that country.

"Too often, discrimination on account of both gender and age deters older women from entering the labour market", explains Jorma Karppinen, Eurofound’s Director. "Companies can encourage older women to return to, and remain in, the workplace through a variety of approaches: creating training opportunities, improving health and safety at work, introducing working conditions that better meet the needs of older workers and actively combating ageism in the workplace."

The latest issue in the Foundation Findings series, focusing on "Older women workers in Europe", compares female employment structures in 27 countries. The report presents good practice examples in European companies aimed at helping to promote the integration of older people into the labour market. Foundation Findings provide pertinent background information and policy pointers for all actors and interested parties engaged in the current European debate on the future of social policy. The contents are based on Foundation research and reflect its autonomous and tripartite structure.