Gender inequalities in the early labour market experience of young Europeans

This paper investigates gender differences in employment status trajectories of young Europeans during their initial labour market experience, and the way in which they are affected by some labour market institutions. The empirical analysis is based on EU-SILC longitudinal data (waves 2006-2012), and focuses on young people aged 16-34. Monthly information on self-declared employment statuses for a 36 months are used to define ‘employment status trajectories’. Young people are observed in two different phases: the first three years after leaving education (1st phase) and a three-year window, starting around four years after the end of education (2ns phase). Multinomial logit models are used to estimate the probability of following different trajectory types as a function of individual characteristics, macroeconomic conditions and institutional indicators. Results show that, in the 1st phase, women and men face on average the same difficulties in entering the labour market. When controlling for the presence of children, non-mothers have higher chances than men to enter rapidly and successfully into the labour market, whereas young mothers have the same chances. In contrast, in the 2nd phase women experience more fragmented pathways than men, even if they don’t have children. A more stringent regulation on dismissals of regular employees (EPL-R) lowers women’s chances of being ‘speedy’, while it increases all individuals’ chances to be employment secure in the 2nd phase. A more stringent regulation of the use of temporary contracts (EPL-T) has not effects in the 1st phase, while it increases women’s chances of experiencing fragmented early careers. The paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it takes a broader perspective on youth labour market integration by considering two phases of individuals’ initial working life. Second, it combines an explicit attention to the first ‘significant’ employment experience with a focus on individual trajectories, by adopting a new method to group trajectories. Third, it shows how the effects of labour market institutions vary by gender, highlighting the importance of considering gender-specific consequences when discussing or adopting labour market reforms.