Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1991 > Committee on Women's Rights (3rd Committee) > Report No. 01 - Motherhood, Work and Equal Opportunity A Case Study of Irish Civil Servants

REPORT

Motherhood, Work and Equal Opportunity

A Case Study of Irish Civil Servants

Introduction

1.The interlinked question of motherhood, work and equal opportunity is rightly assuming an ever growing importance in Irish society. A survey of a number of West European countries showed that Ireland has the lowest employment rate for mothers with children under five years of age. Less than 20% of them are in paid employment.

2.Trends in West European countries show that the participation of married women in the labour force far exceeds that in Ireland. For example in 1980 in Britain, France and Germany, the participation rate exceeded 50% while the figure for Ireland was 16.7%.

Study by Ms Evelyn Mahon

3.It is likely, that this country will follow trends elsewhere in Western Europe and that an increasing percentage of mothers will enter and remain in the workforce in the future.

For this reason the Joint Committee on Women’s Rights engaged Ms Evelyn Mahon, Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Limerick, to carry out a case study of the married women employed in the Irish Civil Service.

The study is based on information published by the Department of Finance and on eighty-five interviews with a small sample of civil servants who are mothers with dependent children. A complete picture of working mothers in the civil service would require more extensive research. The sample size and the manner in which the sample was selected did not lend itself to detailed statistical analysis. The sample did, however, enable Ms Mahon to identify in an exploratory way how mothers make decisions about working, the interaction between their domestic and working lives, their conditions of employment and promotion prospects and the impact on them of equal opportunity policies.

4.The Joint Committee wishes to thank Ms Mahon for her study which, within the limitations outlined in her methodology, is thorough and factual. It is a valuable contribution to research into the perception of working mothers and relates specifically to the Civil Service. Ms Mahon’s case study is reproduced in toto in the Appendix to this report. It is hoped that the information and findings which it contains will have as wide a circulation as possible.

5.The Joint Committee decided not to comment on the study in detail but to make a number of observations on broad policy issues.

Basic Dilemma

6.Consideration of the question of working mothers gives rise to a dilemma. If women secure improved conditions, such as more time off, which make it easier to combine work and childcare, society will, nevertheless, continue to see children as the principal responsibility of women. This approach will marginalise women. Yet if some flexibility is not sought, there is a danger that women will not be able to continue in employment after childbirth and will be obliged to leave the labour force. This has been the traditional pattern in Ireland.

7.There are two ways to meet this problem. The first is to encourage parenting. This approach, which is being vigorously pursued in Sweden, is to encourage fathers to take equal responsibility for children, and to make “parenting” a more accepted concept than mothering. In time, it should also change the present “male norm” working life. Progress on this front is still very slow in this country.

The Joint Committee notes that the present EC medium-term plan on equal opportunities action for women has emphasised the necessity to distribute the domestic burden and in that way facilitate the full incorporation of women into the workplace.

8.The second way is to introduce State supported nurseries and thus increase society’s responsibility for childcare. If nurseries were available both parents would be free to work as their children would be properly cared for in their absence. This is the emergent Danish model.

Interpretation of Equal Opportunity

9.The concept of equal opportunity may be interpreted in two ways. A formal interpretation suggests that two persons A and B have equal opportunity if there is no legal or quasi-legal obstacle to prevent either one from obtaining an objective such as employment or promotion. In other words equal opportunity exists if the procedures for recruitment and promotion are fair i.e. if the rules of the game are fair.

10.A substantive interpretation is more exacting. This interpretation suggests that opportunity for A and B is equal not because they are free from any legal or quasi-legal obstacles to obtaining X but because they belong to social groups whose rates of success at obtaining X are equal. On the basis of this definition preferential or quota arrangements in relation to hiring are justifiable because they confer equal rewards not because they apply standards in a non-discriminatory way. This is also called an outcomes model of equal opportunity.

11.According to the substantive criterion, if equal numbers of men and women apply and are deemed eligible for a particular post one would expect both sexes to have similar rates of success.

In examining the operation of equal opportunity in the Civil Service these definitions should be borne in mind.

12.Details of success rates for men and women in confined Inter-Departmental competitions, given in Table 2 of the Appendix, show that overall women did as well as, if not better than, men in such competitions.

In 47% of the confined departmental competitions held in 1987 women had a higher relative success rate. The corresponding figures on female success rates in confined competitions held in 1988 and 1989 were 55% and 49% respectively.

13.There is evidence, however that a smaller proportion of women than of men are going forward for departmental and interdepartmental competitions. The reasons for this have not been established. One reason may be a perceived discrimination on the part of some women which make them reluctant to compete.

The Department of Finance has commissioned research into why proportionately fewer women are going forward for competitions at Assistant Principal level. The Joint Committee looks forward with interest to the findings of this research.

14.Statistics have been produced by the Department of Finance¹ in relation to the female - male success rate in the recruitment of school leavers to the grades of Executive Officer, Clerical Officer and Clerical Assistant in the period 1984-1987. These statistics show that the female - male success rates at the examination, interview and appointment stages of the selection process are on average proportionately similar.

15.Statistics relating to competitions for the recruitment of civil servants at graduate level in the period 1984-87² show that in competitions for Administrative Officer, Third Secretary, Inspector of Taxes and Executive Officer (Adult) on average a smaller proportion of women succeeded in getting through the written examination, final interview and appointment stages. Women candidates fared relatively badly at the interview and appointment stages of the Administrative Officer competition when compared to men.

This situation warrants examination to see what the reasons are for this gap and whether there is any element of discrimination in attitudes to the recruitment of women to grades from which senior management in the Civil Service is drawn.

16.It should be noted, however, that Chapter 3 of the Appendix (page 23) refers to a Departmental competition in 1984 for promotion to the grade of Tax Officer where discrimination was found to have taken place against women at the interview stage. This suggests that discrimination cannot be discounted in all confined competitions within the Civil Service.

17.The Joint Committee suggests that the content of interviews for promotion from junior grades be re-examined with a view to giving less importance to general knowledge and knowledge acquired at school and putting more emphasis on the maturity and intelligence of each candidate and on his or her capability to perform the duties of the vacant post. The Joint Committee is convinced that applicants for confined competitions should have the opportunity to attend specifically tailored courses which would prepare them for interviews by giving them an overview of civil service structures and procedures and by explaining how the vacant posts fit into the overall picture. Such courses, within the context of a general staff development policy, would help to broaden the outlook of applicants and give ambitious junior civil servants a better appreciation of their role and potential within the Civil Service.

Assessment of Equal Opportunity

18.It is difficult to assess equality of opportunity when information is not readily available over a reasonable period about the progression of both men and women in the Civil Service. The Joint Committee strongly supports the case for the enlargement of the data in the existing staff data base in order to show for each civil servant the gender, year of entry, type of work, competitions taken, civil service formal training given and and promotional success. This data base should be capable of giving the gender distribution of those applying for any competition, whether open or confined, and the gender distribution of those who were successful. This information - regularly updated - should be available by Department and also centrally for the Civil Service as a whole. This would enable the general picture to be established by interested persons who wished to examine the situation.

Attitudes in the Civil Service

19.A factor which cannot be ignored is the general background since 1973 which influenced changes in the staff structure of the public service.

Up to 1973 women civil servants who married were obliged to retire from the Civil Service. In 1973 this obligation was removed and from then on women could look forward to a long-term career in the Civil Service and had a growing interest in promotion and career prospects. It was expected however, that it would take some time before the removal of the marriage bar resulted in an increase in the representation of women in upper echelons. By the end of the 70’s some improved representation of women in the middle management grades had begun to manifest itself.

In 1981, however when women were beginning to adjust to the new situation the economic climate disimproved. The result was that a limited embargo was introduced on recruitment and promotion when only one post in every three was filled. This embargo slowed down promotion for both men and women.

In 1987 because of a worsening economic situation a total embargo was imposed on recruitment and promotion. This embargo has been eased somewhat since 1989.

20.While women make up 63% of the total general service grades in the Civil Service they are concentrated in the Clerical Officer and Clerical Assistant grades, with declining representation in the ascending grades to a total absence of women from the two top echelons.

This preponderance of women in two of the lowest grades helps to retain and reinforce the idea of male superiority. The perception is that men dominate the higher grades and are more successful in being promoted from the lower grades.

21.Equal opportunity in the Civil Service is centrally supervised by the Equality Section of the Department of Finance. The implementation of policy is regularly monitored and there are structures to enable on going consultations to take place on equality matters between management and trade unions. An equal opportunity policy and guidelines for the civil service were introduced in July 1986. It is now time to up-date these guidelines by producing a policy document which will set out a strategy for achieving equal opportunity over a determined period of time and specify the goals to be aimed at in arriving at this end.

This policy document should incorporate the recommendations made in Chapter 10 of the Appendix and outline the means by which these objectives are to be attained.

Low Pay

22.Because of the lack of promotion prospects the majority of women employed in the lower grades of the Civil Service are in dead end jobs. Moreover they have low pay when compared with the average male industrial wage. This must affect their plans to remain at work when they marry and have children.

It is a fact that where a couple opt for joint assessment of tax, the husband gets most of the tax-free allowance. With this arrangement, a woman could take home as little as £80 per week after tax at the lowest end of the scale. When she subtracts the cost of travel, childcare and meals outside the home she has little disposable income left. In a case like this, low pay is obviously a disincentive to work.

Consequently, the Joint Committee considers that tax allowances should be evenly distributed when both spouses work. Moreover, tax allowances for children and for childcare expenses should be introduced without delay.

Promotion

23.In the lowest grades there are high levels of dissatisfaction with promotion prospects. Promotional opportunities are limited and the perception of women in these grades - based on the sample examined in the study - is that they do not have the same chances of success as men.

24.Whatever the promotional procedures the overall prospects of promotion were so poor in 1987 and 1988, following the imposition in March 1987 of the embargo on recruitment and promotion, that a clerical assistant had virtually no promotion prospects especially if she was employed in a regional office.

The situation has improved somewhat since then but is still not altogether satisfactory. In 1989 and 1990 a total of 538 Clerical Assistants were promoted to Clerical Officer. Of these 400 or 74% were women while the total percentage of all women in the grade was about 83%.

The stark reality is that in present circumstances most clerical assistants are likely to remain in the job for life. This cannot be countenanced. The overall difficulty of this situation must not be ignored and greater interest in the job and more efficient job performance could be stimulated by introducing measures to offer job enrichment within the grade - see paragraph 37.

Few women in the middle management grades covered by Ms Mahon’s study see themselves obtaining any further advancement but the majority have reached a certain equilibrium between work and family responsibilities.

25.There is evidence on the basis of the study that women in the higher grades adopt male norms of behaviour. They work long hours and are available for late work and for travel both at home or abroad as required. They feel that while some Departments are sexist in orientation, overall attitudes to women are improving.

These women see themselves as having the same chances of promotion as men but there is a perception that they are excluded from informal networks (such as coffee sessions and pub circles) which could be instrumental in furthering their careers.

In 47 competitions for posts at Assistant Secretary and higher levels,³ 35 women were shortlisted as compared to 530 men. The overall success rate of the men was 11% as compared to zero success rate for women. This situation must improve in the future.

26.Women in the higher grades solve their childcare problems by paying for childcare or by having supportive husbands. In highly competitive mixed Departments they feel that maternity leave is resented.

Career Breaks

27.Women with children welcomed the possibility of taking career-breaks and a number have taken extended breaks. In general mothers taking career breaks are child-centred, earn a smaller proportion of the family income than their husbands and have traditional views on childcare. A strong commitment to motherhood has for some resulted in their forfeiting a career.

28.For those on low pay, the net financial rewards are poor - see paragraph 21. If one actually enjoys being at home with the children, the traditional option is an easier one.

29.While the career break is a useful initiative, it is too early to judge its effectiveness and for those covered by the study it seems to operate as a stage towards resignation.

To minimise this possibility links with the Civil Service should be maintained. This could be done by way of newsletter giving details of vacancies available, job-sharing opportunities and courses offered.

Job-Sharing

30.For women who might otherwise opt for a career break job-sharing is attractive both personally and financially. The problem is that far more women are interested in job-sharing than are being accommodated by their Departments. Those interested may have to wait several months before they are given permission to job-share putting them under a considerable strain in the meantime. Most women interviewed in the course of the study feel that job-sharing has an adverse affect on their promotion prospects because they are regarded by management as being less committed to their jobs. As pointed out in paragraph 24, promotion prospects for most women in the lowest grades are, in any event, very poor.

31.Job-sharing undoubtedly eases the double burden of employment and domestic responsibilities. The pressure of the domestic burden is in many cases all the greater where husbands do not contribute to sharing the work load at home and where there is no home help. Table 6 of the Appendix indicates the extent to which the division of labour in the home is shared between husband and wife.

32.The Joint Committee feels that options such as flexi-time, part-time work or job-sharing should be offered in a genuine spirit of enabling a parent to combine family and work.

Conclusions

33.The Joint Committee is convinced that, with a growing trend towards the increased employment of married women in the public service, their conditions of employment and the impact on them of equal opportunity policies deserve closer consideration.

Good experiences at work, promotional achievements, good childcare arrangements and spousal support all help the retention of women in the Civil Service in all grades. The absence of one or more of these conditions is likely to put pressure on women to withdraw from the work place.

The Civil Service, which has shown itself capable of change, must be above reproach in its recruitment and promotional policies in ensuring that women get a fair deal and are seen to get a fair deal.

34.The Joint Committee recommends that the existing staff data base be extended to provide information on each Department and on the Civil Service as a whole. This data base should be kept up to date so that information on the recruitment, training, promotion and assignment of all civil servants, distinguishing between men and women, will be readily available. It is realised that since 1987 some relevant information is published in the annual reports on Equality of Opportunity in the Civil Service. With an improved computerised system the performance of women relative to their male colleagues can be assessed at any time. Moveover the data base should show the gender distribution of those applying for competitions, either open or confined, the success rate of men and women at each stage and the numbers of each gender finally appointed.

Such a comprehensive data base is essential if the treatment of women in the Civil Service is to be monitored and evaluated on an on-going basis.

35.The Joint Committee recommends that the present equal opportunities policy in the Civil Service should be brought up to date to include action on the recommendations made by Ms Mahon. It should define objectives and outline the means by which they are to be obtained. These objectives should include the provision of childcare facilities (see paragraph 38) and a reassessment of courses available to women in all grades in the Civil Service - see paragraph 17.

The revised policy document should be widely distributed among existing staff and a copy should be given to each new entrant to the Civil Service.

36.The Joint Committee accepts that women constitute only a small proportion of applicants for posts at Assistant Secretary level or higher as they filled only 8% of posts at Principal level in 1989. In the same year women represented 21% of Assistant Principals 20% of Administrative Officers, 28% of Higher Executive Officers and 43% of Executive Officers in the Civil Service. With normal promotion outlets in the coming years women should constitute an increasing percentage of middle management and higher grades in the not too distant future.

Women should be adequately represented on all interview boards, if necessary by seeking women of suitable calibre outside the Civil Service. The Joint Committee is glad to note that the Civil Service Training Centre has established courses on interview techniques including equal o opportunities training for potential members of interview boards. The Joint Committee recommends that Departmental and Inter-Departmental interview boards should be aware of the importance of equal opportunity policy before interviews commence.

The fact that many women do not present themselves for interview may be due to perceived discrimination - see paragraph 13. It may also arise because they are not properly prepared or lack the confidence to impress the board with their real ability and genuine suitability for the job. There is a case for organising within the Civil Service courses for applicants for internal competitions, particularly in the lower grades, which are designed to help them to cope with the stress of interviews so that they will present themselves in the best possible light.

37.The Joint Committee wholeheartedly supports Ms Mahon’s recommendation 14 that the grade of Clerical Assistant be investigated in depth. The Joint Committee feels that proposed improvements in and restructuring of the grade are overdue. The Joint Committee hopes that progress to this end will be made in discussions which are taking place between management and trade unions in the Civil Service in the context of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.

38.The availability of adequate childcare facilities for working mothers is crucial in determining whether they remain at work or withdraw from the labour market. In the Civil Service childcare is seen as a personal problem but the reality is that only women with satisfactory childcare arrangements can concentrate on their careers.

The Joint Committee believes that the question of providing childcare facilities for working mothers in the Civil Service must be seriously addressed by management without delay. The Joint Committee recommends that State supported childcare facilities be provided which could be used by working mothers in all Departments on payment of a reasonable fee.

In this regard the question of granting parental leave should be examined to permit a parent to look after sick children.

39.As mentioned in paragraph 22 the present tax system is most unsatisfactory. Tax allowances should be equally distributed between working spouses. The Joint Committee recommends moveover, that tax free allowances should be introduced in respect of all dependent children and that the cost of childcare should be tax deductible.

40.The Joint Committee recommends that procedures for allowing flexi-time, part-time work, career breaks and job sharing should be examined and improved to ensure that no woman, who wishes to do so, is deprived of the opportunity to devote more time to her domestic responsibilities.

41.The Joint Committee recommends that any civil servant who has a gender based grievance in relation to any matter covered by this report should be able to refer his/her case for impartial examination by the Equality Section of the Department of Finance. This Section should examine each case and issue a report which should be acted on by the appropriate personnel section. However, this procedure should not prevent a complainant from continuing to have a right of access to the Labour Court.

42.The Joint Committee would like to emphasise that it fully supports all 22 recommendations made at the conclusion of Ms Mahon’s study.

43.Acknowledgments

The Joint Committee wishes to thank Ms Evelyn Mahon, Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Limerick, for the considerable time and effort she has devoted to the case study published in the appendix to this report. The Joint Committee also express their appreciation of the capable assistance given by their Clerk, Mr Seamus Killeen and by Ms Helen Coyne in preparing this report.

Approved by the Joint Committee on 10 July 1991.

Monica Barnes, TD

Chairwoman

12 July 1991

¹Equality of Opportunity in the Civil Service, 1989 - Third Annual Report on the Implementation of the Equal Opportunity Policy and Guidelines for the Civil Service, par 2.2 - Table 2)

²ibid Table 3.

³ibid - Table 9