Reducing Gender Segregation could Significantly Address Skills Shortages

Reducing gender segregation in Ireland will not only unlock a larger potential supply of skills to meet demand in certain occupations but may also assist in reducing gender pay gaps and increasing work-life balance for both genders. That’s according to SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority who has launched their Quarterly Skills Bulletin on occupational gender segregation.

Gender-based occupational segregation means that there is an unequal distribution of males and females across certain job roles. For example, the report found that in Ireland 90% of jobs in agriculture and construction sectors were male-dominated, and 83% of jobs in health & social work were female-dominated.

The report, compiled by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SMLRU) in SOLAS, uses the latest data (Quarter 4 2023) from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey to explore occupations where gender segregation is occurring and outlines some of their key characteristics.

Key Findings from the Report:

• One of the potential barriers for women entering or remaining in male-dominated occupations may be the longer average hours worked in these roles.
  • Men working in male-dominated occupations accounted for almost half of all employees working 40 or more hours (aged 25-54 years)
• For men in male-dominated occupations, being the main earner in the family may result in an increased burden to work longer hours.
  • Men in a couple working in male-dominated occupations have the lowest share with a partner working full-time (compared to both women and other men in female-dominated and mixed gender occupations)
• Women with children work fewer average hours than men, particularly in the case of those in female-dominated occupations.
  • For men, average hours increased with increasing number of children and for those with younger children.

Speaking about the report Joan McNaboe, Research Manager of the SLMRU said:

“The majority of skills shortages identified in last year’s SOLAS National Skills Bulletin 2023 occurred in occupations which are male dominated. If we continue to access only half of the labour supply pool to meet demand in key skills areas, it will make bridging the skills gap incredibly difficult.”

“The report also found that there are potential barriers for women entering or remaining in male-dominated occupations, including working longer hours, and that is something that we will also need to address if we want to reduce gender segregation. Working 40 hours or more was a particular feature for male-dominated occupations such as ICT professionals, food preparation trades (e.g. chefs), drivers, engineers, protective services (e.g. gardaí) and construction trades.”

We hope that this report will provide valuable insights for those examining ways to reduce gender segregation in the Irish labour market to address some of the skills shortages.”

Also commenting on the report, Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS said:

“Further Education and Training (FET) is uniquely placed to respond to the critical skills needs in Ireland given its focus on flexible, tailored, industry-relevant provision. There is an immediate requirement to grow participation in lifelong learning in Ireland to mirror that of our peers in high growth, high innovation, developed open economies.”

“FET will play an important part in the development of future skills needs that will be essential to maintain competitiveness, particularly in the context of the rapidly changing world of work. It is now widely accepted that there is a need for everyone to upskill and reskill throughout their careers.”

“In addition to this, there are also other factors to take into consideration as we focus on addressing the skills gaps in our economy. This vital data produced from our Skills and Labour Market Research Unit provides relevant labour market information and highlights the importance of gaining further insights into patterns associated with gender segregated occupations. This will help to inform policy making at national and regional level, and identify potential solutions required to reduce the dependence on one gender in meeting skills needs.”

Read the full report here: Summer Skills Bulletin 2024 (solas.ie)