Thursday 5 November

Programme '24orMore: International conference on increasing female labour participation'

Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November 2009, Pakhuis (Warehouse) De Zwijger, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Thursday 5 November: 'Female labour participation: The latest insights'

The theme of this conference's first day will be the exchange of knowledge and information; the second day will be centred on the actual steps which can be undertaken to increase female labour participation. Continually linking scientific and scholarly research with practice.

9.00 - 9.30 am: Reception and registration

9.30 - 9.40 am: Word of welcome by Pia Dijkstra, chairman of Taskforce PartTimePlus

9.40 - 10.00 am: Opening the conference
Jetta Klijnsma, State secretary to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment
Jetta Klijnsma elaborates on the labour participation policy and the CEO-dinner that has taken place on the eve of the conference, on November 4.

10.00 - 10.40 am: Keynote speaker Ellen Galinsky, chairman of the 'Families and Work Institute'
Coreference Claartje Vinkenburg, associate professor of Organizational Behavior & Development at the ´Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam´
Ellen Galinsky, chairman and co-founder of the 'Families and Work Institute', will give a presentation on the combination of work and family life, based on the situation in the United States. In her speech Galinsky shows how reality is often surprisingly different from what we believe it to be. (download speech)
Vinkenburg explains the Dutch myths and facts on work life issues and ambition of both men and women. (download speech)

10.40 - 11.00 am: Introduction 1st parallel sessions by the moderators
The five moderators present the subject matter and form of the respective sessions, inspiring you to choose theirs.

11.00 - 11.30 am: Coffee break

Please get your entrance ticket for the parallel sessions at hte registration desk on the ground floor. First come, first served!

11.30 am - 01.00 pm: 1st parallel sessions
Labour supply behaviour and preferences: What lessons can be learned from other countries and cultures?
Moderator: Saskia Keuzenkamp

This session starts with a short description of the Dutch situation, based on needs research, the report ´Verdeelde Tijd´ (´Time in Parts´) and relevant EU-research, by Wil Portegijs of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). This session will provide you with the facts and figures about labour participation of men and women in different countries, as well as with an insight into the strategies used by these countries to enhance labour participation. What is fact or fiction in countries such as Ukraine, Great Britain and Spain in 2009?

Next, information about labour participation and the strategies of men and women in various countries is presented and discussed by a panel and with the audience. The discussion will revolve around the following research:

- 'Female labour market participation and working time arrangements of company: a cross-European multi-level study', by Heejung Chung.
- 'Flexible working time arrangements and gender equality', by Chantal Remery.
- ´Employees' working hour preferences in eight EU member states', by Kea Tijdens.
- 'Labour supply behaviour of men and women from the Australian panel', by Darcy Fitzpatrick.
- 'Part-time work: following preferences or constraints on labour supply?', by Ronald Dekker.
- 'From small to larger part-time jobs: Views from employers and employees', by Anneke van Doorne-Huiskes.
- 'Benefit female labour participation in the Service sector: Indian experience in the Reform area', by Niti Metha.

The state of the economy & making a career
Moderator: Bas van 't Wout

This session provides insight into the impact of an economic boom or a recession on the behaviour of working population. Participants discuss economic policy, management in organisations, and the relation between age, stage, and labour participation. The format of the session is that of the 'Lagerhuis' ('House of Commons'), a debating show that run successfully for years on Dutch television. A 'Lagerhuisdebat' typically has few rules, and its structure is simple. Anybody can ask permission to speak by standing up. Experience shows that this way debates quickly get to the heart of the matter. Two spoken columns provide the introduction, after which participants enter into the debate. The following research is at the basis of this lively discussion:

- 'Importance of organisational support for career motivation', by Berber Pas.
- 'Male and female labour force participation: The role of dynamic adjustments to changes in labour demand, government policies and autonomous trends', by Maarten Vendrik.

The impact of education & policy on female labour participation
Moderator: Ellen Galinsky

During this session moderated by Ellen Galinsky, participants discuss the impact of labour market policy and education on labour participation. The central questions are: How does the behaviour of the highly educated on the labour market differ from that of the less educated? What causes these differences, and how does it affect the enhancement of male and female labour participation? With women's educational levels rising, does this increase their labour participation? Is dominant sociocultural thinking about the roles of men and women hampering the increase of female labour participation?

Central to the discussion are isthe following research:
- 'Impact of education on female labour market participation', by Arjan Lejour.
- 'Women labour force participation, education and non-economic factors: The case of NEMA countries', by Silvia Muzi.
- 'Work-family policy leaders or followers in influencing employee behaviour', by Arianne Hegewisch.

Child care subsidies revisited
Moderator: Linda Rigter

When women decide to work less, they do not necessarily spend the extra time caring for their kids. An interesting observation. Does this make childcare a subject of lesser importance when discussing the increase of female labour participation? Or does observing the international sociocultural evaluation and accommodation of childcare maintain its prominent position? What part role should employers have:play: should they support childcare materially or immaterially? The authors of the papers will answer these questions and enter into the discussion with the audience. This subject is discussed in referral to the following research:

- 'Childcare subsidies revisited', by Egbert Jongen.
- 'How work affects care', by Maroesjka Versantvoort.

Defining ambition and the different paths of career in life
Moderators: Désirée van Gorp and Martijn de Wildt

In this session, modelled on the popular Dutch tv-show 'Pauw & Witteman', the ambitions of men and women are discussed, and most importantly the question of what impact those ambitions have on the work-life balance. The session starts with a short presentation of the research on ambition ´Ambitie kent geen tijd: onderzoek naar de relaties tussen ambities, deeltijdwerk en gender´ by Research voor Beleid (Research for Policy) and Radboud university, after which Claartje Vinkenburg will present 'Three perspectives on mothers' career ambition: Me, my part time job and my boss.' This is followed by an authors' debate, to effectively map both differences and common ground in research results: Do the ambitions of men and women still vary at all in 2009? And if so, do these differences show in the behaviour of men and women on the labour market? In answering these questions, the life course theory plays an emphatic part. This interesting and undoubtedly spirited debate is based on the following research:

- 'Untraditional couples in a neo-traditional setting', by Ragni Hege Kitterød.
- 'Three perspectives on mothers' career ambition, me, my part-time job and my boss', by Claartje Vinkenburg.
- 'What makes women satisfied with full time work?', by Marit Rønsen.
- ´Leave and labour market participation´, by Jan Dirk Vlasblom.
- ´Ambitie kent geen tijd: onderzoek naar de relaties tussen ambities, deeltijdwerk en gender´, by Yvonne Benschop, Mirjam Engelen en Inge Bleijenbergh.

01.00 - 02.00 pm: Lunch

02.00 - 02.35 pm: Keynote speaker Graciela Chichilnisky, advisor to the World Bank in the 'International Perspective on Gender Gap'-project

Graciela Chichilnisky will give a speech about the relation between family and labour market, addressing dominant sociocultural and political thinking about male and female roles in the home, and its consequences for their positions on the labour market. She observes a gap between the expectations of and the opportunities for women on the labour market. What exactly constitutes this gap, you will hear in this afternoon's keynote speech. (download speech)

02.35 - 02.45 pm: Introduction 2nd parallel sessions and feedback on morning sessions by today's chairman Pia Dijkstra.

02.45 - 04.00 pm: 2nd parallel sessions

Looking into the mirror
Moderator: Saskia Keuzenkamp

This session focuses on the question: What do employees and employers have to do to optimalise their (working)hours? What behavioral changes are required and how do we make this clear to employers? This session is a follow-up of the morning session 'Labour supply behavior and preferences: what lessons can be learned from other countries & cultures?' , emphasizing the role and responsibility of the employers. The following papers will be presented:

- 'Top-managers and the changing relation between work and private life', by Laura den Dulk.
- 'Research on the need of expanding working hours' ('Behoefteonderzoek uitbreiding arbeidsduur'), by Carlien Hillebrink.

HR-instruments: From ambition to practice

In two rooms a number of specific HR-instruments are presented, e.g. flexible working arrangements and labour participation policy, instruments that closely follow the ambitions of both men and women in various life stages. The instruments are illustrated by Dutch good practices. Four different companies will demonstrate their tools.

What is the message?
Moderator: Pia Dijkstra

This session focuses on the role of the media in the discussion on labour participation. What images of male and female roles are presented by the media? What message is sent by men and women? Three guest speakers show various examples from books, newspapers and tv-programmes, and are interviewed by Pia Dijkstra, the ultimate question being, 'What's the next step?'

04.30 - 05.00 pm: End Closure of the day, by Pia Dijkstra

05.15 - 07.30 pm: Walking dinner

07.30 - 08.00 pm: Start evening programme; WOMEN Inc.