Page 8 - IDEA Studie 11 Rozdily vydelku ve vztahu k materstvi

 The differences in median monthly wages may be partially explained by the
differences in hours worked. On average, men without children work 2 hours
longer a week than childless women. After a child is born, men usually increase
their working hours, working an average 44.4 hours a week when the children are
small, whereas women with small children work an average 38 hours a week. This
difference narrows down as the youngest child in the family grows, and the
difference in working hours for employees with adult children is around 2.5 hours.

 Parenthood and childcare also affects the women’s participation in the labor
market, i.e. how economically active they are. The labor market participation of
childless women aged 25–49 is extremely high in the Czech Republic–
approximately 90 per cent. After a child is born, the women’s participation drops
rapidly to just under 20 per cent. The sharp drop in the participation of women
with children aged 0–2 is not particularly surprising, considering the long and
relatively generous maternity / parental leave (ML/PL) and the fact that childcare
institutions for children under the age of 3 are not readily available for Czech
women. Such a situation makes it difficult for mothers to effectively combine
motherhood and career.

 Results of analyses using individual SILC data have revealed a statistically
significant negative association between career interruption caused by long
parental leave, and the person’s subsequent wages. Extending ML/DL by one year,
ceteris paribus, lowers wages by 1.1 per cent.

 The gender wage gap is also partially caused by sorting of women and men into
various professions. According to our analyses, the sorting of women into lower-
paid positions accounts for about 13 per cent of the total wage gap between male
and female employees aged 20–49.

 Current legislation grants Czech parents one of the longest and most generous
maternity / parental leaves in the world. Such a system, combined with the lack of
publically financed childcare for children under the age of 3 and the employers’
low rate of flexible working schemes’ provisions, encourages women to stay home
with children as long as possible, and it makes it difficult for mothers to combine
motherhood and career. This might be also one of the explanation of the very low
fertility rate in the Czech Republic, which is a long-term problem.

 As women are an important source of qualified labor force, their participation in
the Czech labor market is strategically very important and also in terms of
economic benefits (e.g. in terms of generating GDP). The time women spend
outside the labor force due to their motherhood responsibilities therefore has a
significant impact not only on their well-being, but also on the entire Czech
economy and its performance.

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