Gender inequalities in the school-to-work transition in Europe

The transition from school to work is a crucial phase in the lives of young people that has lasting effects on their entire life courses. In recent years, labour market uncertainty and comparatively high unemployment rates have been major challenges for young people leaving the educational system. Another recent trend has been the increase in women’s educational attainment, with recent female labour market entrants being at parity or even exceeding those of their male counterparts in Europe. Our findings reveal that there is substantial variation in the speed of entering a first job across countries. In Southern and Eastern European countries, the speed of transition is substantially slower. Men and women have a similar speed of transition to their first job in the first few months after leaving education, but later on women appear to be disadvantaged. We find that higher education and workplace-based vocational training also increase the speed of transition, however men benefit more strongly than women from these factors. A stricter employment protection legislation results in a slower transition to the first job. This short statistical report is part of a series of reports on gender equality in the work force and reconciliation of work, family and private life. These reports have been commissioned by the Justice Directorate General of the European Commission. The study was jointly undertaken by RAND Europe and the University of Groningen. These reports should be of interest to policy makers and academics with an interest in improving gender equality in the work force and improving the compatibility of having a career in combination with a family and private life.