Women's Day: Belgium still faces a major gap between employed women and men with children

In 2021, Belgium still recorded a large difference between the employment rate of women and men with children, according to data released by the Belgian statistical office (Statbel) this Tuesday, March 7, on the occasion of Women's Day tomorrow. In 2021, the employment rate for women aged between 25 and 49 with children aged up to 16 was 77.8 per cent, against 84.9 per cent for the opposite sex.

If a woman has a child in Belgium, the employment rate drops to 79.2 per cent. The situation is the opposite for men with a child: 90 per cent of them are working.

With two children, the employment rate for men and women rises to 93.2 and 80.8 per cent, respectively. For women, this picture changes like this when they have three or more children: 59.6 per cent work, while men in the same situation are 87%.

In 1986, the difference between male and female workers with children was even greater, at 37 percentage points, notes Statbel.

Part-time

The numbers also show that more women work part-time if they have more children, while this has little effect on men. In 2021, 35.3 per cent of women aged 25-49 worked part-time, compared to 7.5 per cent of men. Half of working women with three or more children work part-time, compared to 8.3 per cent of men.

Among employees without children, a few more women work: 79.5 per cent against 79.1 per cent of men aged 25 to 49 years.

(VIV)

_{Models present creations from Chanel Womenswear Fall-Winter 2023-2024 on March 7, 2023. ©BELGA PHOTO (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)}