Women's participation in the Irish workforce was 61 per cent in second quarter of 2023 , which is low by international standards. Photograph: iStock
The traditional explanation centres on the higher share of adults in jobless households here but this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Greece, Italy, France and Belgium all have higher shares of adults in jobless households but lower market income inequality. The Republic does, however, have a relatively high rate of low work intensity households .
According to the latest Labour Force Survey, participation by women in the Irish workforce was 61 per cent in second quarter of 2023 . This is low by international standards even though it is an improvement on pre-pandemic times. Before 2020, the participation rate for women was 58 per cent. The lack of affordable childcare is to blame, says the ESRI’s Claire Keane. For women with low rates of education, the prospect of returning to the workforce, perhaps to take a minimum wage job, with the high cost of childcare “just doesn’t make sense”, she says.