Abstract: Gender inequalities are a multidimensional phenomenon that, in all European countries and, specifically in Portugal, penalize women in several spheres of life. Although the growing feminization of the workforce is an important process of promoting equal status between men and women, empowering them from a financial point of view and guaranteeing them a set of rights associated with employment, the labour market (re)produces gender inequalities regarding resources and opportunities. One of the materializations of inequalities of opportunity and one of the factors that contribute to pay inequalities between men and women are the “glass ceilings”, that is, the invisible barriers that condition women's access to management positions. This phenomenon is transversal to European countries (with varying incidences) and affects the full development of women's skills and talent, which has negative consequences in terms of their well-being and at an economic level.

This study's general objective is to analyze gender inequalities in access to management positions and pay inequality between women and man that hold these occupations, but also to determine the social, economic and institutional factors that frame these phenomena. To this end, a multiscale analysis will be developed, combining quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, through which it will be possible to answer the following questions: 

1) How does gender inequality of access to management positions and pay inequality between women and man that have that occupational profile varies in Europe? What social, economic and institutional factors explain inequality profiles in the European context? And what profile does Portugal assume regarding these analytical dimensions?

2) In relation to the Portuguese reality alone, how has inequality in access to management positions between women and men evolved in recent decades? What is the age, educational and professional experience profile of women and men who hold management positions and in what type of firms do they work? And to what extent is there horizontal and vertical gender segmentation in management positions?

3) How has pay inequality between men and women holding management positions evolved in Portugal? What is the relationship between horizontal and vertical segmentation and pay inequalities between women and men? And to what extent is the size, sectoral, financial and territorial profile of firms a factor that impacts the level of wage inequality between women and men holding management positions?

4) What attitudes and social representations do women who work as managers in firms located in Portugal have regarding the issue of gender (in)equality? What types/forms of discrimination and obstacles have they felt throughout their professional and life trajectories? What the types/forms of discrimination they consider to exist in access to management positions? How do they balance professional and personal life? And how they evaluate public policies aimed at reducing gender inequalities in the labour market? 

5) What public and firm-level policies can be implemented to reduce inequalities in access to management positions and regarding the pay inequality between women and men who have these occupations?

The comparative analysis between European countries aims to define profiles of (in)equality between women and men in access to management positions and regarding their remuneration, but also to determine the relationship between these (in)egalitarian profiles and the economic and institutional characteristics of European countries. This analytical perspective will allow to characterize the profile of Portugal regarding these gender inequalities in a broader European context, framing the development of a more refined and in-depth analysis of the Portuguese reality. The European comparison will be based on the analysis of microdata from the Structure of Earning Survey (SES). Quadros de Pessoal (QP), an administrative source that gathers data about the universe of workers, firms and stablishments of the private sector in Portugal, will be used to develop a more refined analysis focused only in the Portuguese labour market.

The statistical information obtained through the analysis of QP microdata will allow to define a qualitative sample of women holding management positions to be interviewed, taking as a reference their socio-professional profile, as well as the profile of the firm where they work. One of the dimensions to be explored in the interviews concerns reflection on public policies aimed at reducing gender inequalities in the labour market. Social representations, attitudes and policy proposals of the interviewees will be taken into consideration when proposing public and firm-level policies aimed at tackling gender inequalities. Statistical findings will be made available in DataLABOR.

Final beneficiaries/target population: Organizations, workers and society in general.

Timetable: February 2025 - February 2026