Women in the Labour Market and the Challenge for Poland

Abstract

The report "Poland 2030 - Development Challenges" shows that improving the situation of women in the labour market is a key challenge, as doing so will allow Poland to ride the fast track of modernisation. A number of problems women have on the labour market are caused by the traditional perception of woman as mother and wife. The article first presents the disparities between men and women in employment during the period of Polish accession to the European Union. Furthermore, the main stereotypes of Polish women: Polish Mother, businesswoman and the ideal woman, are presented as the cause of the phenomenon called occupational segregation, "the glass ceiling", "the sticky floor", the predominance of unemployed women over men, and unequal treatment in the recruitment process. The key finding of this article is that companies must combat the stereotypical grouping of men and women as two categories of workers with different predispositions. To achieve this goal it is important to promote the implementation of equal employment opportunity policies in Polish companies.