Measuring the Gender Equality Impact of PES Measures

The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) has a long tradition of understanding gender equality as an integral part of its labor market policy and of setting corresponding targets in this regard. Thus, the AMS followst he fundamental objective of promoting equality between women and men on the labor market and of contributing to this through appropriate measures and services. These objectives must be seen in the context of “gender-specific imbalances” on the labor market: due to existing unequal access to employment, lower incomes or the unequal distribution of care work, an active labor market policy is required that also addresses these imbalances and aims to reduce them as well.

The present study assessed whether the measures currently implemented by the AMS contribute to the gender equality goals. Specifically, the study examined a selection of AMS measures from the areas of (1) subsidised employment, (2) qualification, and (3) support (career guidance, counseling and support services), by including all women and men that participated in these measures in 2018.

This was a development project that measures the effectiveness of AMS measures in promoting gender equality for women and men, by using gender equality indicators that were developed within the framework of the study. These indicators are aligned with the AMS gender equality goals and relate to the impact dimensions (1) employment, (2) unemployment, (3) income and (4) change of sector.