Ott Toomet

The present article analyses the correlation of proficiency in Estonian and the unemployment and incomes of Russian-speakers from the perspective of gender. The article is based on the data of the Estonian labour force surveys from 2000-2010. The most important characteristics of the analysis are status on the labour market (only employed and unemployed will be studied), pay in the principal job, ethnicity and proficiency in Estonian (the last two are based on the self-evaluation of the respondents). The analysis touches on the correlation between proficiency in Estonian and proficiency in English. 

The results show that non-Estonian women who are proficient in Estonian have about 8-10% higher salaries than women who speak no Estonian. There is practically no difference in the case of men. Proficiency in English results in 10-15% higher pay among women, 25% higher pay among men. The results are quite different in the case of unemployment. Both among men and women proficiency in Estonian correlates with a lower likelihood of unemployment: the likelihood that non-Estonians proficient in Estonian are unemployed is 4% lower than people without Estonian skills. There is no significant correlation between proficiency in English and unemployment. 

The results suggest that English plays an important role in higher-paid positions, while Estonian is relevant in positions that are most likely to be vulnerable to unemployment. The Integration Monitoring from 2008 demonstrated that men are more likely to work in positions where Estonian is not needed and where some other language is used to communicate with one’s colleagues. This could be one of the explanations to why there is no correlation between proficiency in Estonian and pay among men. 

Andu Rämmer

The article analyses gender differences in the work values of two educational cohorts. A longitudinal research project studied the value judgments of the high school graduates from 1966 until the year 1991 and the high school graduates from 1983 until the year 2004. The analysis proceeds from a three-part structure of work values based on different motivating outcomes or the expected benefits derived from work introduced Rosenberg. 

Self-expression oriented values refer to the opportunities for self-expression that accompany the accomplishment of one’s work tasks. In the longitudinal study of the educational cohort from 1983 people with higher education ranked these values higher. The post-Soviet period saw a significant increase in the self-expression oriented values among women. 

Heterogeneous instrumental values refer to the benefits derived from work. They are closely associated with masculinity and men rank them higher. Men’s higher rankings of professional career and social position depended on both education and social factors. Similar evaluations of the recognition of friends and acquaintances did not depend on the level of education but on the social atmosphere. Women, regardless of age, education of social order valued the cleanness and physical ease of work more than men. 

Social values refer to benefits oriented towards other people and relationships. Regardless of education, age or social order, women valued them more than men. The gendered differences were the greatest in connection with the value of altruism among the respondents with higher education. 

The comparisons of educational cohorts demonstrated that education and social changes were more important factors in determining values than age. 

Ave Roots

Formal education received at educational institutions cannot provide all necessary knowledge and skills for a person’s whole professional career and maintaining one’s professional position, especially in the higher-ranking professions of managers and professionals. Since education plays the key role in gaining such positions, it is vital to maintain state-of-the-art level of knowledge and skills in one’s field. Thus it is necessary to study the impact of self-improvement and its modes on professional career in the higher positions. 

According to the expectation states theory gender has status value in a professional team. Thus men in higher positions who have a higher status than women are expected to contribute more and thus they are given more opportunities for proving themselves. Education and professional in-service training have a status-effect alongside knowledge of the field, derived from the opportunity to use signals (e.g., a diploma) to demonstrate having a competence and thus also a higher status. 

Men in the higher professional positions in the labour market benefit the most from their higher gender-based status, which is compounded by the signals derived from formal self-improvement and the competences derived from such self-improvement. The status gives men an advantage in achieving higher management positions. 

In order to gain higher positions in the labour market women have to engage in multi-faceted self-improvement, both formally and informally. The combination of competence and signals gives women the best opportunities to compete for leadership positions with men with any kind of in-service training. The signal given to the employer and colleagues about one’s competences is more important for women than for men and thus it is very important for women to participate in formal in-service training, which will provide a certificate and a mention in one’s CV, thus enabling one to transmit the signal. 

Ave Roots

Entering the labour force is a process affected by factors associated with the individual as well as the opportunities available on the labour market. The present article studies those entering the labour force in the conditions of economic boom and recession. The article proceeds from an understanding of the life course in which entering the labour force is not a solitary event, but a collection of events which signals not only taking up full- or part-time employment but also the end of one’s educational career, being unemployed or domestic and then moving out of those conditions. 

The article demonstrates that the economic cycle has the most predominant effect on entering the labour force. It determines the opportunities available on the labour market and the ease of finding full-time employment. In the period of economic growth the transition from school to work was quite smooth and began long before the actual end of a school year. The recession saw a significant increase in the number of people who opted to stay at home, the unemployed and part-time workers. The analysis showed that the economic cycle also influenced incomes for approximately a year after entry into the labour force. Those who enter the labour force right after school are in a relatively good position a year after entering the labour force during an economic boom, but during a recession their incomes are lower than those of all other groups who have been on the labour market for a longer period. The study also showed that the compounded impact of the economic cycle and gender influences the correlations between education and income. During a recession the greatest losers among men are men with higher education and the greatest winners among women with higher education. 

Kairi Kasearu

The article attempts to analyse to what extent attitudes towards gender-stereotyped behaviour or, in other words, gender ideology, vary in Estonian society. In striving towards gender equality we need to consider not only people’s behaviour and legal regulations directing their activities, but also the characteristics of gender ideology and the extent to which it varies. Thee analysis of the European Social Survey results from 2008 demonstrates that gender ideology varies between women and men, but also in terms of ethnicity and age. Men and women of active working age were more supportive of men’s and women’s equal opportunities on the labour market than younger people only entering the labour market or older people leaving the labour market. The gap in the attitudes of young men and women can partly be explained by structural conditions or greater competition for work places, which may encourage gender-stereotyped thinking. For young people the development of an adult identity is strongly associated with employment and independent income. Thus, young men express gender-stereotyped values in which they see breadwinner and family support roles as central to male identity. 

Priit Jeenas

Although Western societies have made considerable efforts to eliminate gender inequality, an unexplained wage gap between men and women still persists in Estonia, among other countries. One factor contributing to this disparity may be men’s and women’s unequal access to labour market information and different opportunities to apply for jobs, which also derive from social networks. 

The main objective of this paper is to assess the propensity of men and women in Estonia to use social networks when finding a job and the possible benefits of doing so. This was done using regression analysis on the Estonian Labour Force Survey data for the years 2000 to 2010. The results show that men living in Estonia are more likely to have found a job through social networks than women. However, neither male nor female job seekers who successfully received help from relatives, friends or acquaintances earned statistically significantly higher or lower wages than the others. The existence of any material advantage or disadvantage from social networking was therefore not proved. Nevertheless, the greater propensity of men to find jobs using social networks may indicate the greater utility of their social resources in the labour market when compared to women. 

Job search and application with the help of friends and acquaintances may offer significant savings in time and resources, and also provide more extensive information on job offers, a higher probability of being successful and a better fit between the worker and the post. Important factors which may hinder women’s social resources from becoming as useful include sexual segregation in the networks and organizations and also childbearing and rearing as a significant period in the lives of parents. The latter, which undoubtedly places a greater burden on women, may reduce their social capital even more. 

Mare Ainsaar

The article analyses the factors affecting women’s and men’s retirement decisions and satisfaction with life among working and non- working 60-69-year-olds in seven European countries with different labour markets and pension systems – Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany. The primary aim is to find out whether continuing to work affects women’s and men’s satisfaction with life. The data was derived from the integrated database of the 2004, 2006, 2008- 2009 data collection rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS). 

The results demonstrate that both universal and gender-specific factors affect retirement decisions. Universal factors affecting the time of retirement include age and health. Economic wellbeing and education are associated with the decision to continue working in advanced years, but there are more country- and gender-specific differences in this respect. Working is usually accompanied by a more positive attitude towards economic wellbeing, especially among men, and the longer a person’s educational career, the more likely they are to continue to work at 60-69. Both male and female workers have a higher need for success and consider a safe environment less important. However, there are differences in the pro le of the working senior by country, which derive from the specificity of the labour markets of the countries and the nature of men’s and women’s work. 

In all countries seniors’ satisfaction with life was affected by health, income, the range of social contacts and trust in other people. The analyses of work and satisfaction with life among 60-69-year-olds demonstrated that work itself did not make seniors more or less satisfied with life. e only exception was Denmark, where working seniors were less satisfied with life. The preliminary results for Estonia and Finland that showed a higher level of satisfaction with life among working seniors were actually affected by working seniors’ better health and incomes. In some countries the wellbeing of seniors was also affected by a lack of a perception of discrimination, gender and the partner’s involvement in the labour market. 

The results of the analysis allow us to conclude that the increase in the age of retirement and the norms of people’s health and working age could be a relatively painless process, especially in view of the general changed nature of work. The results demonstrate the great in influence of health on the wish to continue to work as a senior. If we could increase the number of years lived healthy, we can hope that people’s motivation to work does not decrease with age. However, age was an important independent factor influencing the decision to continue to work. This might be explained by the social norms concerning the age of workers. With the increase in working age, these norms should change as well. 

Age Viira

The present article is dedicated to the strategies of balancing family and paid work in as a result of the mobility of one partner. How is work-life balance created in families where the father seeks employment abroad while the family – children and partner – remain in Estonia? The empirical section of the paper focuses on the women who remain in Estonia to care for the children and the household. 

The analysis showed that the frequent absence of one partner as a result of labour mobility changed the life of the whole family. For the women who take care of the household and family work-life balance is tied to the periods of presence and absence of the commuting partner: in the absence of the commuting partner the woman as if becomes a part-time single parent who has to complete both male and female tasks. For women employed outside the home the balancing of paid work and domestic sphere is a major challenge in terms of time and energy allocation. 

The presence of the commuting partner is defined as a special period, quality time, dedicated to children and the relationship. The time is used to make up for the family celebrations cancelled because of the partner’s absence or household tasks postponed until the return of the partner. Although there were frequent problems with the absence of the partner, the families studied used different interpretive and behavioural strategies to cope with the frequent absence. The idea of the temporary nature of this way of life helped the women cope with the negative aspects of the di cult work-life balance deriving from the commuting of the partner. 

Kadri Soo, Dagmar Kutsar

The aim of the present article is to determine the prevalent types of masculinity among 16-19 year old Estonian young men and their correlation to parenting styles, gender role satisfaction and attitudes and practices related to sexual behaviour. The empirical data is derived from the questionnaire about sexual behaviours and attitudes administered in 2003 among Estonian school students. Proceeding from Sandra Bem’s abbreviated BSRI (Bem Sex Role Inventory) questionnaire and using cluster analysis we defined three types of masculinity the correlations of which with parenting styles, attitudes and behaviours were studied with the help of regression analysis. Boys who belonged to the con dent-caring type expressed features similar to new or positive masculinity. They believed themselves to possess both traditional masculine and feminine values, were satisfied with their gender role, preferred expressive rather than instrumental attitudes in sexual relations- hips and were not violent. Boys of the aggressive-uncaring type expressed such characteristics of dominating masculinity as power and heteronormativity. They were prone to risk, aggressive, lacked empathy, preferred double standards in sexuality and considered themselves likely to perpetrate sexual violence. Boys with an indistinct type of masculinity who scored low on both traditional femininity and masculinity were characterized by less sexual experience than the other types and lesser satisfaction with their gender role. The analysis showed the effect of parenting styles on the masculine self-image of young men. 

Katri Lamesoo

Although sexual harassment has been studied in the West for over 30 years, there are only a few studies from Estonia – some broad surveys that have included questions about sexual harassment and some qualitative studies. The aim of the present article is to open the issues related to the study of sexual harassment, give an overview of the development of the research field and place the knowledge into the Estonian context. The critical survey of the development of the study of sexual harassment, its central theories, different approaches, research problems and most important research results can be seen as an input into the study of sexual harassment in Estonia. 

The author believes that research in Estonia has to proceed from the paradox that Western scholars have faced for a while: how do we study harassment in a multilayered fashion, with attention to gendered power structures at a social and institutional level, without treating men and women as homogeneous groups. The author believes that there are two areas that need to be investigated in Estonia – Estonian men’s understanding of harassment from a masculinity studies perspective and the extent to which sexual harassment may be represented as a pseudo-problem by denying its existence. The two aspects should be approached with ethnographic methods that yield deeper understanding about the interpretation of harassment and this in turn can be used for planning a broad survey.