The profile of the female candidate on the labor market is characterized by caution, as data from the online recruitment platform BestJobs shows, according to which women apply for jobs where the degree of match is more than 70%, compared to men who take risks more easily. After the salary, the extra-salary benefits package is considered the most important criterion in the job advertisement in the eyes of the candidates, who mainly look for job stability. Other benefits they look for in a new job are flexibility or a high degree of understanding from the employer, but also the proximity of the headquarters to their home.
Almost 54% of BestJobs candidates are women. However, the employment rate is still higher among male candidates both at the national level and at the level of the Member States of the European Union. In Romania, the share of women in the total number of people employed on the labor market is 46.4%, according to the data of the National Employment Agency. Moreover, in December 2022, the unemployment rate for adults (25-74 years old) was estimated at 4.4% (4.1% for women and 4.6% for men), according to INS data.
A greater number of women work in fields or departments where interpersonal skills, empathy and caring for others are essential, such as the medical field (nurse positions, doctors, pharmacists), Human Resources and Education (especially teaching jobs and positions in primary education), BestJobs data shows.
In the 2021-2022 school year, the role of teacher in pre-university education was held by 82.4% women, just as 90% of the medical assistants with higher education in the period 2010-2021 also came from among the female population, after as shown by the data of the National Institute of Statistics.
Other areas for which women mainly apply are Marketing & Communication, Customer Support or other administrative positions, and most candidates on the platform also have experience in areas such as Sales, Production/Logistics, Management, Administrative, Transport, Tourism and Financial/Accounting.
Fields that are usually assigned to men, such as IT, are also becoming increasingly interesting for women. According to Eurostat, Romania is among the leading countries in terms of the percentage of women among IT professionals, ranking third in the EU, with 26.2% of female IT&C specialists.
“At the European level, there is a complex debate about the division of professional fields according to gender. As we also see on BestJobs, women have a natural tendency to choose stable, flexible and close to home or remote jobs, because this package allows them to take care of the domestic or parental responsibilities for which they feel responsible to a greater extent . In contrast, men can more easily afford to spend overtime at the office and fight for promotion, even at the cost of less involvement in household activities or with children. These patterns of behavior lead to occupational segregation, and even though there are currently no limits to what a woman can achieve professionally, the struggle for career advancement is still unequal. To all these scenarios, innate abilities are added that prepare women more for jobs in education, healthcare or communication, and men for technical and more competitive fields”, says Ana Vișian, BestJobs Marketing Manager.
Last but not least, growth is steady in terms of gender equality in leadership positions. More precisely, in 2012, the proportion of women holding management roles in companies listed on the stock exchange was 30.5%, according to data from the European Institute for Gender Equality, and in 2021, Romania occupies a leading place in the European Union in terms of female presence in executive positions (34%). However, women still face inequalities in society, generated by maternity leave and the domestic responsibilities that most often end up in their care. For all the #WomenJobs they have in addition to their day jobs, BestJobs has launched a manifesto applauding all women for their everyday roles, both official and unofficial.
Women apply more for higher education
At the level of pre-university education, the share is balanced between women and men, INS data show. As the level of education increases, the balance shifts. Thus, in the academic year 2021-2022, 54.8% of the students enrolled in the undergraduate programs, respectively 57.7% of the university master’s education, postgraduate courses and studies and of the doctoral university education and advanced research postdoctoral programs, are female persons.