1. The national context

• 1.1 Economic growth and expenditure on R&D
• 1.2 Labour market trends
• 1.3 Labour market situation of women in ICT
• 1.4 Job-to job mobility

2. Analysis of the questionnaire

• 2.1 Main characteristics of the sample
• 2.1.1 Demographic characteristics
• 2.1.2 Labour market characteristics
• 2.2 Analysis of the issues in the survey questionnaire
• 2.2.1 Reaction to the opening statement
• 2.2.2 The past
• 2.2.3 The entry into the ICT sector
• 2.2.4 The present ICT job
• 2.2.5 The future: job to job mobility
• 2.2.6 The gender issue

3. Final considerations, conclusions and recommendations

4. Annex The questionnaire

Country report: Spain

2.1.1 LABOUR MARKET CHARACTERISTICS

The women interviewed are for the most part business owners (30%) or had indefinite contracts (40%), only 2 of them are self-employed (10%), one works in the public sector (health worker) and 3 had fixed-term contracts (15%). Although the sample is clearly not representative of the labour market figures analysed above nor is it statistically valid, their views of the conditions in the ICT sector provides an important qualitative perspective.

Regarding working hours, 35% of the women had flexible working time arrangements, only two had a compressed day (10%) and the rest (55%) had very long working hours and schedules, clearly incompatible with reconciliation of work and family life (starting early and ending late in the day with a long mid day break, typical of Spanish businesses).

With regard to salary conditions, 55% reported salaries above 42,000 Euros per year (gross) and 30% with incomes below this figure. The rest did not answer this particular question.

Perhaps one of he most interesting pieces of information obtained is that of the educational level of the women surveyed. In three cases (15%) the women surveyed had a different basic educational background which they complemented with specific formal education in ICT. On the other hand, 55% had specific basic formal training in ICT, in three of these cases the basic ICT training was followed by more formal training (master’s degree) in the same areas. In the rest of the 6 cases (30%) university training has been acquired not related to ICT. In a cross analysis of these 6 persons, 3 of them are business owners and, very interestingly, the 3 others have fixed term contracts.

As to the different jobs being carried out, practically all are in higher level occupations as directors/owners and qualified specialists (ISCO 1 and 2). In 50% of the cases (10 women) the occupations are related directly to ICT. As already pointed out, in 30% of the cases the women surveyed are the owners of the firms and in the rest of the cases (20%, or 4 cases) the jobs are in the top level management of the firms.