ABSTRACT
The use of part-time work has evolved in distinctively different ways in Northern and Southern European countries. In Northern Europe, higher rates of female labour force participation are often associated with a high level of part-time work, whereas in Southern Europe both female participation rates and the share of parttime work are lower (see Smith et al., Chapter 2, and Pfau-Effinger, Chapter 9, this volume). Nevertheless, despite this association, there are also outlying cases where women have very high levels of labour market participation but where part-time work is not very significant, as in Portugal and Finland.
