Asking ‘the woman question’ of labour law scholarship methodological approaches and ontology in use when women are represented in labour law research Dr LJB Hayes and Roseanne Russell Cardiff University School of Law, New Frontiers in Labour Law Conference, Cambridge University, April 2014

How frequently have women been represented as research subjects in ILJ published material?

Frequency of inclusion of women

Frequency grid 1972-2013

Influence of EU law?

Discussion in cases / articles

In what contexts are women represented as research subjects ?

Four gendered contexts Relational Biological Traditional occupation Atypical work

Contexts by decade

Frequency: Relational / Biological women represented in the context of externally facing notions of gender –

Frequency: Atypical / Traditional occupation Internally facing notions of gender

Which methodological approaches are used ?

Sub-set: Research which most strongly engages with representations of women and gender

Categories Assessing Methodology Doctrinal Law in Context Primary Empirical

Methodological approach

When research is strongly engaged with representations of women and gender, how is labour law conceptualised?

What is labour law (doing)? Functional ontologies Selecting sources Mediating power Distributing resources between workers Embedding gender ..?

A fifth category - ambiguous Either we were unable to discern an ontological perspective OR (most frequently) there was no clear leaning / a mixed approach

Ontological approach

Relation to methodology?

Conclusion: Asking ‘the woman question’ of labour law scholarship Frequent inclusion, empirically ‘informed’ Progress: increased consideration, shifting form, post-crisis? Clustered in gendered contexts of biology, relational roles, atypical work, traditional occupations Continuity within change: External and Internal contexts Reliance on other disciplines and gov statistics for data Clear regard for labour law as a mechanism for embedding gendered relations Recognised potential to 'disrupt' or unsettle established forms and contents of labour law Capacity of empirical strategies to further interrogate hierarchies of power in employment relations

How much do tools matter? What knowledge might a distinctive labour law empiricism build?