Women’s role in the economy has changed since 1945. Women and Work Women’s role in the economy has changed since 1945.

Changes to the economy There was labour shortage after 1945 but there was increasing unemployment after the 1970s. Heavy industry (coal mining, iron and steel) has declined. Service sector (call centres, catering) has increased.

Gender and change Male employment opportunity has declined. Female employment opportunity has increased. There is more part-time low paid work. Women are generally employed in such work.

Gender segregation Men and women do different types of work. Women are over-represented in least skilled and lowest paid jobs. White men appear in the management structures. Women tend to be in junior and low paid clerical secretarial work.

Managers

Class and gender Middle class women are tending to take on male professional occupations, but generally the lower paid, lower status work (teaching, public services) Females are not taking on male occupations in working class work. Traditional working class work is therefore male.

Female work

Ethnicity and gender Ethnic minority people are focussed in some industries – Chinese/Bangladeshi people in catering for instance, Afro-Caribbeans in the health service. There are different gender patterns of work among some communities with Afro-Caribbean women taking on professional work and Bangladeshi women being less likely to work.

Pay The Equal Opportunities Commission monitor pay rates over the years. Women earn less than men. The average pay differential is 20% Part-time female workers earn 60% of what men earn.

Self-employment Self employment is higher among men than women. Women’s work tends to support male self-employment (secretary, shop assistant). Women are more likely to be employed in the black economy and as home workers.

Gender ideology and work Male work is heavy, dangerous, outdoors, aggressive, technical and highly valued. Female work is boring, repetitive, low status, and involves subservience to male authority. Female work is based on gender assumptions of: dexterity, caring and emotional support of people. Scott (1992) female work is drudgery.

Female work as drudgery

Gender and work Early studies looked at how married women combined paid work with domestic chores. Government policies saw women as domestic labourers who also had jobs – domestic roles were paramount. Working mothers were blamed for delinquency among children.

Recent studies Recent studies look at how women are treated in work, how gender divisions remain despite equality legislation. Males control technology and skills, excluding certain people from training and jobs. As skilled jobs became mechanised and accessible to women, this challenged gender assumptions and males felt threatened.

Sexuality and work

Workplace culture Workplace culture is masculine. Examples include: girly posters, male centred conversation, and sexual harassment. However, males crossing into female work experience similar discrimination. Females in work downplay their femininity and regulate their bodies in such a way as to render themselves sexually ambiguous.

Leisure industry work Adkins studied hotel and pub work. Men are usually expected to marry, their wives are not employed however. Women in this work must be attractive and sexualised, although men are not. Defining women by their sexuality lowers their status because they are servicing male needs.

Summary Women are in the workforce in greater numbers. They tend to be low paid and low status. Men still command the work situation in ways that suit their needs. This is less obvious in middle class work, but does occur.

The End