Unequal participation by women in the working world

Gender & Society, 2001

The demand for female labor is a central explanatory component of macrostructural theories of gender stratification. This study analyzes how the structural demand for female labor affects gender differences in labor force participation. The authors develop a measure of the gendered demand for labor by indexing the degree to which the occupational structure is skewed toward usually male or female occupations. Using census data from 1910 through 1990 and National Longitudinal Sample of Youth (NLSY) data from 261 contemporary U.S. labor markets, the authors show that the gender difference in labor force participation covaries across time and space with this measure of the demand for female labor.

Journal of Maps, 2022

Monterrey Metropolitan Zone (Mexico) is characterised by industrial activity and its proximity to the border with the US. In 2010, its 13 municipalities provided infrastructure and services that allow people to live, work or rest, but also a specific function (housing, work, or leisure) due to the prevalence of one of these, impacting the daily life of the population by gender. This article explores the relationship between travel distance to work and reproductive work for working women. Using data by the Extended Questionnaire of the Census Sample of the 2010 Population and Housing Census, homework commuting routes were mapped at the municipal level, combined with four variables of reproductive work. Our study demonstrates that as the reproductive work increases for working women, they experience spatial segregation since they cannot travel as far as the ones with lower reproductive work because they are expected to take care of the reproductive work.

Feminization of labour is a term describing the increasing participation of women at the workplace as a paid worker. Expansion of trade, competitive opportunities, growing demand, capital flow and the larger extent of globalization are some of the phenomenon that have been encouraging the concept. It is also the result of a change in mentality of society and the cooperation of male to operate with this more feminized workplace. But is this situation the same throughout the world? Women face discrimination at workplace (i.e., wage discrimination), are deprived of opportunities, victim of sexual harassment and many more… These are some outcomes of this great theory of feminization of labour. When we analyze the global trends, the concept works well in East and Central Europe and Central Asia & comparatively very low in the Middle East and North Africa. India has some influence as the situation is better than before but the female labour force participation rate is still low. Systematic exclusion of women could be one of the main arguments. There is also a U-shape relationship between the female labour force participation and economic development. In this paper we will try to touch various dimensions, study the variation in female labour force participation rate; will analyze social, cultural, economic and political factors responsible for this variation; will figure out reasons behind low LFPR and how would unpaid domestic work contributes to economic development if this would have converted into paid work and most importantly will analysis the feminization of labour with respect to informalization of labour as India registered high women labour force participation in the informal sector.

2017

A significant difference still exists in Spain between the productive activity of men and women. While men devote the larger part of their active life to paid work, women spend more time caring for children and elderly dependents, as well as running the household. This study presents the profiles by age, of consumption and paid and unpaid production differentiated by sex. The results clearly manifest the importance of care tasks and unpaid activities for people’s wellbeing, along with the need to rethink the system of public and social policies with the aim of reducing the costs of reconciling family life with work. This need is evident in the case of women, who, when they are mothers, see a considerable increase in their total working hours and, in many cases, are excluded from the protection represented by being in paid employment.

2015

Pakistan development review

Data from 17 Latin American countries concerning female participation in the labour force and selected social, economic and demographic characteristics were examined using the path analysis models. Of the 3 most important independent variables (i. e. those representing female education, fertility and urbanization) the most significant predictor was the proportion of 15-19-year olds receiving secondary education: this accounted for more than two-thirds of the variation in levels of female participation in the labour force.

Ton Duc Thang University ISSH Conference, 2021

This paper examines issues related to the analysis of social and gender relationships that surround the reproduction of the workforce and the division of labor. It questions whether reproduction of labor capacity is considered as a job and creates surplus-value, and how capitalist society has separated the labor. Using the documentary analysis method from major research works of scholars such as Marx, Heather A. Brown, Barbagallo, Dunayevskaya, Federici, and Fortunati, these writings make it clear historically that much of this social reproduction and the work necessary to produce and reproduce workers, without the support of others, is mostly done by mothers, teaching their children the ways and conventions of social life. Of course, without being born, brought up, sustained, trained, and educated to certain levels, workers cannot work. Thus, we must examine women's contribution to the reproduction of class society in its entirety. Although the natural division of labor in birth according to biology is not necessarily an opposition, the division of labor according to the sex characteristics of class society is certainly so. The studies mentioned above were innovative because they refuted the stereotype that women's role in reproduction was unimportant and clarified their position in terms of social structure and development of society.

There are many improvements of the female employment situation nowadays, in 2013, 67% of women aged 16 to 64 were at work, an increase from 53% in 1971, for men the percentage fell to 76% in 2013 from 92% in 1971 (ONS. Gov. UK, 2013. While inequality for female employees still exists. A key indicator of gender inequality is differential access to the labour market and its segregated structure. "Gender inequality is considered as the unequal access by women relative to men to material resources, status, power, and privileges which allows for statistical comparison over time and space" (Lemel and Noll, 2002, p. 333). This essay will discuss the gender inequality in the labour market through the analysis of different theories. In the first part, it will state the patriarchy in paid employment. Then it will analyse the human capital theory, the dual labour market theory, the theory of reserve army of labour and theories based on patriarchy. Finally, it will make a conclusion.

Journal of Latino/Latin-American Studies, 2018

2008

This paper series made possible by the NIA funded RAND Center for the Study

Social Sciences 10: 148, 2021

How are the work trajectories of Chilean women? This qualitative study analyzes the female work trajectories through interviews and biograms in a sample of 50 Chilean women, professionals and non-professionals, between the ages of 24 and 88. The article proposes an original typology of female work trajectories and relates type of work trajectory with Piore’s theory of labor market segmentation. The paper discusses the challenges and weaknesses of the Chilean women’s labor outcome and presents recent data to extrapolate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable work trajectories. It considers the type of State and possible actions to achieve greater welfare and social development regarding gender equality.

Towards a Comparative Analysis of Social Inequalities between Europe and Latin America, 2020

If the focus is placed specifically on the problem of work and family, the daily life of people and their use of time are a main problem. This time is expressed in both freely available time, which is related to activities, and time of the productive and reproductive sphere. This chapter considers work in a broad sense and takes into account the sexual division of labour.Specifically, this chapter will explore transformations in time use and social inequality in unpaid work. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of time-use surveys will be used, analysing the time spent, and the time dedicated to household chores in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Spain. From an analytical viewpoint, the analysis will place social reproduction at the centre of the socio-economic system, showing that the economic crisis has affected women and men differently, and that in both Europe and Latin America the family pattern is being replaced by a dominant family model of a male provider and a double pres...

Gender and rural-urban differentials in work participation are examine in this paper using census of India B1 series data on the periods of 1991, 2001 and 2011 respectively. This study attempt to understand the male-female, as well as urban-rural work participation rate in India and its two developed states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The sharp contrast between the two states in the economics and social indicators provides an interesting context for a comparative study. Result may show better situation of the variances in the work participation of the selected states of India by gender and by area which Male-Female and Rural-Urban. For calculating work participation rate, using three indices like Main workers, Marginal workers and the Total workers from the census of India data. As expected, that the male-female as well as rural-urban total work participation rate are increasing every decade in India and Kerala, Tamil Nadu. In India and these two developed states have continues growth rate in work participation rate of rural-urban and as well as male-female and total work participation.

World Development, 1992

This paper reviews the progress made toward a more accurate statistical recording of women's economic activities. Beginning with an assessment of ihc main XC:\S in which the underestimation of women's work has been prevalent, the articlc examines the conceptual, theoretical and methodological progress made during the past two decades. This progress has contributed to the improvcmcnt of statistics regarding women in subsistence production and has set the basis for the inclusion of domestic work in national accounts. Despite this progress, much remains to be done at the practical lcvcl-in these two areas and in stati%;tics on the informal sector and volunteer activities-particularly at the national level. *Paper initially prepared for UNRISD, Meeting on Social Development Indicators. Rahat. Morocco, April X-l I. 1991. I want to thank Paddy Quick. Gita Sen and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on a previous version of the paper. Many thanks also to Richard Anker and Joan Vanek for their help regarding IL0 and UN research on statistical information on women. Final revision accepted: April 29. 1992.