The book addresses one of the most topical and pressing areas of inequality experienced by women in the UK: inequality in the labour market. Despite the changed and changing position of women in society there remain substantial gender differences in the labour market. The book offers a coherent account of gender inequality in the labour market. Includes an introduction with the wider context, the basic facts on various relevant labour market outcomes, international comparisons, and the legislative framework. Chapters focus on the key issues, offering analysis of the way inequality in the labour market is related to the wider macroeconomic dynamics, factors that explain the gender pay gap, the transition from education to the labour market, the dimensions of occupational segregation and the division of labour within the household.

An informative and important volume. Johanna Kumlin, European Sociological Review This collection further contributes to our awareness of the complicated intersection of work and family life for women and men and to a few of the socio-economic factors which serve as impediments to its synchronization. It is well written, carefully researched, and rather detailed in its analysis. Susan Cody, Sex Roles This excellent collection deserves to be read, and from cover to cover. . . all the contributions focus on the UK situation over the past 25 years, although some offer comparative exemplars and analysis. This national focus makes this collection an essential resource for those working in the UK (and Europe). But, the general empirical excellence of the collection, as well as the theoretical insights generated in some of the chapters, make this an essential collection for anyone interested in gender and work. Lesley Patterson, Gender in Management: An International Journal There cannot be a richer collection than this on the topic of women, their employment conditions and how they balance home and work life. . . a valuable resource that can be returned to for hard statistics and proven solutions you can use in your own policy creation. Equality and Diversity This collection will be an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with changes in women s employment over the last twenty-five years. Authoritative and up to date, it is simultaneously wide-ranging and focused, analytical and policy oriented. The editors have brought together the knowledge of many renowned experts to reflect on labour market developments and gendered employment. Attention to transitions across the life course is a particularly welcome feature of the book, as is the linking of employment studies with family research. Miriam Glucksmann, University of Essex, UK How is women s employment shaped by family and domestic responsibilities? This book, written by leading experts in the field, examines twenty-five years of change in women s employment and addresses the challenges facing women today. The authors offer an innovative analysis of how global changes including new migration processes, educational expansion, transnational labour markets, technological advances and the global economy affect women s labour market experiences. They tackle issues relevant for future change, including gender inequalities and ethnic diversities, and confront contentious questions such as what is meant by work life balance. The book provides new empirical research that both advances our understanding of the challenges posed by women s employment in our changing society and draws out the policy lessons that could improve economic and social wellbeing. Providing dynamic analysis of employment family inter relationships, Women and Employment will be of great relevance to social scientists and academics interested in employment and family as well as policymakers concerned with changing women s employment.

'This state-of-the art collection brings together the latest research of eminent experts in the field. It combines a wide sweep with focused analysis of gender dynamics at home and at work, and the interaction between them. A longitudinal and life course perspective underpins the authors' assessment of the current state of gender inequality, and helps explain why some domains are more resistant to change than others. This timely and innovative volume will be an excellent resource for academics and policy-makers alike.' – Miriam Glucksmann, University of Essex, UK This meticulous book examines how gender inequalities in contemporary societies are changing and how further changes towards greater gender equality might be achieved. The focus of the book is on inequalities in production and reproductive activities, as played out over time and in specific contexts. It examines the different forms that gendered lives take in the household and the workplace, and explores how gender equalities may be promoted in a changing world. Gendered Lives offers many novel and sometimes unexpected findings that contribute to new understandings of not only the causes of gender inequalities, but also the ongoing implications for economic well-being and societal integration. This topical and interdisciplinary study by leading researchers in the field will appeal to course leaders, researchers and postgraduate students in sociology, economics, public policy, demography and human geography. Social scientists interested in gender equality, labour market behaviour and public policy will also find much to interest them in this fascinating book.

This was first published in 2000: This work is founded on the premise that many analyses of economic restructuring and of gender relations fail to recognize two things. First, the situation facing women is different from that of the 1960s when the conceptual apparatuses for analyzing "women and work" were created. Labour markets are dominated by flexible, non-standard work, precarious contractual relations and income disparities. Therefore, it is difficult to structure political claims or analysis around the notion that there is a single labour market, that the primary problem is discrimination or inappropriate training, and that political strategies should focus on discrimination and non-traditional employment. Rather, new challenges require new solutions. The second point of departure is that is is impossible to understand either contemporary labour markets, or the roots of employment and other public policies without locating them vis a vis patterns of gender inequalities generated by and in these labour markets. The labour force has been feminized to such an extent that new, and often unequal gender relations are crucial to their very functioning.

Under communism there was, in the countries of Eastern Europe, a high level of gender equality in the labour market, particularly in terms of high participation rates by women. The transition from communism has upset this situation, with different impacts in the different countries. This book presents a comprehensive overview of gender and the labour market since the fall of communism in a wide range of Eastern European countries. Each country chapter describes the nature of inequality in the particular country, and goes on to examine the factors responsible for this, including government policies, changing social attitudes, levels of educational attainment and the impact of motherhood. Overall, the book provides an interesting comparison to the situation in Western developed countries, outlining differences and similarities. No one single Eastern European model emerges while, as in Western developed countries, a range of experiences and trends is the norm.

Brings together academics, lawyers, trade unionists and industrial relations experts to provide an incisive analysis of the impact of globalisation and deregulation on gender inequality in employment. It reviews the evolution of pay equity polices and examines the impact of economic and social trends on divisions between women.

Women's employment is an area of considerable interest both from the point of view of equal opportunities and of economic competitiveness. This book brings togther the latest research on a series of key topics in the field of women's employment.