Lena Gonäs
2006-12-09
Restructuring work and employment – gendered patterns of inclusion and
exclusion
New patterns and a new rhetoric
The arguments for and against gender equality have varied. The economic arguments have
been contradictory. Fifty years ago, gender equality was seen as an economic cost. Today the
argumentations have switched over to be an issue of sustainable growth and gender equality
should accordingly be regarded as revenue. The paper starts with a discussion of the
contemporary rhetoric concerning gender equality and the reasons behind the shift in
argumentation from both a European regional level and a national level, in this case the
argumentation from different Swedish authorities. One line of argumentations is the need for
a long term supply of the labour force. Another line of argumentation takes the need for a
more effective use of the human resources and the fact that women have a higher educational
level than men.
On the other hand the gaps between women’s and men’s positions in working life are
changing slowly (OECD 2002). The concept segregated integration (Bergman 2004) can be
said to illustrate the development not only in Sweden but also in Europe as a whole (Emerek
2006).
Gender and Work
This paper is based on a longitudinal study conducted in Sweden between 2000 and 2005. It
had as a main objective to study the gender segregation and its mechanisms. But also the
study conditions for change and methods for breaking up gender segregation.
This paper will focus on:
How did the working and living conditions and health situation look like in the early 2000s
for individuals with different labour market performance during the 1999s? How did these
situations differ between groups with different degree of labour market attachment? What role
did gender, age and educational attainment have in explaining different outcomes?
Methods and material
A population survey was made on a sample of 10 000 individuals aged 20 – 64 in a region in
consisting of three municipalities in the mid-east of Sweden. A questionnaire with the aim of
getting a picture of the labour market situation for the individual, working conditions, health
family and leisure time was distributed the population sample. Of the 10 000 who got the
questionnaire, 4 965 persons answered (55 percent women and 45 percent men). To be able to
analyze the labour market situation during the 1990s we have through Statistics Sweden been
connected income data to the questionnaire. This data is the basis for the analysis in this
paper.
A regional perspective on the Post Industrial Welfare state
The changes in the regional labour market have also been analyzed. Adaptability and a
broader competence in terms of functional flexibility are emphasized in interviews as an
element of the new working life in more general terms. This leads to a sorting of job
applicants into categories of those who are capable of development or adaptation and those
who do not fit in.
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The unemployed become a reserve for the labour market which can be called upon when local
businesses take on new tasks, or which can be allocated to new areas and tasks for which
there are labour shortages.
A result of the restructuring during the 1990s was a more differentiated labour market,
where women came to take a greater part in the education sector and higher skilled jobs. But
the price of this differentiation was higher unemployment levels and reduced overall
employment levels for both women and men, mainly by cutbacks in low skill employment.
Age related alternative support systems
One of the main results from the labour market analysis was the growth of the age related
alternative support systems to regular employment. The labour market policy measures
seemed to play a minor role for the single individual and instead it was early retirement
pensioning and health insurance for those over 40 years of age and the educational system for
the younger that came to be the support structure when regular employment not was an option
(Gonäs ed., 2005).
Few of those who did not have an employment in 1999 were employed in 2001 and those
who had been out of a job during the most of the 1990s also were so later. The analysis show
that besides labour market history also gender and education had a high explanatory value in
explaining labour market position in 2001.
The paper continues by analyzing the working conditions and health related problems for
groups with different labour market positions.
Relevance to debate
The paper points to different policy areas –
1. Higher education as a tool for employability
2. The role of traditional labour market policy
3. Policies of equal opportunity in knowledge based society
Issues for future research
Segregation pattern and divisions of gender, class and ethnicity have to be studied by
different disciplines. It needs an approach where different analytical levels are
approached simultaneously and systematically. What does it mean for different types of
welfare state systems to have a high proportion of the population outside of the labour
force in different types of economic and social support systems, or just outside any
support system?
References
Bergman Ann (2004): Segregerad integrering. Mönster av könssegregering i arbetslivet.
Karlstad: Karlstad University Press.
Emerek, R. (2006): Measuring Gender Segregation. I: Gonäs, L. & Karlsson J. Ch. Red.
(2006): Gender Segregation. Divisions of Work in Post-Industrial Welfare States.
Aldershot: Ashgate.
Gonäs, L. ed. (2005): På gränsen till genombrott. Stockholm: Agora Förlag.
Gonäs, L. (2006): Gendered Divisions of Work - A Multilevel Approach. In: Gonäs, L. &
Karlsson J. Ch. Gender Segregation. Divisions of Work in Post-Industrial Welfare States.
Aldershot: Ashgate.
OECD (2002)Employment outlook. Chapter 2. Women at work: who are they and how are
they faring? p. 61-125. Paris: OECD.
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