Work, Women and the Labour Market

Originally published in 1982, Work, Women and the Labour Market presents through original articles a coherent overall picture of women’s employment in contemporary British capitalism. For the first time it brings together concrete studies which show graphically how women’s unequal position at work is shaped by the capital-labour relation and by women’s place as housewives and mothers. The book illuminates the differences and similarities in women’s and men’s experience in the labour market and as members of the working class. It is about how and why women come to be in jobs typically regarded as semi or unskilled, about the causes of low pay, and about women workers’ consciousness as workers and as women. It looks at the role of trade unions in relation to women and to sexual divisions, and at how class and gender relations are woven together in the production process. The nine closely researched contributions examine the development of women’s and men’s work in clothing and other manufacturing industries, clerical work in local government, microelectronics in the office, the position of Asian and West Indian women in the labour market, women’s role in the family and part-time work, and women’s involvement and influence in trade unions.