Women and recession revisited

an article by Jill Rubery and Anthony Rafferty (University of Manchester, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 27 Number 3 (June 2013)

Abstract

In earlier work (Rubery, 1988), the extent to which women might act as a flexible reserve over the business cycle was argued to depend on three main factors:

• the pattern of gender segregation and its relationship to employment change;
• women’s commitment to labour market participation; and
• state policy and support for women’s employment.

This article revisits these factors in the context of the 2008/9 recession and the follow-on austerity policy to explore how gender segregation is associated with employment change by gender, how far reduced demand is influencing women’s labour market participation, and the implications of changes in public policy associated with austerity and reduced labour demand for women’s future employment position.

---

The future of young women's economic role in a globalized economy: New opportunities, persisting constraints

an article by Marlis Buchmann (University of Zurich) and Tina Malti (University of Toronto) published in New Directions for Youth Development Volume 2012 Issue 135 (Autumn (Fall) 2012)

Abstract

Young women in advanced industrial countries have been outperforming young men in educational attainment at the same time that their labour market outcomes are still lagging.

Sex segregation in education and the labour market is identified as an important source of this imbalance.

Hazel’s comment:
I will continue to bewail the shortness of the abstracts in this journal which would, for most issues, matter not very much but this special has so much that relates to careers and transitions, albeit in the USA, that I despair.

---