Showing papers on "Women's work published in 2022"

Women's work and wages in the sixteenth century and Sweden's position in the ‘little divergence’

Abstract: We use a unique source from the Swedish royal demesnes to examine the work and relative wages of women in sixteenth century Sweden, an economic laggard in the Early Modern period. The source pertains to workers hired on yearly contracts, a type more representative for historical labour markets than day-labour on large construction sites, and allows us to observe directly the food consumed by workers. We speak to the debate on the “Little Divergence” within Europe as women’s work and gender differentials in pay is a key indicator of women’s relative autonomy and seen as a cause for the economic ascendency of the North Sea region during the period. We find small gender differentials among both unskilled and skilled workers, indicating that Sweden was a part of the “golden age” for women. We argue that despite superficial equality, women’s economic outlooks were restrained in many other ways – including their access to higher skilled work and jobs in the expanding parts of the economy – adding important nuance to the discussion about the relationship between women’s social position and economic growth in the Early Modern period.

Where was women’s work? Gender, work and urban space in Amsterdam, 1650–1791

Abstract: ABSTRACT This article considers the spatial dimension of the gendered urban division of labour. The location of early modern women’s work is investigated through a database of work activities gathered from early modern notarial depositions. Work is here defined broadly as all activities that contribute towards making a living. Women’s (and men’s) work happening inside, outside, at home and away from home in early modern Amsterdam is charted and the complex layers of domesticity and mobility that connect closely to women’s everyday access to the streets are discussed. Women’s labour and the gendered division of work is described in detail, not per specialized sector but as an issue of the general gendered geography of work. The results show strong gendered differences but no strict separations of gendered spheres: although more men worked outside and more women worked inside, we also found men working at home and women working outside, although notably not as much. The major finding is that women did not increasingly work from home, but that men decreasingly did so.

Womens work and its conceptualization in Post-Keynesian Institutionalism

Abstract: Work encompasses paid and unpaid activities. According to research by the United Nations, women are responsible for 53 percent of total work in the world, and most of their work is done without remuneration: 67 percent of women's work is unpaid, in contrast to only 25 percent in the case of work done by men. Women also tend to earn less than men. This gender wage gap has social as well as economic significance; paying women less sends a message that society regards women as having less economic and social worth. This chapter links Feminist and Post-Keynesian Institutionalist economics to analyze the connection between women's unpaid work and the remuneration of women's paid labor. Such an integrated analysis of work and gender relations is possible because a common emphasis of Feminist, Post Keynesian, and Institutional economics involves examining culture and socioeconomic institutions to understand economic activity and address economic problems.

Unbalanced Unpaid Work: Women’s Household Work and the Persistence of the Gender Pay Gap

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between demographic, human capital, and employment variables on the unpaid labor gap in households.

Women and Work in Zimbabwe, C.1800–2000

Abstract: ABSTRACT:This paper looks at the working lives of women in Zimbabwe and how these have shifted and changed over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. To do so, official labor records, census and labor surveys are augmented with qualitative data about the labor relations women performed outside of the formal economy. Key here will be exploring female contributions to the informal labor economy, subsistence or peasant agriculture, and their reproductive and household labor. In order to fully assess women's participation in the economy of the region, attention will also be paid to the migrant labor system in southern Africa and how women have responded to this, participated in it, and pursued their own agency within this system. The paper adopts wider conceptual approaches, including a broader definition of labor and using the methodology and the taxonomy of labor relations developed at the International Institute of Social History for the study of shifts and continuities in labor and labor relations across time and space at a global scale. The paper makes the argument that social structure and gender relations present in African societies during the late 1800s informed responses to colonialism, not necessarily the other way around. These relations continued to influenced how women interacted with the wage labor economy and informal economy after independence and into the twenty-first century.

The Sport Marriage: Women Who Make It Work

Abstract: After reading Steven Ortiz’s The Sport Marriage: Women Who Make It Work, I have a newfound appreciation for the work done by the wives of professional athletes to sustain their marriages. This runs counter to what one might expect based on the myriad reality television shows depicting the lives of this group of women. In this book, Ortiz presents the results of his in-depth studies of sport marriages, showcasing how they are a unique marriage form but also share similarities with the more general case of career-dominated marriages. The introduction to the book provides an excellent framework for understanding the concept of the career-dominated marriage and then lays out the aspects of the sports marriage that will be addressed. After reading the introduction and before moving on to the other chapters, I would encourage the reader to look next at Appendix A. Appendix A describes the methodology for the studies upon which this book is based, and that context is helpful while reading, as Ortiz often makes reference to Study 1 and Study 2 when presenting quotes or anecdotes from study participants. In terms of the methodology, Ortiz explains that the first study was conducted between 1989 and 1993 and is based largely on in-depth interviews, but also included participant observation and the review of documents and print media. The second study was conducted in 2015 and 2016 and included some follow-up with wives from the first study, but also interviews with new wives. Issues of access and privacy created particular challenges in the second study that led to a smaller number of interviews. Despite the length of time that had elapsed since the first study, that early study was very thorough and achieved saturation, so the second study largely served to reinforce findings from the earlier study. Understanding the methodology helps to situate the reader as they proceed through the chapters based on themes that arose in the interviews. The description of the methodology and the challenges that arose in gaining access to the field as well as exiting the field would be a great resource for students planning their own fieldwork. After reading the Introduction and the Appendix, the reader can then turn to the content chapters that present the various aspects of sports marriages. The overarching theme throughout the book is that of work. Ortiz uses existing concepts of interactional work, such as boundary work, and introduces new ones as well. The first chapter discusses the marital teamwork that is constructed as couples navigate sport marriages. Chapter Two describes how the sports wives must maintain a certain appearance and thus engage in image work covering both their physical appearance and their conduct to avoid damaging their husband’s or the team’s public image. The third chapter explains the code work that is done by wives and athletes to maintain a code of conduct while on the road for games. Wives face pressure to conform to an unwritten and unspoken code of conduct while traveling with the team except when those of high status within the team can engage in code-busting. The fourth and fifth chapters address the concept of control work both within the marriage and between the wife and mother-in-law. Each person uses their control over resources or access to resources to navigate these relationships. Finally, the concept of suspicion work is introduced in Chapter Seven through a discussion of the culture of infidelity in professional sports. In an occupational world where their husbands have easy access to sexual encounters, wives must manage their fear of infidelity if they wish to sustain their marriage. One of the major takeaways from this book is stated at the very end of the concluding chapter, as Ortiz reflects on what advice the 498 Reviews