Women's work

About: Women's work is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1625 publications have been published within this topic receiving 33754 citations. The topic is also known as: woman's work.

Household Resources and U.S. Women's Work: Factors Affecting Gainful Employment at the Turn of the Century

Abstract: Using the Census P.U.S., we focus on household composition and resources which influenced the distribution of paid work to female adult and younger members of households in 1900. Controls for individual and geographic variables are included. Two different household-level processes lowered women's rate of gainful employment, although their usage varied by race and ethnicity. First, home-based alternatives inhibited seeking jobs for which women might have been recorded as gainfully employed. Second, alternatives were structured by household composition. Families with older daughters or related single adults might urge these members to work, engendering a trade-off between the labor of wives and their older children or relatives. The presence of men or nonfamily also plays an important role. Advantages of our model include the study of work and family life as a single set of relations; the integration of the detail of historical studies in single cities with the measurement of national patterns through aggregate Census materials; and a focus on factors reducing the reporting, as well as actual rates, of women's gainful employment.

The Domestication of Women's Work: A Comparison of Chinese and Portuguese Immigrant Women Homeworkers

Abstract: Changes in the Canadian political economy, including trade liberalization, economic recession, the shift to postfordist forms of production, and monetarist economic policies, have intensified two processes which define the nature of women's work in the 1990s: informalization and domestication.

(In)visibility, care and cultural barriers: the size and shape of women’s work in India

Abstract: Based on primary data from a large household survey in seven districts in West Bengal in India, this paper analyses the reasons underlying low labor force participation of women. In particular, we try to disentangle the intertwined strands of choice, constraints posed by domestic work and care responsibilities, and the predominant understanding of cultural norms as factors explaining the low labor force participation as measured by involvement in paid work. We document the fuzziness of the boundary between domestic work and unpaid (and therefore invisible) economic work that leads to mis-measurement of women’s work and suggest methods to improve measurement. We find that being primarily responsible for domestic chores lower the probability of “working”, after accounting for all the conventional factors. We also document how, for women, being out of paid work is not synonymous with care or domestic work, as they are involved in expenditure saving activities. We also find that religion and visible markers such as veiling are not significant determinants of the probability of working. Our data shows substantial unmet demand for work. Given that women are primarily responsible for domestic chores, we also document that women express a demand for work that would be compatible with household chores.

Women's Work in Third World Agriculture: Concepts and Indicators.

Abstract: This study provides clear guidelines for measuring the contribution of women to agricultural production in developing societies, which should be of interest to those involved in research and development planning. The book looks at four aspects of the sexual division of labour: task specialization and access to production sources, the use of time, workers productivity and returns to labour, and participation in the agricultural labour force. Each chapter includes a discussion on the methodological problems encountered in collecting and interpreting data in Third World countries and suggestions for incorporating findings into the design of agricultural and employment plans and policies.

SoTL as Women's Work: What Do Existing Data Tell Us?

Abstract: In this essay on the field of SoTL, we report on an exploratory, descriptive study of the levels of participation of men and women in various types of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) activities. Drawing on 25 national and international sources of existing data on sex and involvement in SoTL, we find the following patterns: women are over-represented, relative to the numbers of men and women faculty/academic staff in higher education, in both self-selected with other approval or confirmation’ activities. The involvement of women and men was more representative to their numbers for activities in the ‘primarily invited, awarded, or selectedby others’ SoTL category. We discuss possible explanations for and implications of these findings.