Women’s Work in Britain and France: Practice, Theory and Policy

235 Pages·2000·11.9 MB·English

by  Abigail Gregory

Women's Work in Britain and France
Also by Abigail Gregory
WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY FRANCE (co-editor with Ursula Tidd)
Also by fan Windebank
INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE ADVANCED ECONOMIES: Implications for
Work and Welfare (with Colin C. Williams)
THE INFORMAL ECONOMY IN FRANCE
VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT IN THE POLITICS AND SOCIETY OF MODERN
FRANCE (co-editor with R. Gunther)
VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT IN MODERN FRENCH CULTURE (co-editor with
R. Gunther)
Women's Work in Britain
and France
Practice, Theory and Policy
Abigail Gregory
Lecturer in French
University of Salford
and
Jan Win de bank
Senior Lecturer in French Studies
University of Sheffield
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-68307-1 ISBN 978-0-230-59851-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230598515
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-23105-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gregory, Abigail, 1962-
Women's work in Britain and France: practice, theory and policy I Abigail
Gregory, Jan Windebank
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-23105-7 (cloth)
I. Women-Employment-Great Britain. 2. Women-Employment-France.
3. Sex discrimination in employment-Great Britain. 4. Sex discrimination in
employment-France. 5. Women -Great Britain-Economic conditions.
6. Women-France-Economic conditions. I. Windebank. J. (Janice) II. Title
HD6135 .G74 1999
331.4'0941 - dc21
99-D52334
©Abigail Gregory and Jan Windebank 2000
All rights reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or transmitted save with written
permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P OLP.
Any person who docs any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 ()] 00
To Colin and Shaun, Elizabeth, Eve and Toby who give
us hope that progress in gender relations is being made
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Tables viii
List of Figures X
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
Part I Differences and Similarities in the Work
Situation of British and French Women 9
2 Women's Paid Work 11
3 Women's Domestic Work 43
4 Women's Community Work 79
Part II Women's Work in an Anglo-French
Cross-national Perspective: Theory and Policy 99
5 Theorizing Women's Work 101
6 Gender Relations: Progress and Policy 144
7 Conclusions 173
Notes 184
References 19 5
fu~ 2W
vii
List of Tables
2.1 Activity rates for women by age group, France and
UK, 1983, 1993 and 1997 IS
2.2 Activity levels for women with children, by number
of children and age of child, France and UK, 1990 18
2.3 Percentage of women unemployed by age group,
France and UK, 199 7 22
2.4 Numbers of women and men employed full-time,
1980/82, 1990, 1996, in Britain and France (thousands) 24
2.5 Persons in full-time employment, groups of hours
usually worked in reference week (employees),
France and UK, 1997 25
2.6 Levels of part-time employment for women, France
and UK, 1983 and 1997 26
2.7 Proportion working part-time, by age and gender,
France and UK, 1989-199 S 28
2.8 Levels of full- and part-time employment, by age of
youngest child, UK, 1991 30
2.9 Part-time employment levels of mothers, by age of
youngest child, France, 1991 31
2.10 Persons in part-time employment, groups of hours
usually worked in reference week (employees), France
and UK, 1986, 1990, 1997 32
2.11 Proportion of women in temporary work, France
and UK, 1989 and 1994 36
2.12 Concentration of women full- and part-timers relative
to all women in employment, France and UK, 1994 38
2.13 Percentage unemployed by educational level for
women aged 25-59 years, France and UK, 1997 185
2.14 Proportion of all unemployed seeking part-time work,
France and UK, 1997 186
2.15 Proportion of part-time working (men and women)
by sector, France and UK, 199 7 188
3.1 Structure of time in Britain and France:
by employment status 51
3.2 Change in work time in married couples in France
and Britain, 1961-90 53
viii
List of Tables ix
3.3 Nature of the tasks undertaken by men 'who do
something' according to their own and their
partners' testimonies 54
3.4 Division of domestic labour between dual earner
married couples with children, Britain and France,
1995 55
3.5 Division of child care tasks between dual-earner
married couples with children, Britain and France,
1995 64
3.6 Responsibility for making and managing external
child care 66
3.7 Arrangements for looking after sick children
(last incident of illness occurring) 67
3.8 Evolution of structure of time, 1974-75 and 1985-86,
France 73