Women's Employment in Europe : Trends and Prospects

One of the most profound changes in European societies in recent decades is the increased involvement of women in waged work. This feminisation of employment is associated both with the restructuring of the labour market and the transformation of family life towards dual-earner households. This book examines these far-reaching changes in all fifteen member states of the European Union over the last decade, and explores progress towards gender equality. The authors reveal significant national differences in women's position according to each of the four major dimensions to gender equality: care and wage work, occupational segregation, pay and working time.

Jill Rubery is Professor of Comparative Employment Systems and Mark Smith is a Research Associate and Honorary Lecturer at the Manchester School of Management, UMIST. Colette Fagan is a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester and an Honorary Research Fellow at the European Work and Employment Centre, UMIST.