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The chapter examines the dynamics of social stratification & inequality pertinent to married women's employment transitions in Hungary. The authors base their analysis on longitudinal, cross-sectional, & life-course data. They consider the social processes informing four particular transitions: (1) post-childbirth maternity exits from the workforce; (2) exits into unpaid domestic status; (3) post-maternity-leave job market returns; & (4) reentry after changes in domestic status. Also explored are family formation & female labor-force participation in post-WWII Hungary. The data support correlations between professional working women in Hungary & gender-based specialization, with women often interrupting their careers for maternity & childrearing, or "double-tracking." Yet married female professionals tend not to avoid workforce participation based solely on their children, unlike less educated & career-oriented women during the communist era. Married career women also reenter the workforce sooner, although the more prestigious the job, the greater the likelihood of interruption. Examining marital homogamy & other spousal characteristics produces more complex & ambiguous findings about transitions, spousal influence, employment opportunity, & maternity leave, underscoring the challenges of applying market-based economic theories of the family to communist contexts. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 59 References. K. Coddon

The chapter discusses the social & economic situation for working married women in post-1960s Spain, where the influences of both modernity & traditionalism seem to have resulted in female educational achievement & professional orientations while institutional changes still lag behind. Focusing on assortative marriage choices & work transitions based on statistical models, the author finds high levels of marital complementarity or specialization among homogamous partners, regardless of income levels; a correlation between educated women's assortative marriages & low job-interruption incidence; & constraints on married women's potential labor-force reentry by a rigid labor market. Occupational prestige, more than spousal characteristics, seems to determine married mothers' capacity to remain in or reenter the workforce. 3 Tables, 2 Figures, 1 Appendix, 45 References. K. Coddon

"One of the key questions on international migration concerns its benefits and costs for the receiving economies. Assessing the overall net gain or loss to the economy from immigration is a challenging task both from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Immigration can affect the receiving economy through several channels: wages or employment effects on native workers, changes in output structure, fiscal effects, effects on house prices, and so on. In this chapter, we concentrate on one of the most important channel: the impact on wage and employment of natives. We consider the impact of immigration on a subgroup of the population that could particularly benefits from it, the female population. Since international migration may change the prevailing wage rates in the sectors where a large number of migrants looks for a job, we focus on immigrants working in the household service sector. The underlying idea is that migrants could increase the availability of services to households, like childcare, housekeeping, or caring for elderly, reducing their market prices. This effect could induce women to change their decision on participation to the labour market. In the empirical analysis, we use data of countries with quite different institutions (Australia, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the US). This gives us the opportunity to understand whether the effect of migrants on female labour supply is relevant in countries where policies are more or less supportive to families." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

After reviewing previous research on the relationship between employment commitment & unemployment, hypotheses are formulated on gender differences in role priorities that lead to differences in employment commitment between young men & women. These hypotheses are then tested with data from a comparative study of unemployed youth, ages 18-24, in 5 European counties (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, & Spain total N = 9,817). Results indicate that employment commitment was generally higher among unemployed young women than among young men (with the exception of Norway); commitment levels were unrelated to levels of national unemployment, female labor force participation, or welfare regime. 7 Tables, 5 Figures. K. Hyatt Stewart

Focusing on Italy, the chapter discusses wives' labor participation in terms of marital homogamy, family cycles & circumstances, & spousal status. Wives' employment transitions are also affected by premarital work experience, public child care resources, educational status, social "noncomformity" (eg, cohabitation), & maternal influence. Recent trends indicate an increasing labor-force polarization between continuously working women & those who have either never worked before or interrupted work due to family obligations. The data suggest three employment policy areas to encourage female labor participation: (1) integrating into the workforce the nearly 20% of Italian women who have never been employed; (2) retaining married women workers; & (3) assisting reentry. However, tending to the second matter, especially via public child care provision, may help obviate the very work interruptions that so often make reentry difficult. 3 Tables, 2 Figures, 1 Appendix, 47 References. K. Coddon

Focusing on married women workers in Poland, the chapter explores the degree to which market-based economic theories of the family are appropriate to the study of former socialist labor systems. The authors first examine labor policy & practices under state socialism & women's work participation in post-WWII Poland in light of rapid industrialization, life cycles, family roles, & the effects of political change on employment. They next discuss social policy & family formation (which in Poland remains traditional compared to other European countries); sexual division of labor during & after state socialism; & the role of education, age, social origin of both spouses, religion, & children. Longitudinal analysis indicates that female workforce participation in Poland has been more stable than in many Western European countries due to both economic & educational factors; participation increases with education, although the former decreases under a market system when spouses are highly educated; & women's work transitions are influenced strongly (in both reentry & exit directions) by the presence & age of offspring. Findings suggest that the decline in married women's labor force participation predates Poland's transition from a socialist to market economy. 3 Tables, 3 Figures, 29 References. K. Coddon

"Labor and Gender" published on by Oxford University Press.

Compared to non-migrant mothers in couples, migrant lone mothers face a much higher risk of being out of the labour market, given that both lone motherhood and international migration have been shown to be strongly related to non-employment. In this chapter, we analyse the labour force participation of immigrant women and non-migrants living in Switzerland, and compare them by distinguishing between mothers in couples and lone mothers. We use data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey (wave 2008; N = 6814). These data allow us to account for intra-group variation among the immigrants by distinguishing them by their migrant generation and their country of origin. The analyses include women aged 20–54 who were living with at least one child under age 18. The dependent variable in the multinomial regression analyses is employment status, differentiating between full-time employment, long and short part-time employment, and non-employment. Results indicate that lone motherhood prevalence is similar among migrant and Swiss mothers (11%). In both groups, lone mothers are less likely to be in employment than mothers in couples. However, we find variation among lone mothers by migrant status: migrants have a higher non-employment rate overall. Among the employed women, migrant lone mothers tend to work full time, whereas non-migrant lone mothers tend to work part time. For lone mothers being an international migrant is therefore associated with an increased risk not only of being out of the labour force, but also of facing difficulties linked to work-family reconciliation. These results are relevant for the design of appropriate policies for migrants, lone parents, and work-family reconciliation, particularly in a societal context like Switzerland, where child care services are insufficient and the number of mothers who work full time is relatively small.

"Die gerontologische Überzeugung, daß eine schrittweise Reduktion der Arbeitszeit den Übergang von der Erwerbs- in die Nacherwerbsphase für alle Beteiligten erleichtere, läuft in der betrieblichen Praxis immer wieder ins Leere. Daran wird nach übereinstimmender Einschätzung von tarif- und sozialpolitischen Experten auch das kürzlich verabschiedete Gesetz zur Förderung eines gleitenden Übergangs in den Ruhestand nichts ändern. Verantwortlich scheint ein Konglomerat kultureller Deutungsmuster zu sein, das trotz faktischer Erosionserscheinungen an der materiellen Basis seine normative Kraft längst noch nicht eingebüßt hat: Das Ideal der Vollzeit-Erwerbstätigkeit sowie des erwerbsarbeitsfreien Ruhestandes wirken weiterhin massiv strukturierend auf das Beschäftigungssystem und seine Akteure. Wie die subjektive Balance zwischen faktischer Außerkraftsetzung des sogenannten dreigeteilten Lebenslaufs bei gleichzeitigem normativem Fortbestand desselben funktioniert, soll in diesem Vortrag am Beispiel einer besonderen Beschäftigtengruppe nachgezeichnet werden: Die von uns im Rahmen eines DFG-geförderten Projektes befragten, nachberuflich erwerbstätigen Rentnerinnen und Rentner praktizieren individuell ausgehandelte Formen der Alterserwerbstätigkeit, die durchaus einige Gemeinsamkeiten mit explizierten humanisierungspolitischen Programmen zum gleitenden Übergang in den Ruhestand aufweisen. Jedoch vermeiden es sowohl die erwerbstätigen RentnerInnen wie auch die verantwortlichen Personalchefs, die zusätzliche Lebensphase zwischen regulärer Erwerbs- und Ruhestandsphase - etwa in Form politischer Forderungen - zu generalisieren. Die Situationsdeutungen der an diesem Beschäftigungsverhältnis unmittelbar Beteiligten bestärken eher traditionelle Vorstellungen." (Autorenreferat)

"Neuere Diskussionen in der soziologischen Ungleichheitsforschung, die neben der sozialen Klasse das Geschlecht und ethnisch definierte Zugehörigkeiten zur Kenntnis nahmen, rückten auch kulturelle Dimensionen ins Blickfeld der Analyse. Inwieweit führte eine Erweiterung bisheriger Perspektiven zu Forschungsansätzen, die 'Kultur' auf eine theoretisch und empirisch fundierte Weise berücksichtigen? Der Beitrag diskutiert diese Frage, indem er sich thematisch auf die Stellung junger Migrantinnen in der beruflichen Bildung bezieht. Die ungleiche Beteiligung junger Frauen mit Migrationshintergrund in der beruflichen Bildung ist bekannt. Die damit einhergehenden Selektionsprozesse wurden wenig empirisch analysiert und Erklärungsansätze führten nicht selten zu fragwürdigen Konstruktionen kultureller Unterschiede. Indem er sich auf die Arbeiten Bourdieus sowie sozialkonstruktivistischer Autor/-innen bezieht, diskutiert der Beitrag theoretische Ansätze, die kulturelle Faktoren in der Analyse sozialer Ungleichheiten berücksichtigen. Ihre empirische Umsetzung behandelt er auf der Grundlage einer qualitativen Untersuchung des Ausbildungseinstiegs junger Migrantinnen und einheimischer junger Frauen. Eine Rekonstruktion der Perspektive der jungen Frauen weist dabei auf strategische Umgangsformen mit ihren Lebensverhältnissen hin, die nicht immer auf einer Zustimmung zu diesen beruhen. Auch kulturelle Zuschreibungen werden von den jungen Frauen nicht notwendigerweise übernommen. In der vergleichenden Analyse wird außerdem deutlich, dass einheimische und eingewanderte Gruppen durchaus parallele Formen gefunden haben, den Ausbildungseinstieg angesichts der Gelegenheiten und Einschränkungen eines lokalen Arbeitsmarktes zu bewältigen." (Autorenreferat)

"This case study argues that even in increasingly unstable circumstances women migrant workers have to continue to balance their reproductive responsibilities as mothers and daughters with their ongoing roles as wage workers and economic providers, often managing complex transborder care arrangements. The chapter extends the global care chain framework to investigate the ways in which Burmese migrant factory workers in Thailand organize reproduction and childcare in the place of destination and in the in-between places at the international horders between the two countries. The chapter provides new insights into ways migrant women factory workers adapt and strategize to achieve daily, generational, and biological reproduction needs and the links between these strategies and the pattern of capital accumulation in Thailands border industrialization strategy. The elaboration of multiple forms of control and regulation from the state to the factory as well as community highlights the structures of constraint as well as the ways women negotiate around these constraints. The aim of the chapter is to delineate key issues of social injustice relating to their nationality and legal ambiguity of status (migrant or worker). Focusing on the individual agency of migrant workers, our research demonstrates that existing analyses of the women's experiences of work and of harassment in Thailand needs to be supplemented by an understanding of their ongoing but changing connections with home and family, in terms of resourcing care for children, the elderly, and other relatives in their home country, as well as their community and family obligations and responsibilities in their place of employment." (author's abstract)

Following a broad overview of ways that changes in the organization of work & organizational cultures in Western postindustrial societies are impacting relations between workers & their jobs, the responses of female customer service representatives at a large telephone company to such changes are explored. Ethnographic interview data from workers, managers, & benefit administrators reveal growing absenteeism & an increasing use of disability or "stress leave" as a response to the pressures of changing work conditions. Two aspects -- instrumental & physical -- of the meaning of pain for women workers are explored & related to the increased psychological pressures they experience as their workloads & "emotional labor" have increased. It is shown how these women have abandoned their former work ethics & begun to use sick leave as a form of resistance to obtain the maximum benefits from a company to which they no longer feel any sense of loyalty. 20 References. K. Hyatt Stewart