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The shape of things to come

The shape of things to come. Sylvia Walby OBE UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Lancaster University, UK http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology/profiles/34/. Introduction. Too few women in SET The future of work The future of gender relations: demographic and social change

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The shape of things to come

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  1. The shape of things to come Sylvia Walby OBE UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Lancaster University, UK http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/sociology/profiles/34/

  2. Introduction • Too few women in SET • The future of work • The future of gender relations: demographic and social change • The future of women in science, engineering and technology • Including gender as a driver of change in the analysis of the future of work

  3. Gendered job predictions before the crisis Estimated employment by occupation and gender Male 2004 2014 Managers, profs, technicians 44 48 All occupations 100 100 Female Managers, profs, technicians 38 43 All occupations 100 100 Source: Wilson et al 2006

  4. Job quantity: the financial crisis and the future of women in work • Financial crisis>economic crisis>fewer jobs overall • How long before employment recovers? • Restructuring at the same time • Will there be disproportionately fewer jobs for women? • Depends on the gendered shape of the recovery packages and bank rescues • Do the companies that are loaned government money and the new public works employ disproportionately men or women?

  5. The future of gender relations: care-work; age and retirement • Changes in care-work practices • Increased expectation of life-long employment rather than long breaks for childcare • Increased (if slow!) male sharing of care • Decreased proportions of economically inactive women giving ‘looking after family/home’ as the reason • 1997: 50%; 2005: 45% • Women, age and retirement • Women’s tendency to retire earlier than men will diminish as a result of changes in pension ages and other changes e.g. human capital • Aged 50-65 men in employment 60% • Aged 50-59 women in employment: 60%

  6. The future of gender relations: ethnicity and social change • Gender, ethnicity and religion • Low employment rates among women in some religious/ethnic minorities are likely to rise with increased education, narrowing current gaps • Black 45%; Pakistani 14%; Bangladeshi 9% • Overall implications • Increased employment and expectations of women • Change from a domestic to public gender regime

  7. Gender and science in schools and universities • GCSE A-C grades • Maths: 51% female • Double science: 51% female • A level • Biology: 59% • Chemistry: 50% • Mathematics: 40% • Computing/ICT 29% • Physics: 22% • Degrees • Biology: 64% • Physics: 22% • Maths: 38% • Engineering: 15%

  8. Jobs, gender and skills • Young women are better educated than young men – exam passes • But women’s skills concentrated in areas other than SET • Proportion of those taking science A levels that are female is increasing • Proportion of women employed in IT is declining • Problems lie in areas other than education

  9. The knowledge economy and science, engineering and technology • The knowledge economy • High technology manufacturing: 30% female • Information: 36% female • Knowledge intensive services: 51% female • Are the obstacles to women in SET any different from other employment areas?

  10. The new(?) organisation of work • Flexibility: whose? • Long hours: 45+ hours 31% of men, 10% of W • EU Directives and decline in men’s long hours • Part-time: • predict decrease as women’s human capital increases • Networks: • Women do better as soft skills become more important, or still excluded by old boys networks? • Chilly climate, hostility, harassment?

  11. Including gender as a driver of change in analysing the future of work • Gender as input not only output • Gender equality and productivity • Individual level • Firm level • Whole economy level • Gender an issue of both justice and productivity

  12. Conclusions • Gender equality contributes to the productivity of the individual, firm and economy as a whole • More women will be seeking employment with changes in practices around care and retirement • Women do better in education than employment, in general employment than in SET • While the financial and economic crisis will temporarily reduce jobs overall, the drive for high quality work in the knowledge economy will be the growth area

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