LABOUR MARKET

Disadvantage in the Labour Market Does Not “Just Happen”



Disadvantage in the Labour Market Does Not “Just Happen”

Introduction

Disadvantage in the labour market does not “just happen”; it is the result of multiple causes. The aim of this essay is to analyze the gender inequality in the labour market, and how women workers are subjected to discrimination. One source of social change in contemporary societies is the integration of women in the formal economy, and 'formal economy' means paid employment outside the context of family enterprises and household work. Most women's social status used to be determined by the social status of the men they associated with fathers, brothers, or husbands (Althauser 2009, pp. 651). Thus, women integrated in the larger society as part of a kinship group or household rather than as individuals. Social change has modified that to some extent, by creating statuses for women that are independent of kinship groups, as citizens, voters, and wage workers. Indeed, the level of gender equality in terms of income, status, and power-to name the traditional dimensions of stratification research is sometimes seen as an indicator for the level of 'modernity' of a society. Nevertheless, modern women have a hybrid status: it is in part derived from their own participation in the economy and society. In part from the family, they are a part of. Status changes may occur through entering, and leaving paid employment through leaving home, or family formation.

The plan of this essay is to analyze the theories of gender inequality, and gender based labour market segregation along with the disadvantages it presents for the female workers.

Discussion

Theory and research on gender inequality in the labour market have proliferated in the last two decades. A broad distinction is usually made between supply-side and demand-side theories of gender inequality (Rosenfeld 2010, pp. 424). Supply side theories, in turn, can be subdivided into human capital theory and theories of socialisation, in this paper; the brief review of these approaches presented. Gender segregation plays a special role in each theory; therefore, selective review on the link between gender segregation in the labour market and wages is also discussed. Wage gap decompositions undertaken to distinguish between supply and demand factors problematic with respect to deciding which is more important. Above and beyond the weaknesses of a residual effects design, the use of cross-sectional methods to address process-oriented research problems leads to fundamental problems in the interpretation of the results. Specifically, framing gender inequality as a dynamic of investments and returns in the life course requires the observation of actual life courses.

Theories of Gender Inequality

Theories of rational (economic) behaviour see the reason for gender inequality in the labour market, in the division of labour between men and women. Women expect to be married and specialize in child care and therefore, make fewer investments in the labour market (Miller 2007, pp. 885). The most important investments are education, on-the-job training and work effort; variation in these investments, in the labour market result in productivity differences, which, in ...