Gender Regime Changes in Britain in Light of the Economic Profile of Women - Essay Example

?Running head: Gender regime changes in the UK Gender Regime Changes in Britain Gender Regime Changes in Britain Introduction One of the most common forms of discrimination is the discrimination inflicted on women. In the traditional sense, women have been regarded as the weaker and more subservient sex. Hence, the rights which were endowed to them have mostly been granted much later than the rights freely granted and accorded to men. Their rights in relation to economic activities have also been limited and have largely been based on the compatibility of these rights with male interests and apparent welfare of society. This paper shall now critically assess the gender regime changes in Britain in light of the economic profile of women. It shall discuss how these changes have been implemented and their impact on society with due consideration for the factors impeding the free activities of women within the economic agenda. This paper is being conducted in order to establish a thorough discussion on women and their place within the British economic society. Discussion As was discussed in the course lessons, statistics reveal that in 2008, black British women were actually earning more than white women; the British Afro-Caribbean women were more involved in low-grade caring work and in public-sector work; Pakistani and Bengali women worked more in semi-skilled jobs and in home working. Moreover, Afro-Caribbean women were also more likely to be involved than white women in full time work. Due to patriarchal roles, Muslim women found it hard to gain entry into the job market; and the middle-class Muslims used their qualifications to overcome the gender-based discrimination against them. With higher rates of immigration, inequalities among women became apparent. Women also often chose courses in college or university in the health and welfare studies and the humanities; they participated less in engineering, mathematics, and computer studies. The current issues in gender inequalities in the labour market are now based on sexual division of labour, with men and women performing different tasks; gender differences in promotion and authority; and gender differences in earnings. In the 1970s, various laws were passed in the UK and were meant to create equality for women. The Equal Pay Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, and the Equal Opportunities Commission were the major laws passed implementing better work conditions in the UK, regardless of race, gender, or nationality. The Employment Protection Act of 1975 was also passed and this gave women the right to claim maternity leave (Bellamy and Cameron, 2006). In the current context, the gender gap which used to dominate the economic and labour force has been decreased. Forty six percent of the Britain labour force is now made up of women. However, behind such figures, there are still major differences in the work conditions and the wages of women and men in the UK (Bellamy and Cameron, 2006). According to the Women and Work Commission, gender pay differences in Europe are at its worse in the UK. All in all, women who are working full time are earning 17% less for each hour than the men; moreover, women working part-time are earning 39% less for each hour than men working full time (Bellamy and Cameron, 2006). Working mothers also seem to be one of the most disadvantaged groups in the UK labour force. Those who have young children manifest with the biggest pay gap as they are earning an average of about 67% of the hourly male wage (Bellamy and Cameron, 2006). Even with the government’s extra focus on implementing better work-home life balance for parents of young children, on an annual rate, about 30,000 pregnant women are being unlawfully fired from their work. Such gender differences in the workplace are not justifiably credited to women’s choices. Research reveals that discrimination is a significant contributor of these gender gaps (Bellamy and Cameron, 2006). The implementation of policies which seek to close these gaps have wholly been ineffective. The existing laws are complex and ineffective for labourers and for business owners. Such laws are not benefitting the general population, especially the women. The relationship between gender and the current economic scenario is a complicated one. Most economic analysts often do not specifically refer to women when changes in the labour conditions are being discussed (Walby, 2002). There are complicated patterns wherein the changes in the gender regime have been seen during and even before these developments in the new economy have been seen (Walby, 2002). The changes in the gender regime which have been greatly acknowledged have mostly been on the shift from a domestic to a public form. And now women have increased their presence in the more public plain and their employment opportunities have increased. They have increased their membership in the parliament, making them less confined to the family (Cooke and Lawton, 2008). Changes in the gender-based culture have also been seen in the patterns of sexual conduct. In terms of violence against women, incidents have decreased. All of these changes are very much related to each other. There are major links between these six areas – that of employment, household work, state, violence, sexuality, and culture (Walby, 2002). The gender regime takes on two forms, that of the domestic and the public forms. The regime is said to be independent from the level of gender inequality. The shift from the domestic to the public plain has already been manifest in industrialised nations since the dawn of the age of industrialisation (Walby, 2002). Such shift can be highly differentiated from each other with patterns which are based on outcomes of better or weaker gender inequality. Such differences are seen most especially in terms of state involvement in the transition to the more public forms of participation (Walby, 1990). The education gap between men and women have also lessened in the past years; women, to some extent, can now be considered as more qualified than men (Walby, 2002). However, such qualifications have not necessarily translated to actual employment, with the highly qualified women gaining more employment as compared to those with lesser qualifications. Nevertheless, improved qualifications impact positively on women’s access to employment opportunities. There is also a question on the extent to which the increase in female education would help women to better jobs and opportunities (Walby, 2002). Even with improved education qualifications and trainings, some jobs, like that of nursing, do not even seem to lead to better employment opportunities (Walby, et.al., 1994). Women entrepreneurs also have complex and difficult relationships with the traditional meanings given to femininity and feminism. For which reason, the presence of young children always seems to minimize women’s employment opportunities and participation. For those in the higher social classes, they are known to participate less in work. New policies seeking to introduce childcare strategies have been implemented in order to reduce the tendency for their young children to minimize their employment (Walby, 2002). Increase in the number of women having better paid and managerial work opportunities have been apparent in the past years. Such opportunities have been seen as means to reduce the impact of occupational segregation in these areas. However, an increase in women with low wages has also been seen in the part-time sector (Walby, 2003). This trend presents a seeming polarisation in the status of women in the economy. There seems to be a tendency for these women to choose work which is in line with their social class; and those with higher social classes have better actual access to the better jobs. The main question for the future of female employment is on whether or not the young women with educational qualifications similar with young men will be able to maintain their initial jobs in the higher level jobs or if they would – upon reaching motherhood – experience deteriorating conditions (Walby, 2002). Such conditions are a strong possibility in the actual work setting. It has been seen time and again with many women workers. For the most part, this seems to serve as a major stumbling block for women gaining better and more numerous employment opportunities in the current age. The responsibility of women seems to largely revolve around rendering care for the younger/older people. This responsibility is one of the factors which seem limit their ability to access work, higher incomes, and to express their opinions in the public sector and the government (Pascall and Lewis, 2004). The improved opportunities and increased time gained by women in the labour market as well as in the managerial positions have not been matched by incidents of men increasing their share in the housework. Gender division in this regard are still very much prevalent and is considered to be a ‘stalled revolution (Hoschild, 1989). In the general and international context, there seems to be an improved participation of men in the housework (Gershuny, 2000); however, on a more specific context, women are still likely to be main caregivers who are also made and pressured to manage flexible work hours and lives. Nevertheless, the trends in other social democratic states appear to be more favourable for women with more policies being implemented for them to carry out more paid work as compared to men carrying out unpaid work (Pascall and Lewis, 2004). In point of fact, in soviet regimes, women were seen as workers and as a major part of the labour force. However, this was carried out through state support for women’s care work. The EU hardly recognizes unpaid care work, with their perceptions of women as actual forces in the labour sector (Pascall and Lewis, 2004). In a bigger analysis, fathers also have a major factor to play in the social and family policy discussions. The current scenario of the family does not anymore solely rely on the father as the breadwinner. Partnerships between mothers and fathers, between partners are already shared (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). However, debates on policies are still based on the concept that achieving harmony between work and family is based on improving conditions for women in fulfilling both ends. This is not to say that moves to grant parental leaves for fathers have not been considered for men in some nations. These similar policies have now seen much progression in the policy scene and these are important policies towards ensuring that women’s work hours are to be reduced (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). Only with such changes and with possible reduction of work load for women can they also seek to pursue better goals in their work. Despite the above concessions for women in the labour market, gender-related issues are still however very much prevalent in the economic scene. There is no single policy which seems to work well for gender equality. Various authors however emphasize the fact that economic and social policies have to be evaluated and the links between paid and unpaid work, income and time must also be considered (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). Policies which are meant to cover paid work have been very effective for some nations and based on their conditions; it has also improved women’s access to higher incomes and to pensions. Such policies have also given a voice to these women in terms of social and political policies. However, even under the best conditions in various nations, men still highly out-earn women (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). Gender equality in the labour market cannot by itself be attained due to systemic links to inequalities among families and politics. Laying out gender equalities policies have also given rise to issues of interventions in different levels from the individuals and from the state. The policies which have enabled women to gain equality (with individual men) have also “brought women into the labour market and have supported their ability to care for children” (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). For women with higher educational levels, it has brought forth for them better work and better pay. However, this trend has created gaps in the labour markets and among households as gender equality seems to be available more to the advantaged women (Pascall and Lewis, 2001). It has also been noted that while gender equality has been improved to match the levels enjoyed by men, men have not been pressured enough to make adjustments in their lives in terms of sharing in housework and the care responsibilities. A reason why everyone must be concerned about gender pay gaps is that it can cause economic inefficiency. Many mothers often find themselves without effective alternatives to their part-time work (TUC, 2008). Women often bear pressure of looking after their younger and older relatives; for the most part, the welfare support they get from the government is often inadequate for those who want to combine full-time employment with caring. For women, the stresses they feel from their families are based on their pay packets and the fact that their family members rely on their support often drive them to gain part-time employ (TUC, 2008). However, the reality of employment is that part-time employment is dominated by low paying and low skilled work; this means that women’s skills are not actually used in their part-time work options. Based on the Gender and Employment in Labour Markets project, 54% of women who were working part-time were actually employed well below their actual potential. This means that previously, they occupied jobs which demanded their better skills and which commanded higher pay. And if the employers gave more high status and high paying jobs to these women – on a part-time basis – they would be able to apply for these opportunities (TUC, 2008). The GELM project also emphasized that the lack of opportunities for promotion in part-time work and the long hours spent in these jobs are factors which have trapped women in jobs which present lower potentials (TUC, 2008). The UK actually has a serious skills shortage and a problem with the low value added, low skills and low wages (Berthoud and Blekesaune, 2007). As a result, about 2.8 million women have been seen to work below their potential. This situation presents a scenario whereby there are skills shortages and insufficient demand for higher skills. In effect, there is an underutilization of women’s skills. This practice would actually cost the government about 11 billion pounds a year because spending is made for gaining skills and knowledge which would not actually be used by society and by the government (TUC, 2008). The issue of undervaluing women’s work is at the very core of gender discrimination in the economic and labour market. Different factors impacting on lower pay for women is based on visibility, valuation, vocation, value-added, and variance (Grimshaw and Rubery, 2007). In visibility, women’s skills are not credited by large and undifferentiated pay and standards grade levels which designate skills and experience. In terms of valuation, little value has traditionally been given to women’s skills and this trend has been carried out through the years. The pay and grade systems for women are often based on the value given to male skills which prompt them to label women as having ‘soft skills’ (TUC, 2008). In terms of vocation, women’s skills are sometimes considered as natural – hence lower in value. In value-added considerations, the fact that the jobs of men seem to involve higher value-added processes and services, the value given to women’s work has been deemed lower. Finally, in terms of variance, women’s care responsibilities emphasize the fact that women’s work level and part-time work is often equated with unskilled work of employers and of women (TUC, 2008). Working mothers are also often impacted by lower rates in their wages. Based on the Equalities Review, three groups of people are encountering major disadvantages in their work: the disabled; Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, and mothers (TUC, 2008). Even with mothers now enjoying improved conditions in the last thirty years, they are also facing massive disadvantages in their work more than any other group. Researches have looked into the family pay differences in hourly rates between the women with and those without children and studies reveal that the gap is very much significant (TUC, 2008). These researches have also revealed that UK is one of the regions with the widest pay gaps. The fact that mothers seem to work in part-time positions receiving low pay is one of the factors seen in this employment trend. The issue of gender segregation also seems to impact on the gender-related issue in the UK. This segregation, for the most part, seems to be based on the nature of the work – some jobs being more dominated by either gender, with those dominated by women registering with lower pay rates. Based on a Kingsmill report, more than 60% of women worked in just 10 professions out of 77 recognized occupations and that about three fifths of these women were working part-time (National Guidance Research Forum, 2001). Such report also revealed that for every increase in men’s salaries, women only received about a 1.3% increase in their wages. Longer hours worked per week were also seen to increase, but most of the increase was seen in the male-dominated professions (Olsen and Walby, 2004). The Women and Work Commission also indicated that gender segregation was linked with the early history of individuals. In other words, the gender-stereotypes are giving women limited work options with their teachers, parents, and even school counsellors advising them about the appropriate work they can take on (TUC, 2008). In addition to these gender stereotypes, occupational segregation for full and part-time work is also affecting women’s choices with more limited options in the full-time sectors of employment. According to Manning and Petrongolo, occupational segregation can account for part-time work issues. In effect, women who shift from full-time to part-time work are more likely to find other employers and change jobs as compared to those who can actually work full time. In making such transition, they often have to make lower work options, in terms of pay rates and in terms of skills and experience needed. They also emphasized that there is a cycle and trend in gender segregation. It usually peaks when the men and women join the labour force; and it rises until the age of 35, and then it usually tapers off after (Manning, 2006). Researchers have also established that women’s worsening part-time pay penalty is credited to the fact that it is women wanting to shift from full time to part time who also often have to change employers or jobs – and, unfortunately, these jobs often pay less and require lesser skills. Other studies also establish that some women who switch from fulltime to part-time work go through occupational downgrading and that they often move into jobs where other employees hardly have A levels. Many corporate managers often downgrade after they have children and most of them often end up doing clerical work (Connolly and Gregory, 2009). These studies highlight the strong link between part-time work and gender segregation and the onset of family responsibilities. Gender segregation does not account for a lot because even when men and women enjoy similar circumstances and qualifications, pay gaps still exist. In a study by the Equal Opportunities Commission, among full-time graduates, whatever subjects they were able to graduate in, men still earned more than women with degrees in the same subjects; women with firsts were able to earn less than men with firsts, and women with 2.1s earned less than men with 2.1s, etc; and whatever industry men worked in, they often earned more than women occupying the same position (Economic and Labour Market Review, 2008). Such trends were apparent three years after these men and women graduated. The studies however indicate that although men out-earned women in almost all types of work, such differences in pay were lowest in areas which were dominated by women. In this regard, it is important to note that the gender segregation can affect men as much as women; but such differences are still very much minimal as compared to the rates given to women in almost all aspects of the labour and economic force. A major element of liberal feminism is that gender equality calls for women to participate in the economic, political, and cultural scene—the same scenes which men participate in. In the modern context, women’s subordinate position in the labour markets is very much linked with families, education, politics, and similar factors (Barker, 2005). Employment is often highly influenced by trends which have been set for years or even decades; for which reason, no clear gains have yet to be claimed in favour of more equal labour and economic opportunities for men and women. Studies which involved clear interviews and assessment involving women revealed that a major issue in work involves time – that in order to produce a really good piece of work, time is needed. But for women, who often have greater domestic responsibilities, such time is not always available (Currie, Harris, and Theale, 2000). These women argue that family responsibilities often disrupted their ability to carry out their careers to a greater extent than men. Women were more inclined to participate in activities with more altruistic purposes; and women apparently make better corporate citizens than their male counterparts. However, this would not explain the fact that women are sometimes not included in research activities and higher academic pursuits (Fletcher, n.d). They felt excluded from joint publications and they found the process more focused on males and less about their contribution to the process. Conclusion The above discussion lays out the situation of women in the United Kingdom, more particularly in terms of their economic and employment opportunities. The situation in the UK in relation to employment seems to portray that women have gained better opportunities in terms of employment and labour; however, the gains which they have secured do not come close as yet to the privileges enjoyed by men. In effect, their opportunities are still tied in with the traditions of society and the notions about the female worker. These are gender-influenced conflicts which often affect women’s employment opportunities. The current improvements in gender issues seem to present better opportunities for women; however, investing opportunities for women can still be problematic because some of them are tied down and limited by their domestic responsibilities. For which reason, even with better opportunities for work, many qualified women can only work part-time or at lower-skilled jobs. The current regime changes in the workplace are not accompanied by changes in the life and the activities of men – sharing in the domestic workload in order to give women more time to pursue their careers. Without such related changes in the home front and in society in general, no clear progress can be secured for women. Hence, gender issues in employment would likely remain. Works Cited Barker, D. (2008). Beyond Women and Economics: Rereading "Women's Work" Economic and Labour Market Review. University of South Carolina. Retrieved 19 April 2011 from http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=wost_facpub&sei-redir=1#search=%22women+work+feminism+UK+economic+labour%22 Bellamy, K. & Cameron, S. (2006). Gender Equality in the 21st century: modernising legislation. Fawcett Society. Retrieved 18 April 2011 from http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/documents/low_res_final2.pdf Berthoud, R. & Blekesaune, M. (2007). Persistent Employment Disadvantage. 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