Restructuring of Finnish Trade Unions – the Growing Importance of Women

The membership profile of Finnish trade unions has changed from male-dominated industrial workers to female-dominated service and public sector workers who are more highly educated. The Finnish labour market is strongly divided into female and male occupations and sectors, and these intersectional differences play an important part in the differentiation of developmental paths. The erosion of membership is mainly due to the rapid growth of the independent unemployment fund (YTK) competing with unemployment funds associated with trade unions. YTK has been much more successful in recruiting private sector male workers than women. Men’s decisions not to join the union are related to the shift in the motivation to unionise from social custom to instrumental reasons. Along with the gender majority shift, union identification has changed, and unions need to carry out ‘identity work’ to attain members. The shift in gender proportions has also had consequences for the collective bargaining system.

The Gender Mobility Paradox: Gender Segregation and Women’s Mobility Across Gender-Type Boundaries, 1970–2018

In this article, we examine trends in women’s mobility among male-dominated, gender-neutral, and female-dominated occupations. Earlier research, largely employing data from the 1970s and early 1980s, showed that along with significant net movement by women into male-dominated fields, there was also substantial attrition from male-dominated occupations. Here, we build on previous research by examining how “gender-type” mobility rates have changed in recent decades. The findings indicate that while still quite high, levels of women’s occupational mobility among female, gender-neutral, and male occupations have decreased considerably over time. We suggest that this is the result of increasing differentiation among women. In particular, many women, especially those in high-status occupations, plan to pursue employment in a male-dominated field, succeed in gaining entry, and tend to remain in these fields more often than their counterparts in previous decades. We interpret these findings as evidence that gender segregation is maintained by an enduring but imperfect system of social control that constrains women’s choices before, during, and after entry into the labor market. The evidence presented here underscores the importance of studying gender-type mobility as a distinct dimension of labor market inequality.

Voice Cues Influence Children’s Assessment of Adults’ Occupational Competence

The adult voice is a strong bio-social marker for masculinity and femininity. In this study we investigated whether children make gender stereotypical judgments about adults’ occupational competence on the basis of their voice. Forty-eight 8- to 10- year olds were asked to rate the competence of adult voices that varied in vocal masculinity (by artificially manipulating voice pitch) and were randomly paired with 9 occupations (3 stereotypically male, 3 female, 3 gender-neutral). In line with gender stereotypes, children rated men as more competent for the male occupations and women as more competent for the female occupations. Moreover, children rated speakers of both sexes with feminine (high-pitched) voices as more competent for the female occupations. Finally, children rated men (but not women) with masculine (low-pitched) voices as more competent for stereotypically male occupations. Our results thus indicate that stereotypical voice-based judgments of occupational competence previously identified in adults are already present in children, and likely to affect how they consider adults and interact with them in their social environment.

The Segregation Premium: How Gender Shapes the Symbolic Valuation Process of Occupational Prestige Judgments

Symbolic valuation is an important but overlooked aspect of gendered processes of inequality in the occupation structure. Prior work has largely focused on the material valuation of gendered work, such as how much predominantly-female versus predominantly-male occupations pay. Less research has examined the symbolic valuation of work, such as how prestigious predominantly-female versus predominantly-male occupations are. What research has examined this question has remained inconclusive at best. Drawing on insights into and techniques from the sociology of culture and cognition, this study examines the role of an occupation’s gender composition in how Americans judge the prestige of jobs, testing key predictions from theories of gender and status. Using 2012 General Social Survey and federal occupation-level data, it finds evidence for a segregation premium: people view gender-segregated occupations as the most symbolically valuable jobs. Both men and women reward gender-segregated occupations with symbolic value, although there is evidence of a gendered in-group bias in which women in particular see women’s work as more prestigious, while men see men’s work as more prestigious.

Do Female Occupations Pay Less but Offer More Benefits?

Workers in predominantly female occupations have, on average, lower wages compared to workers in predominantly male occupations. Compensating differentials theory suggests that these wage differences occur because women select into occupations with lower pay but more fringe benefits. Alternatively, devaluation theory suggests that these wage differences occur because work performed by women is not valued as highly as work performed by men. One theory assumes that workers choose between wages and benefits. The other assumes that workers face constraints that restrict their wages and benefits. To examine whether female occupations pay less but offer more benefits, I used individual-level data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey and occupation-level data from the American Community Survey and from the Occupational Information Network. Contrary to compensating differentials theory, results from multivariate regression analysis provide little evidence that benefits explain wage differences between male and female occupations. Instead, consistent with devaluation theory, workers in female occupations are less likely to be offered employer health insurance coverage and are less likely to have retirement plans compared with workers in male occupations.

IN HER OWN WORDS: THE SEMANTICS OF FEMALE AUTHORSHIP IN ANCIENT GREECE, FROM SAPPHO TO NOSSIS

What we call things is important—it reveals what we think about the world. What we call ourselves, however, is even more important. It reveals ideas and assumptions about identity, gender, community. It helps us to see where we fit in in society; what we understand our purpose, our role to be; the kinds of activities we undertake. In a history where women have been largely barred from higher-paying, traditionally male occupations, the way in which women in particular use terminology to lay claim to skills and expertise in counterpoint to a generally male-dominant culture speaks volumes about the ways in which women see themselves and their relationship to their work. As Erica Jong puts it in her feminist essay,The Artist as Housewife, ‘naming is a form of self-creation’.

Yes I Can!

Many countries face the problem of skill shortage in traditionally male occupations. Individuals’ development of vocational interests and employment goals starts as early as in middle childhood and is strongly influenced by perceptions of job accessibility (status and difficulty) and self-efficacy beliefs. In this study, we tested a linguistic intervention to strengthen children’s self-efficacy toward stereotypically male occupations. Two classroom experiments with 591 primary school students from two different linguistic backgrounds (Dutch or German) showed that the presentation of occupational titles in pair forms (e.g., Ingenieurinnen und Ingenieure, female and male engineers), rather than in generic masculine forms (Ingenieure, plural for engineers), boosted children’s self-efficacy with regard to traditionally male occupations, with the effect fully being mediated by perceptions that the jobs are not as difficult as gender stereotypes suggest. The discussion focuses on linguistic interventions as a means to increase children’s self-efficacy toward traditionally male occupations.

Filles déscolarisées et apprentissage des « métiers masculins » dans la ville de Kinshasa : quelle image sociale?

In the city of Kinshasa there has been a marked increase in the numbers of women expressing an interest in jobs traditionally thought of as male occupations. The case of the out-of-school girls learning mechanics is a good illustration of this new phenomenon. In a society in which access to employment in the formal sector is saturated, apprenticeships organized in non-formal educational centers offer out-of-school girls the opportunity to develop practical skills that can be used immediately, and so help them create their own employment opportunities. The choice to learn the 'male occupation' of mechanics contrasts with the cultural conceptions about the boundaries between the female and male oriented work. Considering such a contrast, and the recurring political discourse concerning gender equality, which encourages women to integrate into all spheres of social activity, it is interesting to question the inhabitants of Kinshasa about the relevance of the occupation choices of the out-of-school girls and about their skill levels in the “male jobs” arena. The survey showed that the inhabitants of Kinshasa are against the division of work along gender lines and remain in favor of the idea that men and women should be able to pursue jobs according to their skills rather than their sex.

Filles déscolarisées et apprentissage des « métiers masculins » dans la ville de Kinshasa : quelle image sociale ?

In the city of Kinshasa there has been a marked increase in the numbers of women expressing an interest in jobs traditionally thought of as male occupations. The case of the out-of-school girls learning mechanics is a good illustration of this new phenomenon. In a society in which access to employment in the formal sector is saturated, apprenticeships organized in non-formal educa- tional centers offer out-of-school girls the opportunity to develop practical skills that can be used immediately, and so help them create their own employment opportunities. The choice to learn the 'male occupation' of mechanics contrasts with the cultural conceptions about the boundaries between the female and male oriented work. Considering such a contrast, and the recurring politi- cal discourse concerning gender equality, which encourages women to integrate into all spheres of social activity, it is interesting to question the inhabitants of Kinshasa about the relevance of the occupation choices of the out-of-school girls and about their skill levels in the "male jobs" arena. The survey showed that the inhabitants of Kinshasa are against the division of work along gender lines and remain in favor of the idea that men and women should be able to pursue jobs according to their skills rather than their sex.