University of KwaZulu Natal

Work & Identities (PSYC702)

Gender, Age, and Work

Presenters:

Devon Ferreira (204519344)

Siphesihle Ngobese (205516965)

Date: 3 April 2009

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Introduction

With such a convoluted and multifaceted issue to cover, this essay in essence shall seek to
provide a concise presentation and elucidation around as many concepts and ideas that go
into the knowledge and discourses of gender, age and work. Thus our paper shall begin
by charting the origins of the modern discourses, by looking at their common starting
point and most pervasive discourse that has structured modern society; and that is of
patriarchy. Such a start shall entail, providing a definition of patriarchy and its key tenets.
With this having been provided, this essay shall then chart the development of patriarchy
by placing it in an epochal-historical context dating from the earliest forms of human
society, namely Hunter-Gatherer to the Agrarian/Feudal, to the Capitalist mode of
production (whereby we shall examine the industrial revolution which was its catalyst).
Such a historical placement, shall allow for this paper to then be able to chart the rise of
other movements which arose in stark opposition to patriarchy, namely the Feminist
movement. Our assessment of Feminism shall provide the foundations into explaining
why modern and post-modern society has called-for and worked towards change,
redefining itself, whilst constantly struggling to instil change from the hegemony of the
patriarchal society. This mini debate within this essay shall provide a great foundation to
the next idea raised which is of the changed attitudes and beliefs of women around
concepts and issues of work. Such a discussion shall look at the perceptions of women
and men in the work place, and chart how and why regardless of the progression society
has made, women still do the bulk of the domestic work. The next idea that is raised
pertains to the notion of the feminization of work; with a look into the stats that advocate
that there has been a sharp rise in women entering the workforce. This phenomenon shall
be discussed and critiqued accordingly. The penultimate section of this essay shall move
to a discussion of careers, with an express focus on the implications the gender and age of
workers. At this juncture we’ll discuss the composition of the 21 st century workforce, and
look at the five life stages that influence the modern workers decisions around their
careers and work. The final idea this paper shall present is a contextualization of most
discourses raised in the preceding sections by looking at local income disparities, the
commercialization of domestic work and its stigma, and the development of local

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legislation including its short comings in addressing the local labour market. A
conclusion shall then summate.

Historical Background

The society we live in has been shaped by a multitude of discourses that make up
everything about us, right down to our constructed sense of self. Intrinsically, the very
fabrics of society and the institutions we live by inform our own actions, and guide our
collective responsibility as a society. Oddly enough, as noted by many a social writer, the
very fabrics of society that exist today place male prominence at their centre, and go as
far as subordinating females to ensure this dominance. This facet of society is called
patriarchy, and is the most pervasive form of organizing society, and setting up a social-
hierarchy based on gender. Thus lays the most crucial question at this stage which is just
exactly what patriarchy is? The Oxford dictionary describes patriarchy as the; “form of
social organization in which the father or oldest male is the head of the family, and
descent and relationship are reckoned through the male line; government or rule by a man
or men” (Oxford, 2008). Such a definition, although encapsulating what patriarchy is,
doesn’t take into account the full rigours of this concept, thus patriarchy is also posited as
the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary
responsibility for the welfare of, and authority over, their families (Henslin, 2001). The
concept of patriarchy is often used by extension to refer to the expectation that men take
primary responsibility for the welfare of the community as a whole, acting as
representatives via public office.

It is also important to state that patriarchy is, regardless of your ideological or

methodological viewpoint, the most common and accepted method in which gender
relations have come to be conceptualized. That is whether you are a creationalist,
evolutionist, Marxist or a societal liberalist, all concur that patriarchy is dominant; and
that the commonly held notion is that the organisation of collective human effort has
centred around male dominance the subordination of females. Terbon (2004) notes
though that, the world was not equally patriarchal, though the powers of fathers, adult

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sons, brothers and husbands although virtually everywhere overwhelming, did differ
across cultures and customs (2004:17).

Like most science, the default inclination is to try attributing a natural or biological
rationality to phenomena; thus the origins attributed to patriarchy stem from biological
determinism. This seeks to explain male/female relations from an anatomical differences
approach (that is because men are naturally bigger and stronger than women, they are
also social dominant. Such a line of thinking is paraphrased in Freud statement that
anatomy is destiny (Mies, 1986:45). More degradingly, women are seen as having their
share of the production and reproduction of life as a function of their biology or ‘nature’.
Thus the root of patriarchy stems from the derived idea that women tend to be identified
with nature, and man with culture. This view has shaped human society from our earliest
forms of existence, right up to present society; and has manifested into the division of
labour controlled whom does and how we do work.

Centrally on this issue is that this discourse has entrenched itself into all societal
institutions that go into shaping whom we are (e.g. family, school, work, and church).
Let us examine how this has developed over three major epochs (Hunter-Gatherer,
Agrarian,/Feudal, Industrial Revolution and Capitalism).

Hunter-Gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct
procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without
significant recourse to the domestication of either (Burenhult, 1994); thus people in these
communities had very little societal structure, as most were nomadic groups that roamed
following the seasons and wild migratory herds.

In these forms of society, anatomical differences DID matter, as bigger stronger and
testosterone-driven men found hunting wild game much easier (Diamond, 1998). The
women were relegated to foraging (wild berries and nuts) and catching small game like

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rats, rabbits, fish (such women had to stay close their children for safety sake). Thus by
virtue of physical attributes, this was the roots of the gendered division of labour, as men
gained prominence because their work and exploits provided the most protein. His
importance as provider was built into the very mechanics of production. The bonds men
created through expeditions of hunting are assumed to be the beginnings of culture, as
they were of sharing experiences, techniques and methodology of the skills (Diamond,
1998). Thus in essence the male was in control of his skills and ability, and thus he
derives resources from his participation in the public sphere. The Oxford (1994) reading
put’s it concisely by writing; the male is able to control his input into the household
economy (1994:7).

This is in stark contrast to the way women’s labour is perceived; in contrast women on
the other hand (just like the plants they foraged and the fruits that they picked) were
ALSO just producers. Thus women’s work was (and is) seen as an extension of their
physiology; that is, of the fact that THEY give birth to children, of the fact that nature has
provided THEM with a uterus (Mies, 1986:45). All the labour that goes into the
production of life, including the labour of giving birth to a child, is NOT seen as the
conscious interaction of a human being with nature, that is, a truly human activity; but
rather as an activity of nature itself, which produces plants and animals unconsciously
and has no control over this process. Thus Mies (1986) contends that due to the
biologistic definition of women’s interaction with her nature, her work both in giving
birth and raising children as well as the rest of the domestic work does not appear as
work (1986:45).

Therefore the hunter-gather epoch ushered in a period of time whereby respect for
women’s work wasn’t seen as a priority as their work in itself had its importance negated.
Thus, patriarchy had found it’s expression, and even with a change in times, nothing was
going to change nor stop the prolific patriarchal societal discourse.

Agrarian (Feudal society)

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The advent of farming and agriculture redefined human existence, as it organised human
effort into sedentary settlements that tended to support larger numbers of populations
(Diamond, 1998), thus accruing a more expansive division of labour. This is a society that
is based on agriculture as its prime means for support and sustenance. The surplus of food
and a higher calorie production that farming and animal husbandry offered, allowed for
societies to form new specialized roles such as monarchs, politicians, artisans, labourers,
and most importantly developing a standing army (Diamond, 1998). However, the most
significant aspect to highlight here is that all these new specializations excluded women.

Crucially, patriarchy had evolved with the changing epoch and mode of production, and the
women was now confined into the home as this was the domain whereby she could best
effect her biological role of child-bearer and rearer. This is qualified best by many authors,
the best of whom writing that, ‘even though societies mode of production had changed, and
that new forms of organizing work and society arose during this period; women’s work still
had no significant value above that of its biological and reproductive purposes (Mies,
1986:45).

Thus the inequalities of gender were entrenched and worse yet accepted into society, with
Cornell arguing such inequalities of gender being sustained through a complex of
institutions (e.g. the school, the home/family, and the workplace). Therefore it is at this
juncture of our historo-epochal assessment that we introduce two more concepts that have
gone hand-in-hand with patriarchy. These are exploitation (namely of women by men) and
the concept of power-over.

Exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being
mistreated or unfairly used for the benefit of others. This corresponds to one ethical
conception of exploitation, that is, the treatment of human beings as mere means to an end
or as mere "objects" (web1). In different terms, "exploitation" refers to the use of people as
a resource, with little or no consideration of their well-being.

1
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/exploitation/

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The notion of power over derives itself from the realization of one group that they are in a
position of influence over another, and may thus use that to exert their agenda on them in as
hegemonic fashion as they please.

Thus a central feature of patriarchy is the exploitation of women’s surplus labour for the
benefit of men.

The Industrial Revolution (catalyst for Capitalism)

The industrial revolution in England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
was marked by rapid increases in production, trade and population, as manufacturing rose
to prominence over agriculture as the engine of development (Beder, 2000:36). Thus the
industrial revolution meant a change in epoch again, and a new class division and division
of labour. Established landowners benefited from the industrial revolution and some
become capitalists in own right (Beder, 2000:37); however the paradox was
landownership’s was still the reserved right for men, a capitalist mode of ownership merely
carried over these privileges. Thus a new social relation of power-over and exploitation was
created, with the master & serf replaced by the capitalist and proletariat. Terbon (2004)
notes that social stabilization after the convulsions of the industrial revolution meant a
strengthening of the patriarchal institution of marriage-if not patriarchal power within
marriage-and family. Terbon (2004) summarizes this point eloquently when he writes that
the world of wives were institutionally subordinate to husbands virtually everywhere, as
most societies took special tolls of women (2004:70-71).

A divergence from the norm under the capitalist mode of production was that the re-
organising of society through the emergence of the working class placed male dominance
(that is, the breadwinner idea) at risk, as in capitalist society all had to work to subsist.
However, the dominance of the patriarchal ideal, and the depth of just how much it had
entrenched itself in society was evident in women and children occupying the lower and
even more dangerous paying jobs. People were forced to work long hours by machines,
clocks and constant supervision (Beder, 2000: 37). This is the root of modern exploitation

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of women whom work both at work for a wage (usually below par), and then had
undervalued domestic work to do.

Thus the development of a gendered division of labour has developed from simple
anatomical and biological rationality, into a socially engineered modus of asserting male
dominance over feminine subordination.

Capitalism entrenched patriarchy by ensuring that men always benefit from female surplus
labour at all levels… these levels are in essence the very institutions that goes into
socializing us, such as the family (whereby women contracted to their husband to produce
children for him alone, for the sake of being able to pass on inheritance), the school/work
(where women and men are taught and/or enact their different roles from a gender point of
view, it is here that male importance is entrenched), and religion (which Marx calls the
opiate of the masses). On the issue of religion, It is argued pertaining to women that they
are allowed to withdraw into religion in practically all societies is no small measure, due to
the fact that religious ideology, as formulated and popularised by the patriarchs, keeps them
(women) safely subservient (IBR, 1991:21). The world around 1900 was a patriarchal
world, where the laws of fathers ruled the world of children; including grown-up children,
at least if unmarried (Terbon, 2004:70). This is encapsulated by the vast majority of people
interviewed in a study conducted by the Institute for Black Research (1991) which found
that both sexes held that men are superior, that they have priority claim to employment, that
women owe men their labour, and are accountable to them; this is encapsulated best in the
text by the IBR (1991) by stating that the majority of women interviewed continued to
believe in the subordination, and did not consider it their right to engage in activities
outside the family without seeking patriarchal permission (IBR, 1991:39).

However, a glimmer of change arose. In stark contrast to the entrenched patriarchal society
that had developed over centuries, the Feminist movement arose in the 19th century, and
sought to break the chains of inequality and exploitation (especially in the workplace).
Feminist movements, often supported by male socialists and radicals had arisen in the
America’s, in Oceania and in Europe, pioneered by Britain and growing most strongly in

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Scandinavia (Terbon, 2004:19). This movement, although pervasive, took a while as it was
as neither established nor old as patriarchy which been ingrained in society.

In essence, Feminism doesn’t attack the male hegemony in society, more than the females’
actual acceptance of it. Thus in relation to the concept of labour, the development of
feminism advocated that labour can only be productive in the sense of producing surplus
value as long as it can be spent in the production of life, or subsistence production (Mies,
1980).

Changing Attitudes of Women towards Work and Domestic

Responsibilties

Compared to world of 1900 patriarchy has had to retreat everywhere. The legal rights of
women have been extended in all countries and the expansion of education and paid work
has extended autonomy. Dramatic socio-economic, political and cultural changes have
undercut the authority of men. Therefore the biggest social change since the 1970’s has
been the increase of women in the labour force. According to statistical data collected from
the 1951 Census, it showed that only 22 percent of married women were playing an active
role in the economy compared to 1987, which saw 68 percent of married women
economically active (Hakim, 1979). In association with this there has been a change in
attitudes towards working women. Although a study carried out in 1965 of working age
women, revealed that only a small minority of women felt that being married barred
women from working, informing us that these attitudes have changed little, it is the change
in beliefs about women with children and work that has been the most radical (Newel,
2000). However, upon closer inspection of these surveys, one can highlight some
impending irregularities. Although only 25 percent of women in the studies believed that
“women’s place is in the home”, 46 percent of women agreed that a husband’s role is to
earn money, and a wife’s role is to care for the children and maintain the home (Newel,
2000: 94). One can presume then that work for a women should be accompanied together
with domestic demands and responsibilities What is interesting to point out is that the
younger generation of full time working women and students hold less traditional attitudes,

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than their husbands who more often than not hold on to a more traditional position with
regards to gender roles at home and work (Newel, 2000: 94).

Another feature of women’s employment is that there is a tendency in the rate of women’s
employment according to family responsibilities. Here a women’s employment can be
characterized by one or more career break which coincide with the birth of their children
and pre-school development (Newel, 2000). Britain compared with many other European
countries fare poorly in the provision of maternity rights and subsidized childcare. With the
cost of childcare facilities being so high, this has had a direct bearing on woman’s
employment (Berry-Lound, 1990). Therefore many women are forced to turn to part-time
work due to the fact that it would be uneconomic for many women to work full-time,
especially when most women are found to occupy low paid jobs. Ultimately these women
found their experiences of motherhood to have a negative impact on both their earnings and
job status, due to the fact that taking more breaks from to rear children, results in them
more likely than not returning to a lower occupational level (Newel, 2000: 95).

Despite the increasing equality of women in the workforce, in terms of numerical value, the
segregation of women’s work remains to have a stranglehold with regards to women’s
movement into the higher ranks of employment (Hakim, 1981). Women still tend to occupy
only a narrow range of jobs, “most of which can be seen as an extension of their role within
the family” (Dex 1987; Sipley 1990 in Newel, 2000: 95). There is this notion that although
their remains a clear segregation of women’s work, the traditional family, comprised of a
female housewife and male breadwinner, is no longer a typical social arrangement, as it is
said that women are increasingly becoming breadwinners (Newel, 2000). You would think
that since this traditional family is said to be declining, household responsibilities would be
equally shared. However research shows that there once again still remains a clear
segregation with regards to household chores, and the disturbing reality is that millions of
women are returning from a full day’s work to an additional several hours of housework
(Newel, 2000). What this means is that although we may see men taking a more active role
in the home, it remains far cry from being classified as an equal sharing of domestic
responsibilities.

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What is most interesting, is that according to Brannen and Moss (1988), they found that
majority women do believe that domestic chores should be shared equally between the
husband and wife. However these same women did not convey much displeasure with the
situation they found themselves in (Newel, 2000). They maintain that the “problem of
juggling full-time employment with motherhood is essentially theirs” (Newel, 2000: 96).
Many of the men in this study accepted the return to work of their wives for purposes of
bringing home a dual income, but overlooked the difficulties that arise in holding down a
job as well as running a home (Newel, 2000). Llwelyn and Osbourne (1990) suggest that
these women are trying to live up to a “superwomen” ideal. However if we think about, in
essence such a role model would be idealistic, since more and more women are now
turning to external help from nannies or housekeepers making the “superwomen” more of a
fantasy than a reality. (Newel, 2000: 96)

Despite the difficulties women face combining a family and career, this is a choice that
many women are making, mostly out of financial necessity, but also for personal
fulfillment (Polakof, 1991 in Newel, 2000). Yet there are still many obstacles which women
have to grapple with when re-entering the workplace with a family. Whilst legislation has
been passed to prevent direct forms of discrimination, the extent to which these laws have
reduced indirect discrimination, such as personnel policies, is minimal (Newel, 2000).
Organizations could play a pivotal role in trying to eradicate inequalities within the
workplace, however many of these organized fail to take into account the level to which
such personnel policies actually indirectly discriminate against a female labour force which
increasingly consists of women with young children (Newel, 2000).

This gendered division which takes place within the domestic sphere prevents women from
putting a lot of time and effort into their careers. An individual’s career progression is
dependant on their ability and commitment to appear as a feasible and long term prospect,
which involves being able to work long hours (Newel, 2000 : 96) Therefore many women,
with families found themselves unable to progress through the ranks of the workplace. This
why it is not surprising to find women who are demanding executive jobs are more likely to

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be single compared with male colleagues. Those women trying to juggle a career in
amongst home and family responsibilities often combine both roles through working part-
time, and as a consequence sacrifice long term career prospects (Newel, 2000: 97).

It is clear that evidence suggests that women’s attitudes are changing and as a result are
expanding their roles. However there is little evidence that men are doing the same by
participating in the domestic and childcare responsibilities traditionally taken on by
women. A survey carried out by a group of researchers set out to look at how far these
problems are acknowledged by a group of men and women working full-time, in two major
blue chip companies, specifically there attitudes and beliefs about traditional gender roles
within the home and work domains.

On the issue of whether men and women share equal opportunities within the workplace.
Women were more likely to feel that they do not share equal opportunities in the workplace
and that women were at a disadvantage when it came to promotion opportunities, because
employers were hesitant to give promotions to women out of the fear that they will leave to
have children. The men on the other hand were less likely to recognize the lack of equal
opportunities for women (Newel, 99). This presented somewhat of a contradiction because
at the same time most men expected women to fulfil their traditional role by taking
responsibility for the household management. This can be construed as men either
assuming women are ‘superwomen’, which is unlikely as we have already suggested, or
mostly likely men having low expectations, if any, of women to having, or indeed wanting
to have, progressive careers, given that men are less likely to believe that women can
combine the dual role of mother and worker (Newel, 2000 :99).

On the issue of domestic division of labour, researchers found significant differences

between male and females with regards who should be responsible for common household
tasks. It became evident in the study that males believed that household tasks should be
divided up along clearly defined gender lines, whilst the females believe in an equal
sharing of all household tasks (Newel, 2000). However what becomes apparent here is that
the males’ vision of how domestic task should be divided up was more in line with reality

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than the women’s. This traditional division of domestic responsibility is evidently apparent,
and perhaps what more striking is the fact that for males, having a family resulted in them
having reduced responsibility for household management and a return to the traditional
gendered division (Newel, 2000). There was little difference between women with or
without children in how they shared domestic roles with their partners. However in general,
women tended to take on greater responsibility for day to day management of the
household (Newel, 2000).

According Bradley et al (2000), “new men”, so they say, want to spend more time with
their children. However, despite studies having showed that this might be the case, the gap
between their involvement and that of mothers remains appalling. According to time
budgets conducted by Jonathan Gershuny, in 1985 women who worked full-time spent on
average 107 mins a day looking after their young children while full-time men spent
fourty-five minutes (Bradley et al, 2000:85). Women feel that in order to maintain a decent
living, they need to bring home a second income, yet they continue to see household tasks
as primarily their responsibility (Bradley et al, 2000).

As is evident from the above men have continued to hold onto more traditional views and
as a result there has not been a significant “masculinization” of domestic division of
labour. This has been a contributing factor to women’s labour market marginalization and
is how men have managed to dominate the labour market (Bradley et al, 2000: 85).

These traditional views, held by men, were also reflected when questions arose about
childcare arrangements. For example men were much more likely to agree, that a woman is
more suited to looking after children, due to their maternal nature, and whilst women also
agreed that they were the best suited for taking care of the children, men saw it less
adequate that they make use alternative arrangements for childcare, for example nannies,
and housekeepers (Newel, 2000).
.
Many organizations have made organizational arrangements which allow for equal
opportunity policies to be made available to expecting mothers, that facilitate the ability to

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combine both home and job demands. Such policies are flexible working, career breaks,
and job sharing (Newel, 2000). When asked how effective these arrangements were in
encouraging women to return to work, not surprisingly, men saw less need for these types
of arrangements whilst women did. However it was suggested in this paper that
encouragement of these sorts of arrangements, by women, in the long run may sort to
confirm them as the domestic sex (Newel, 2000).

As was shown in this paper whilst women attitudes to work have changed somewhat and
would like to strip themselves of some of the household management, in reality the
domestic division of labour remains gender specific (Newel, 2000). This linked the fact that
male attitudes revealed a much less positive tendency to change traditional domestic roles.
Men still expect women to run the home and look after the children, and to take time off
work when children are sick. Yet when it comes to work women are seen to be letting her
domestic life affect her work, as they are not being prepare to make sacrifices for their
career. Therefore in reality the blame is shifted towards the women for their difficulties in
the workplace (Newel, 2000)

Feminization of Work

We have mentioned already that more and more women are being integrated into the
economy. These developments, fall under an umbrella term which is the Feminization of
work. There are number of meanings for this particular term.

First one is the feminization of the labour force. This means that the influx of women into
the labour market has reached a comparable rate to that of men. This increase in the
proportion of jobs is a common feature of the most advanced capitalist societies, and is
associated with the growth of service-sector employment which allows for an increasing
numbers of women’s jobs, involving caring and catering for the needs of the clients
(Bradley, Erickson, Stephenson & Williams, 2000). Traditional ‘male jobs’ in
manufacturing are slowly becoming non-existant, leading to declining male employment
rates, increased idleness and unemployment. Increased male unemployment has become a

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major public concern around the world but especially in Britain (Bradley et al, 200)..
However, the way unemployment figures are calculated, appears to be controversial due to
the fact that it could be said that the portion of women who reluctantly fall prey to
unemployment may go unrecorded (Bradley et al, 200). This is likely because women are
presumed stay at home mothers, or may have the luxury to stay home and those who are
seeking work but to no avail often aren’t included in the unemployment figures. This does
not in any way lessen the concern for male unemployment and it still remains a “real
important social change and significantly affects gender relations within families” (Bradley
et al, 2000: 76). You will found that in many countries the traditional family, based on the
“male breadwinner and dependant housewife” has been replaced with dual-earning
families. With this break down of traditional families, so is the male breadwinner being
undermined, especially when more women are seen to be bringing up children on their
own (Bradley et al, 2000: 72).

The second use of the term is the feminization of occupations. This refers to the movement
for women into occupations which were previously occupied by men. But as you will
realize it has not really amounted to this. If women make up a greater proportion of the
workforce, we would expect there to be an accompanying change in the allocation of
women and men in different occupations, meaning more women in men’s jobs (Bradley et
al, 2000). However, the segregation of work into men’s and women’s job has been, and still
is, an established feature in most societies, amounting to a major source of male
dominance, making the myth of a female takeover exactly that, a myth (Bradley et al,
2000).

It has been a common occurrence for employers to have tried to feminize particular
occupations. E.g Transforming and deskilling the tasks of clerks. With the use of such
strategies employers are able to exploit the fact that women’s work has less socio-
economic importance than male work (Bradley et al, 2000). This provides employers with
a great opportunity to lower labour cost, through the employment of women in these
positions and paying them less. The employment of women benefits the employer in other
ways as well, due to the fact that women are also said to be less likely to form collective

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organizations, therefore making them easier to control (Bradley et al, 2000). However it
must be said that although feminization has not brought about a total collapse of gender
segregation, women have been seen to be making inroads into certain areas traditionally
assigned to men, like law, medicine and accountancy. Women are now able to compete on
an equal playing field with men, largely because of their increased levels of tertiary
education and other credentials (Bradley et al, 2000: 72) On the bottom end of the
occupational scale, however, there has been little improvement and women have made
little advancement into the so-called “traditional male jobs” in manufacturing or transport
which are in decline (Bradley et al, 2000: 78).

The third use of the term is feminization of work, whereby the “very nature of jobs, tasks
and skills is changed in ways said to make them more suitable for women” (Bradley et al,
2000). Since there is a growing concern in modern-day firms with quality and customer
service, there is another motivation for employers to engage in feminization resulting
labour cost cuts (Bradley et al, 2000: 78). Women are said to instinctively possess skills
which are valuable to have in this extremely competitive service industry of today, like
caring, communicating and making people feel good. This aspect of feminization entails a
qualitative, not just a quantitative change (Bradley et al, 2000). In other words it not just
the sheer number of women in employment that has changed but also the very nature of
jobs that have changed as well. Companies seeking to increase their profit accumulation
need to develop new methods and new ways of organizing their production process. This in
turn calls for new types of workers and different working methods (Bradley et al, 2000).
Thus male workers wanting to enter work within this new environment may need to
develop some feminine aspects of themselves (Bradley et al, 2000: 79). This aspect of
feminization is evident when it comes to the notion of a new feminine style of
management. “Women are said to operate with a more empathetic, interactive, people-
orientated management style which becomes transformative for the organization” (Bradley
et al, 2000: 79). This style of management is seen to be most effective when organizations
are experiencing organizational change and cultural reconstruction. Thus it can be said that
women are ideal change agents, because women are able to empower their employees
encourage full participation and commitment to changes processes within the company

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(Bradley et al, 2000: 79).. However Wajcman (in Bradley et al, 2000), among others, are
hesitant to argue that women really operate with a different style. Moreover as, Collinson
and Hearn (in Bradley et al, 2000) show, masculine and feminine styles are not the
equivalent to men and women (Bradley et al, 2000). This is because you may found a
woman manager displaying an authoritarian role within a company in an attempt out shine
her male counterparts at their own game, while you may also found a male manager
showing off his feminine style (Bradley et al, 2000)

These are not the only factors which influenced feminization and there are other factors
that have encouraged phenonomen. One is the role of the state in promoting equal
opportunity policies and another is “the actions and the aspirations of women themselves”
This points to a so called emergence of a “climate of equality” (Bradley et al, 2000). I say
so called because many researchers are not totally convinced about Equal Opportunity
programmes and there is a lot of scepticism surrounding such programmes. They argue that
such programmes are often viewed as “window dressing”, in other words employers are
merely trying to appear as being progressive in their actions, but in actual fact are not
really doing so. Alternatively they may be unwillingly incorporated in the organization to
avoid being penalized by equality legislation (Bradley et al, 2000: 80). Therefore the
organizations are not making a wholehearted effort to create a “climate of equality” None
the less Equal Opportunity programmes have brought about improvements for women.
These programmes have helped women to advance themselves at work. But more
importantly is the effect it has had on cultural attitudes. While many managers and male
employees may resist such programmes, it is difficult to be openly discriminatory (Bradley
et al, 2000: 80). This has been described as a “profound cultural shift involving the
emergence of a new consciousness and widespread public discourse about gender equality”
(Bradley et al, 2000: 80). This is linked to the new spirit of independence among women.
Women are taking a stand and confronting those who place them in subordinate roles
whereby they are forced to fill non-standard jobs on the grounds that men are inherently
superior. This challenges the dominant view of women being less ambitious than men, a
view reflected in the work of Catherine Hakim. Hakim claims that there are only a few
women who will adopt a lifestyle similar to that of men (Bradley et al, 2000). However

17
recent studies, like Ian Proctor and Muriel Padfield’s research among young adult women,
shows that amongst the single employed women there was strong evidence of commitment
to employment (Bradley et al, 2000). Women constantly “planned and re-planned their
careers according to what opportunities were offered or withheld” (Bradley et al, 2000:
80). Amongst the group of early mothers, whilst some had chosen to become full time
mothers because of restricted labour market opportunities, most women, once their
children had reached a certain age, had become involved in some form of full-time or part-
time work (Bradley et al, 2000).. The majority of women foresee employment playing a
rather important role later in their lives (Bradley et al, 2000). Such research implies that the
new generations of women have become more adapted to employment than their mothers.
Thus they see themselves working for much of their lives and reject being relegated to the
home (Bradley et al, 2000).

Despite these positive views expressed by young women, men still see women them as less
committed to their work. The tenacity of such views is in part stereotyping, but also
reflects the complexity of women’s new life choices, as they continue to bear the majority
of responsibility for domestic work. But nevertheless, there has been a positive turnaround
in women attitudes, which can be seen in their determination to participate in the labour
(Bradley et al, 2000: 82).

Despite these positive changes, feminization has by no means brought about total equality
between and there still remains a clear distinction between men’s work and women’s work.
Vertical segregation, which remains prominent in many, if not most, organizations,
prevents even those women who have managed to gain access into an organizational
category from reaching top positions within it This makes women the least represented
people in top management professions (Bradley et al, 2000)

With the coming of the service based economy, gender segregation has taken on new
forms. The most noticeable feature being the distinction between full-time male jobs and
part-time female jobs (Bradley et al, 2000). Before gender segregation at work involved
differences in content and nature of tasks performed by men and women, now it has

18
infiltrated contractual arrangements of employment for men and women as well. The
amount of women in non-standard jobs is characteristic of their labour market
marginalization (Bradley et al, 2000). There are differences between men and women when
it comes to who performs what type of non-standard work. Men are concentrated in the
better forms of non-standard work, such as shift work and night-working, self-employment
and subcontracting, while women are seen to occupy the less desirable forms of non-
standard work, like part-timers, home and family workers and temporary employees
(Bradley et al, 2000). Part-time employment is heavily concentrated in service sector, and
not surprisingly this is the type of employment most women found themselves doing
(Bradley et al, 2000). As already mentioned in this paper, there is a definite link between
women’s domestic responsibilities and non-standard/part-time work, underlining the
depreciation of both. Women take non-standard jobs so that they are able to cater for their
families needs, making this choice a female one, which in turn discourages men from
taking such jobs (Bradley et al, 2000).

Although there has been a small rise in male part-time employment, this usually takes
place amongst the younger and older generation (Bradley et al, 2000). Young men wanting
to enter the labour market usually utilize part-time work as a stepping stone. Whilst older
men usually take on part-time work as way of easing out of full-time employment. Women
on the other hand may engage in part-time work at various stages in their life, usually
corresponding with the birth of their children (Bradley et al, 2000). Men therefore show
more resistance towards non-standard work, viewing it as “incompatible with norms of
masculinity, especially the breadwinner role….. which retains enormous symbolic and
material importance in men’s lives even when it is actually in decline” (Bradley et al, 2000:
84).

Since the 19th C there has been a “significant shift from private forms of patriarchal
control, exercised by individual men and families, to public forms embedded in the
structural arrangements of paid employment and the state” (Bradley et al, 2000: 85).
Gendered power is has now been expressed through a range of resources which are
differentially deployed by men and women at work. There are three important forms of

19
resource which men tend to monopolize. They are the economic, positional and symbolic
(Bradley et al, 2000)..

In terms of the economic resource, you will find across the world that men still earn more
than women. Although legislation has been passed, such as the Equal Pay Act, in countries
like Britain, most women work part-time in low paying jobs where such Acts do not apply,
and men still tend to be the big earners. (Bradley et al, 2000). In the majority of dual
earning households you will find, men earned more, even when women have obtained a
higher occupational status. This is due to men’s accessibility to overtime and bonus
payments and women’s slow progress up the salary scales. As discussed, women’s
domestic responsibilities place women at a disadvantage when it comes to earning
capabilities and promotion opportunities due to their breaks in employment during child-
rearing (Bradley et al, 2000).

This is linked to the vertical segregation we spoke of earlier, men hold most positional
resources in organizations, where most of the decision making and authority falls (Bradley
et al, 2000). Although there has been a slight increase in women managers, they are usually
blocked from moving any higher up the ranks due to the persistence of gender
discrimination (Bradley et al, 2000). Many women are therefore forced to give up on the
struggle for advancement and find work in a more “women friendly” environment (Bradley
et al, 2000: 87). Though the use of “old boys’ networks” men get a foot in the door when
comes to promotions. This is because within these “old boys’ networks” men hold a
considerable amount of power and are able select and promote candidates who they feel
fits the “ideal worker”, presumed by them to be male (Bradley et al, 2000: 87).

This highlights the importance of symbolic resources in maintaining male power. Men in
top positions are seen as the ones who hold all the power and therefore they have the right
to set the rules and norms within the workplace (Bradley et al, 2000). Men “determine the
criteria for acceptable workplace behaviour and the meanings of such key concepts as
excellence, leadership potential, a good worker, commitment, even the working day”
(Bradley et al, 2000: 87). Research shows that although there is an increase in women

20
managers, their work requirements are still heavily influenced by male norms (Bradley et
al, 2000). Since many men associated women’s bodies with sexuality and reproduction, it
is deemed inappropriate in the work environment. “The ideal form of embodiment for the
workplace is male; as men do not menstruate or show the bulge of pregnancy” (Bradley et
al, 2000: 88).
Careers: The Notion of Age & Gender in the Workplace

In and amongst the already convoluted discourses around gender in the workplace, lies the
idea around age. Age is best expressed through an individuals life (and consequently
career) stages; and like all other variables in the workplace, these too are measured and
monitored. Thus ones career development can be studied by relating career stages during
the lifespan. Traditionally the chronological age (of the person) has been used to determine
developmental turning points in the person’s life; however a person in the workplace
regardless of education level, age or gender is trying to secure work tenure through having
a career. Thus Schreuder & Coetzee (2003) assert that since competency (learning how and
know-how) has become important, a person’s career age is am ore meaningful indicator to
organisations and to a person’s self-understanding (that is, the career-self) than one
chronological age development (2003:154).

Thus in essence the 21st century workforce is characterised by five workforce generations,
namely the Silent generation (born 1922 to 1945), Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964),
Generation X (born 1965 to 1976), Generation Y (born 1977 to 2000), and Millennium
generation (born since 2000).

The Silent generation are argued to be the most traditional; they tend to be the wisdom
keepers and natural workplace leaders and mentors [even if they don’t hold managerial
positions] (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2003:32), the Baby Boomers on the other hand are said
to have placed education high on their priorities; having enjoyed the privileges of being
raised in homes of economic prosperity. In the current workplace however, they face
stressors, time demands and money constraints all of which require company support and
understanding (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2003:32). Generation X are listed as having a sense

21
of entitlement and less political interest (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2003:32), as a result they
are viewed as slackers. This generation is attributed to a high divorce rate, and increasing
number of working mothers, leading to them being characterised as independent, resilient
and able. Generation Y are largely self-confident and usually goal-setters that can
multitask; are listed to be team-players and tech-savvy, with a desire for structure and
direction (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2003:33).

All these age groups play a major role in the dynamism of the 21 st century workplace, and
it is the ever increasing and difficult role of management to deal with all these age-groups
and their diverse interests. This often makes it difficult to initiate team structures and group
tasks, as one may have to manage personalities and characters of certain age groups.

Lastly on the concepts of age in the workplace is the three life stage we go through
specifically in the place of employment. The first is the Early Life/Career stage whereby,
primarily the task of this phase is finding a place for oneself in the adult world. Schreuder
& Coetzee (2003) argue that this involves two tasks which can be of an opposing nature,
namely ‘exploring the adult world’ and ‘creating a stable adult life’ (2003:160). Research
indicates that approximately 95% of young adults enter marriage, although men are less
motivated to marry and are more concerned about the future careers, while women are
concerned about both career and family considerations (Gordon & Whelan, 1998). The
Mid Life/Career transition is dominated by conscious ageing, an acknowledgement of
mortality and, with that, a potential for increased illness and disease (Schreuder & Coetzee,
2003:167). Bardwick (1986) asserts that at 50 and older, women experience the physical
changes of menopause that is as symbolic as death (in Schreuder & Coetzee, 2003:167). A
survey conducted indicated that adults 50+ are facing the following life/career challenges,
earning a living, living one’s dreams, upskilling oneself, achieving ones goals and
recognition. All these facets have implications for the workplace, as these issues are
common to both sexes. Lastly is the Late Life/Career stage, argued to be a distinguished
period, Schreuder & Coetzee (2003) argue that these workers or pensioners should rather
be studied as individuals, than as a group that is associated with stereotypes such as
unproductive, unmotivated, or intellectually too rigid to adapt to change (2003:172).

22
South African Context

If we take a look at the situation in the South African, we will see that women are in no
better position than the rest of the world. In fact they are probably worse off. Labour
markets and policies in South Africa promote decent work, which is productive work in
conditions of freedom, equity and security for both men and women (Laura Addati and
Naomi Cassirer, 2008). However it is evident South African women still face multiple
forms of discrimination in both policy and practice on a daily basis. Women find it
particularly difficult to enter the labour market as employers tend to favour men. Those
women lucky enough to find work are often restricted to work in the less productive
sectors of the economy. As a result of the type of work women find employment in,
women often earn less than men (Laura Addati and Naomi Cassirer, 2008)..

The situation of women in South Africa, is certainly among the least advantageous even
today. The majority of the nation's poor are women. Rural African women make up the
poorest of the poor (Maharaj, 1999). This is because most of their monthly income comes
from pensions and remittances from relatives. These women fall within 20 percent of the
poorest households which bring in a monthly household income of between R400-R700
(Maharaj, 1999). If we take a look at the Global picture you will found that women make
up about 40 percent of world employment, yet women still earn 12 to 60% less than their
male co-workers, even in occupations such as nursing and teaching. These women make
up an increasing proportion of the world’s poor due to the fact that they are concentrated
in low-paid, unprotected, temporary or casual work and do not enjoy the same level of
social protection as their male counterparts (FEDUSA, 2008).

Statistics SA (SSA), has compared the incomes of households headed by women with
those of households headed by men. Results showed a greater proportion (37%) of
women-headed households in non-urban areas fell in the category of the poorest 20
percent of households in the country, as compared with male-headed households (23%) in
non-urban areas (Maharaj, 1999). In urban areas, once again women-headed households

23
made up a greater proportion (15%) of the poorest 20% of households, as compared with
male-headed households there (5%) (Maharaj, 1999).
Women in South Africa, irrespective of their race, religion, and socio-economic status do
not enjoy equal access to social groups and the country’s resources. Male domination and
female subordination has plagued women in South Africa and in turn impacted on their
particular experiences and quality of lives (Maharaj, 1999). Male domination in South
Africa arising from such inequalities is replicated in the rapes, femicides and other sexual
violence affecting mostly poor women (Maharaj, 1999).. Such blatant disregard for
women is putting an enormous strain on health facilities and costing the economy
millions of rands each year, yet it continues to happen due to the fact that male
domination is being nurtured by gender inequalities which make women poorer than men
(Maharaj, 1999)

Gender inequality in the form of income inequality is most evident in the formal sector of
the economy, the sector whose goods and services are counted in calculations of the GDP.

In trying to fathom why women are paid less perhaps one could look at the educational
attainment of both genders. If we compare educational attainment between the different
races we will see that it varies from an average of under six years for Africans and
Coloureds, to eight years for Indians and almost ten years for whites. But what is
interesting to note is that it is relatively equal for both men and women, compared with
many countries, where men have more schooling than women (Maharaj, 1999).

South African women participating in labour market, in actual fact, have an average of
1.2 years more education than men. It is commonly understood that years of education is
a predictor of occupation and occupation is a predictor of income levels (Maharaj, 1999).
If this was certainly the case, we would expect South African women to be earning the
same if not more as the men, especially in professional and technical employment where
women economically active men make up a greater proportion than economically active
men.

24
However, South African women earn on average 13 percent less than men's in the formal
labour force (Maharaj, 1999). Looking at it in terms of the different racial categories will
present further surprise. African women's incomes are identical to African men's even
though African women average two more years of education than African men. If years
of education were a predictor of occupation and occupation a predictor of income levels,
we would expect African women to be earning at least 20 percent more. Same applies to
white women, who average 67 percent of white mens’ despite having equal educational
attainment. Coloured women's educational advantage over men also fails to be converted
into a wage advantage. Indian women do not have an educational advantage over Indian
men so their lower salary in relation to their men does not spark much disappointment
(Maharaj, 1999).

The exploitation of workers, in particular women workers, has been a feature of life in
South Africa for decades. Apartheid thrived on cheap labour and workers had to compete
with migrant labour system, passes and influx control, job reservation, low wages and
oppressive laws. South Africa with its new Constitution, established in 1994, has since
included certain core labour rights. Section 23 of the constitution establishes the
fundamental rights in respect to labour relations. In particular section 23 (1) and (2)
provides that everyone has the right to fair labour practices, and every worker has the
right - to form and join a trade union; to participate in the activities and programmes of a
trade union; and to strike (Benjamin, 2008: 3).

South African Labour legislation also provides a substantial package of statutory labour
rights for employee. The principle statutes that provided these protections are:

Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 – Allows for freedom of association, organisational

rights, collective bargaining; right to strike; and protection against unfair dismissal
Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 – Allows control over hours of work,
annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, severance pay, notice pay; sectoral
determinations

25
Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 – Enforces Anti‐discrimination and affirmative
action
Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 – Allows for skills development and training
Unemployment Insurance Act of 2001 – Allows for unemployment and maternity
benefits
Compensation for Occupational Diseases Act 130 of 1993 – Allows for compensation
for work‐related injuries and diseases
Occupational Safety and Health| Act 85 of 1993; Mine Health and Safety Act 29 of
1996 – Protects health and safety in the workplace (Benjamin, 2008: 4)

However despite all the rights afforded to workers, the coverage of South Africa’s labour
law regime is determined by a conventional definition of the employment relationship.
This definition of an employee is as follows: any person, excluding an independent
contractor, who works for another person or for the State and who receives, or is entitled
to receive, any remuneration; and any other person who in any manner assists in
carrying on or conducting the business of an employer (Benjamin, 2008:5). Therefore
only workers who fall within this definition are entitled to receive the full protection of
labour law; those excluded have little or no legal protection or entitlement to social
insurance benefits (Benjamin, 2008)

Male workers tend to make up the majority of workers who receive the full protection of
the labour law. Some women have been lucky enough to get the opportunity to participate
in the formal economy where they too, enjoy the privileges of protection. Thus some
women have left the realm of domestic and family work and concentrate on their careers.
This has left a void of domestic work behind. However domestic work and family work is
essential for the maintenance of a family and needs to be done, thus we have given it a
monetary value, albeit very low one, and employ other people, mostly women who are
not afforded the same opportunities as their employers, to take care of the domestic work
and family work. This type of work however is not covered by statutory protection.

26
This bares consequences for many women in South Africa. With stable
public-sector jobs being eliminated through privatizing public services,
a large proportion of women found themselves in the informal sector,
and remain outside the world of full-time, stable and protected job in what is known as
the informal economy (Benjamin, 2008). Within the informal economy women are
concentrated at the lower end, occupying jobs like street vendors, home-based
garment workers, child care providers, domestic work and unpaid
family work, where decent work deficits are the greatest. Their work provides
subsistence for their families but is not recognized as formal
employment so they have no access to legal protections or benefits
(Benjamin, 2008).

As everyone knows, the HIV epidemic has risen to escalating proportions. According to
recent data collected by UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2007 1.7 million people in Sub-
Saharan Africa were newly infected with HIV in 2007. Bringing the total number of
people infected with HIV to 22.5 million (Addati & Cassirer, 2008). Of those people
infected with HIV more than half are women. Those HIV positive women, face struggles
not only with the disease but trying to cope with a working life, because of the
discrimination and stigma that takes place within the workplace (Addati & Cassirer,
2008).

The situation for families affected with HIV/Aids is often the most dramatic. The caring
needs increase at a time when further income is needed to pay medical expenses and
compensate for the likely loss of income of the infected family member (Addati &
Cassirer, 2008). This results in not only a loss of income from the infected family
member, but often forces other family members, mostly women, to give up on paid
employment and care for the sick family member (Addati & Cassirer, 2008: 5).

This has direct consequences on women since the added burden of caring for the sick
person intensifies all dimensions of unpaid work (Addati & Cassirer, 2008). This makes it
very difficult for women to continue with their paid employment, thus putting their

27
futures at risk. Since the women in the family spend more time caring for the infected
person, they have, not only, less time at the disposable to continue paid employment but
also to contribute to the well being of the household family (Addati & Cassirer, 2008).

We would like to end of this section by giving a definition of decent work defined by the
International Labour Organisation:

“Decent work is productive work for women and men in conditions of freedom,
equity, security and human dignity. Decent work involves opportunities for
work that is productive and delivers a fair income; provides security in the
workplace and social protection for workers and their families; offers better
prospects for personal development and encourages social integration; gives
people the freedom to express their concerns, to organize and to participate in
decisions that affect their lives; and guarantees equal opportunities and equal
treatment for all.”(FEDUSA, 20008: 2)

However this vision of decent work is very often not applied to women. Women in South
Africa still have to overcome the many obstacles that come their way. This due to the fact
that women still face direct and indirect forms of discrimination and that it is still difficult
for women who leave the labour market to care for their children, to re-enter it when their
children get older. Often due to their disrupted careers, women tend to be over
represented among the income elderly

This essay began by laying out operational definitions of key concepts such as patriarchy,
exploitation, power-over, and feminism. These definitions were given get further
relevance as they were situated within a historo-epochal context, where we began with
the Hunter-Gatherer society to chart the beginnings of patriarchy, then progressed into the
Agrarian society in the aims of showing how it was entrenched into the very fabrics and
institutions f society; including the division of labour. The elucidation on it’s influence on
Capitalism was effective at showing how it still exists today, and thus it’s antecede has
arisen n the form of Feminism. This allowed for this paper to chart the changes in

28
women’s attitudes towards the spheres of employment and work. Although their attitudes
have changed and the traditional family has declined, women still bear the brunt of
domestic responsibilities; which in turn affects their progress in formal work. The
preceding section of our analysis contextualized to that there has been a feminization of
work which has brought about an influx of women into the labour market. However, we
showed that although there has been a definite increase of women in the labour market, it
has certainly not brought a total collapse of the segregation of labour. Women still direct
and indirect forms of discrimination, whether it be through organizational policies or
government legislation. The following section narrowed the scope to the individual, by
briefly showing the major discourses that inform career choice. The ideas raised
highlighted how the age dynamics within the workplace, contribute to a dynamic and
multifaceted age grouping within the 21st century workplace. Such an assessment allowed
us to concisely examine the individual, and their life/career span, whereby the argument
made is that chronological age does not make for accurate determinants of career
progression. The final section of this analysis involved the contextualization of some of
the ideas raised into a South African perspective. This entailed a look at the income
disparity between men and women, with the focus on exposing how patriarchy has
become embedded into all spheres of societal organization, from legislation to structural
arrangements of paid employment. This facilitated a look at the effects of HIV/AIDS
epidemic on South African women, and how it adds t the burden of domestic work,
jeopardizing their own careers and well-being of the family household due to time spent
caring for the ill.

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