Abstract: When asked by the Editor-in-Chief to revisit the state of women and work after a decade, interest was intense to learn about the changes that had ensued during that period of time. What became readily apparent is that an entire issue of the journal needed to be devoted to this topic and that the addition of the concept of culture would provide a broader and more complete overview of women and work. Women and work are intricately associated. Whether paid or unpaid for the work they do, women fill many worker roles. Women’s lives have changed in the past decade but they have also remained the same in many ways. While women account for 51% of the United States population, they comprise 60% of the labor force, continuing to work in traditional ‘female’ occupations [1]. Dilemmas surrounding unpaid work persist, as does the lack of validation of the pivotal roles women play in society. The primacy of family and the care giving it denotes in the lives of women figure prominently in their efforts to balance the competing demands family life presents with their working lives. A number of work alternatives women utilize to achieve this dynamic balance are cited in this special edition. Issues of health, sexual harassment and the ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon are described. The growing entrepreneurial spirit of women starting their own businesses is also discussed. Many of the above issues are impacted by additional cultural factors (other than gender) such as class, ethnicity, role expectations, age, and ability. Often, ‘culture’ is viewed as only relating to race and ethnicity. However, the editors of this special issue use the broader definition that “includes demographic variables such as age, gender, and place of residence: status variables such as social, educational, and economic levels; and affiliation variables.” [2, p. 279] By identifying the characteristics above as important aspects of study, and intentionally examining them in relation to women and their work, the complexity of the intersections of gender, culture, and work are revealed. With an expanding awareness of the effects of diversity in a culture and on the health of society, the editors sought articles that would inform the audience about women, work, and culture. Women’s lives do intersect within the larger culture around various aspects of work. This special edition is devoted to increasing awareness of some of the issues involved in this intersection. MacRae begins the issue with a comprehensive retrospective review of the status of women over the past decade. In an examination of current issues such as health status and work options, including factors such as the ‘glass ceiling’, entrepreneurship, management opportunities, and unpaid work. MacRae compares the issues of today’s working women with those of ten years ago and finds some, but not nearly enough, positive changes. The next few articles describe the roles of women and the impact on work. Hakansson, Eklund, Lidfeldt, Nerbrand, Samsioe and Nilsson present a study on occupational roles among middle-aged women which explores the stability of the pattern of health/work and sickness absence over a three year period. Results indicated that healthier women experienced a more valued
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Language: en
Type: editorial
Indexed In: ['pubmed']
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