In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, people who had never before had cause to worry about losing their jobs entered the ranks of the unemployed for the first time. In Sweden, the welfare state has been radically challenged and mass unemploy

An oft-cited strategy to advance economic development is to further integrate developing countries into global trade, particularly through global value chains, bolstered by the expansion of female-intensive industries to bring more women into the formal labor force. As a result, a frequent debate centers on whether the apparel industry--the most female-intensive and globally engaged manufacturing industry--can be a key player in this strategy. In recent decades, the apparel industry has shifted production to low-wage developing countries, increasing the demand for women, closing male-female wage gaps, and bringing women into the formal labor force from agriculture and informal work. But is an apparel-led export strategy sufficient to induce a broader transition from jobs women do to survive to careers promising stable employment and a sense of identity? 'From Jobs to Careers' answers this question by focusing on seven countries where apparel plays a vital role in their export baskets--Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam. It finds that the apparel industry indeed can serve as a launching pad to bring more women into the labor market. For this approach to work, however, complementary policies must tackle the barriers that hinder women's pursuit of long-term workforce participation and better-paid occupations. Key policy recommendations include increasing the participation of female production workers in export-oriented apparel manufacturing and associated industries, upgrading within manufacturing-related industries, boosting access to education, and breaking glass ceilings. The report also seeks to shift the paradigm of how we think of women in the labor force by stressing the importance of their transition from jobs to careers--the so-called 'quiet revolution.'

This book examines changing work relationships in industrialized economies within the context of economic restructuring and demographic variables. The goal of this book is to examine experiences of industrialized economies in dealing with changing work relationships and discuss policy implications of creating such work relationships. The thesis of the book is that non-standard employment forms in restructuring economies affected all workers, but particularly females and the youth. Other demographic variables of education level, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, ability, and economic class were also underlying forces in the construction and arrangements of non-standard work. Research shows both positive and negative effects of changing work relationships on workers, though there is no conclusive result whether one or the other affect is stronger. The discussion in this book pays attention to this debate and sheds light on it. This book differs from others in its comprehensiveness of the coverage of work relationships, referring to part-time, temporary/casual, telework and self-employment without employees; in its examination of a variety of variables including gender, age, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, ability, education level, and economic class; in the analysis of the topic in relation with the economic restructuring; and in its initiative in collaboration of researchers from a variety of backgrounds and regions of the world that have expertise on changing work relationships.

This book is concerned with the rapid and varied changes in the nature of work and work relationships which have taken place in recent years. While technological innovation has been a key contributor to the nature and pace of change, other social and market trends have also played a part such as increasing workforce diversity, enhanced competition and greater global integration. Responding to these trends alongside cost pressures and the need for continued responsiveness to the environment, organizations have changed the way in which work is organized. There have also been shifts in product markets with growing demand for authenticity and refinement of the customer experience which has further implications for how work is organized and enacted. At the same time, employees have sought changes in their work arrangements in order to help them achieve a more satisfactory relationship between their work and non-work lives. Many have also taken increased responsibility for managing their own work opportunities, moving away from dependency on a single employer. The implications of these significant and widespread changes are the central focus of this book and in particular the implications for workers, managers, and organizations. It brings together contributions from an international team of renowned management scholars who explore the opportunities and challenges presented by technological and digital innovation, consumer, social and organizational change. Drawing on empirical evidence from Europe, North America and Australia, Work, Working and Work Relationships in a Changing World considers new forms of service work, technologically enabled work and independent professionals to provide in-depth insight into work experiences in the 21st Century.

At a time when women in industrialized countries have a stronger and more permanent presence in the labour market than ever before, why does the gender pay gap differ so greatly between countries? The contributors to this book use empirical studies of gender differences in family responsibilities and time allocation to demonstrate how such differences affect women's wages and analyse pay structures and wage mobility throughout Europe.

This book examines changing work relationships in industrialized economies within the context of economic restructuring and demographic variables. The goal of this book is to examine experiences of industrialized economies in dealing with changing work relationships and discuss policy implications of creating such work relationships. The thesis of the book is that non-standard employment forms in restructuring economies affected all workers, but particularly females and the youth. Other demographic variables of education level, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, ability, and economic class were also underlying forces in the construction and arrangements of non-standard work. Research shows both positive and negative effects of changing work relationships on workers, though there is no conclusive result whether one or the other affect is stronger. The discussion in this book pays attention to this debate and sheds light on it. This book differs from others in its comprehensiveness of the coverage of work relationships, referring to part-time, temporary/casual, telework and self-employment without employees; in its examination of a variety of variables including gender, age, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, ability, education level, and economic class; in the analysis of the topic in relation with the economic restructuring; and in its initiative in collaboration of researchers from a variety of backgrounds and regions of the world that have expertise on changing work relationships.

This book focuses on the causes and consequences of paid white-collar work in the home, including work that is professional, managerial, clerical, technical, and sales. It is directed to audiences concerned with both the policy issues and the research challenges reused by working at home.

Developments in methodologies, agglomeration, and a range of applied issues have characterized recent advances in regional and urban studies. Volume 5 concentrates on these developments while treating traditional subjects such as housing, the costs and benefits of cities, and policy issues beyond regional inequalities. Contributors make a habit of combining theory and empirics in each chapter, guiding research amid a trend in applied economics towards structural and quasi-experimental approaches. Clearly distinguished from the New Economic Geography covered by Volume 4, these articles feature an international approach that positions recent advances within the discipline of economics and society at large. - Emphasizes advances in applied econometrics and the blurring of "within" and "between" cities - Promotes the integration of theory and empirics in most chapters - Presents new research on housing, especially in macro and international finance contexts

This book examines a central issue in understanding recent changes in demographic patterns and the labour market - the increased participation of women in the workforce, and how the nature of this participation has developed. In the context of such economic and labour phenomena as globalization, increasing flexibilty in work patterns, intermittent and part-time employment, and in many countries high underemployment or unemployment, the role of women workers has transformed dramatically. This book explores a number of demographic issues associated with these developments, such as migration in the developed world and transition economies, family formation and dissolution, the autonomy of women migrants, household composition, the evolution of gender systems, and contraceptive behaviour, both as factors that determine the labour market conditions for women and their income levels, and as demographic outcomes. The studies cover a wide-range of situations, from societies with a strong patriarchal ideology and residential female seclusion, to industrialized countries with policies designed to assist women manage both a work and a family role, and makes use of extensive data sets collected at country level. The Editors have sought to maintain an interdisciplinary outlook in the book, and to draw policy implications from the various socio-economic situations examined.

Globalization, Uncertainty and Women's Careers assesses the effects of globalization on the life courses of women in thirteen countries across Europe and America in the second half of the 20th century. The book represents the first-ever longitudinal analysis of micro-level data from these OECD countries focusing exclusively on women's relationship to the labor market in a globalizing world. The contributors thoroughly examine women's employment entries, exits and job mobility and present evidence of women's increased labor market attachment and reduced employment quality in most of the countries studied. They also systematically consider the life course changes influenced by larger transformations in society and, in doing so, explicitly link the phenomena of globalization to individual women's lives in Europe and North America.