ABSTRACT
The factors which shape the gender pattern of economic activity include not only societal factors and influences but also the pattern of employment demand. Gender segregation is a feature of all advanced societies and thus the pattern of demand, defined by region, industry, occupation and working-time contract, will have major implications for the overall economic activity statuses of men and women. It would not be correct to regard the gendered pattern of demand as independent of societal effects, as the pattern and form of gender segregation still varies despite being strong and pervasive in all societies (Rubery and Fagan 1995). Nor, however, is it the case that regional or indeed industrial or occupational effects can be regarded as simply subservient to the impact of societal norms and values. It may, for example, be the lack of development of service sector employment which constrains women to social roles as housewives or as unpaid family helpers, and not strong social norms. Moreover, social norms may vary between regions, independently of the structure of demand for labour within regions.
