ABSTRACT
A qualification that is "recognised" in the job hierarchy defines a relationship between the skill "acquired" by the worker and that which is "required" by the job. The relativist approach, with its reference to an "estimation of the social value" of the work performed, seems more useful for an attempt to determine how the process of skilling is affected by social representations of the roles of women and men. The relativist approach, with its reference to an "estimation of the social value" of the work performed, seems more useful for an attempt to determine how the process of skilling is affected by social representations of the roles of women and men. In this social construction, techniques requiring tools are tied to certain occupations, or trades, and therefore to skilled work and men. While technical skill, inasmuch as it symbolises power and control over nature, is associated with men and skill, and is socially valued, jobs in services are represented differently.
