ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the relations of structure and agency. Sociology has devoted considerable attention to the relations of structure and agency. The chapter argues that cross-national differences with respect to the scope and the forms of female labour force participation are better understood when they are analysed in the context of the gender arrangement of the respective country. It describes the theory of Margaret Archer according to which the cultural system includes cultural values and the knowledge of society. The theory for cross-national comparison is based on the following terms: gender culture, gender order, and gender arrangement, with the latter being the theoretically most comprehensive. The chapter also argues that the women's movements started with the contradictions in the gender arrangement that had developed or intensified during general institutional or cultural processes of change and that also altered the balance of power between men and women or certain groups of men and women.
