ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the feminist theorising in the area of women's paid employment by suggesting how the meanings attached to various discourses can form part of the explanation for the persistence of gender segregation at work. The theories that explain segregation, such as, theories, human capital theory, labour market segmentation, patriarchal exclusion, and so on all explain some aspects of segregation. Some writers examined traditional Marxist texts for references to women and attempted to interpret the extent to which Marx and Engels were aware of gender as an aspect of the social relations of capitalism. Others uncovered the history of women in various socialist and labour movement organisations, and outlined the contribution of these women to revolutionary politics and debates. A large number of writers engaged with Marxist analysis of capitalism, especially with the contribution of domestic labour and women's position in the labour market to both capitalist accumulation and the reproduction of the system.
