ABSTRACT
Like all industrialised countries, France, the UK and Sweden have experienced a sharp rise in female employment in recent years. Sectoral and occupational segregation between men and women in the labour market is similar in all three countries. Beyond these broad similarities, however, analysis of the various patterns of female labour market participation reveals major differences, which are rooted in historical and social constructions specific to each country. In this chapter I set out to examine the varying significance of part-time work in integrating women into paid employment in these countries with a framework informed by the founders of the ‘societal effect’ (Maurice et al. 1982).
