ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2, we attempted to show how the large-scale entry of women into the labour market in the past thirty years is part of the dynamic of change within the productive system in France. However, the long-term relationships between the increase in female participation and the transformation of the productive system are not the only influences on the nature of women’s work. The key position held by women within the family and family structures themselves are also influential factors. The family has undergone equally massive changes in the past thirty years: the falling birth-rate, the growing instability of marriages and the rise in the number of families in which both partners work are all evidence of the radical changes in the relationship between women, the family and employment.
