ABSTRACT
Part-time employment is a significant component of women's working lives. The rise in reduced-hour employment, which is evident in most industrialized countries, has been related to the increase in female labor force participation. This chapter examines the patterns of mobility between different employment statuses and offers some preliminary answers to the question of whether part-time employment is a trap for workers and under what conditions mobility into full-time employment is possible. The labor force participation of Israeli women is similar to that of women in many industrialized countries. Gender segregation in the labor market is high, and most women work in few, female-dominated, occupations. Similar to most Western countries, women work in white-collar occupations and thus enjoy relatively high prestige. The chapter then focuses on the transitions between full-time, part-time, and non-employment. Part-time employment is commonly defined according to the number of hours the individual works. Those who work less than 35 hours a week are considered part-time workers.
