ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses low-skill service jobs in Sweden from a gender perspective. It then examines marginalization of masculinity by studying how the transformation from an industrial economy to a service- and knowledge-based economy has changed the labour market. Masculine work has been socially constructed as being dangerous, hard, dirty and sweaty, all of which has created a strong working identity. Low-skill service jobs include lower wages and more insecure employment contracts than the manual, industrial work that was available previously; however, it is often the only employment available for both men and for women. Dual labour market theory describes the labour market as dual and segmented. To analyse the gendered labour market from this theoretical perspective gives valuable contribution to understanding the polarized service sector. The data from Statistics Sweden show that male participation in high-touch jobs has actually increased in the country, both in absolute terms and in relation to the increase with its female counterpart.
