Public–private wage differential and gender gap in Latin America: Spoiled bureaucrats and exploited women?

This paper uses a rich collection of household surveys to investigate the wage differential between the public and private sectors in 13 Latin American countries. It also studies how the sector of employment affects the gender wage gap. Contrary to what is commonly thought, it is found that, in the majority of Latin American countries, there is a premium associated with working in the public sector. It is also found that the premium is often higher for women than for men but that this difference does not compensate for the wide gender gap.     

COVID‐19 and raising the value of care

In this opinion piece, we argue the current pandemic is shining a light on caregiving as critical work that is under‐valued and under‐paid. We call upon national lawmakers to raise the value of care work. Doing so would also make progress in solving another national crisis: closing the gender wage gap. We explore how the gender wage gap is driven primarily by the fact that men and women sort into different work, with women being over‐represented in work where they care for others and in work that allows them to care for their families.     

COVID‐19 and the gender gap in work hours

School and day care closures due to the COVID‐19 pandemic have increased caregiving responsibilities for working parents. As a result, many have changed their work hours to meet these growing demands. In this study, we use panel data from the US Current Population Survey to examine changes in mothers’ and fathers’ work hours from February through April 2020, the period of time prior to the widespread COVID‐19 outbreak in the United States and through its first peak. Using person‐level fixed effects models, we find that mothers with young children have reduced their work hours four to five times more than fathers. Consequently, the gender gap in work hours has grown by 20–50 per cent. These findings indicate yet another negative consequence of the COVID‐19 pandemic, highlighting the challenges it poses to women’s work hours and employment.     

Goodbye to the golden cage: Transformations in gender norms and family morality for working‐class women in occupations considered masculine in Mexico

This article seeks to contribute to the debate, within the feminist sociological theory and gender studies, about the possibility of ‘undoing gender’ in different social fields, mainly family relations. It is based on the premise that as women's objective dependency in the social structure decreases, the unstable character of what Bourdieu called ‘submissive dispositions’ becomes visible, and that women act reflectively, both to adapt to the challenges posed by their participation in different social fields and to gain personal liberties. The results of qualitative research, based on discussion groups and narrative interviews in which 109 women in working‐class sectors in Mexico City participated, are presented. Conflicts around breadwinning, housework distribution and personal liberties demonstrate a displacement of gender norms, parallel to efforts to maintain certain assurances regarding the traditional family model within the context of economic precariousness.     

The effects of ability on returns to over‐ and under‐education: Evidence from Malaysia

In Malaysia, skilled‐job creation does not match the rising number of tertiary‐educated workers. The resultant accumulation of skill and ability competencies and work experience raises the question of the extent to which this enhances (mitigates) the wage premium (penalty) of over‐education (under‐education). Using data collected in Peninsular Malaysia in 2015, the authors estimate the effects of ability on returns to education. Their findings suggest that improving specific types of ability may be a means of rectifying wage deficiencies resulting from over‐ and under‐education. On this basis, human resource development in schools and in the workplace should focus on developing job‐specific workplace abilities.     

Policy and practice: non‐governmental organisations and the health delivery system for displaced children in khartoum,Sudan

The civil war in Sudan and natural disasters have led to the displacement of many people of whom 2.2 million live in and around Khartoum, half of whom are under the age of 18. These children, living in barren, remote areas, must find ways to survive and meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health and education. This article focuses on the work of an international organisation working in health services for displaced people in one of the camps in Khartoum in order to argue the case for a rights‐based approach to health care, for separate provision of services to adolescent mothers, for education on sexual and reproductive health for children before they become sexually active, and for sexual and reproductive health services and education for adolescent boys and men. This article concentrates on health education, in particular sexual and reproductive rights and how gender‐based differences impact on the health and well‐being of children. By concentrating almost exclusively on pregnant and lactating women and children under five, the organisation may reduce the possibility of successful outcomes for women and may not contribute to the reduction of sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy and related morbidity and mortality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Domestic Work on Men's and Women's Wages

Past research has consistently found that the negative relationship between housework and wages is stronger for women than for men. This article tests a potential explanation for this difference by focusing on the fact that men and women typically perform different types of household chores. Traditionally “feminine” and “masculine” task types are likely to interfere with work differently, because they vary as to when and how often they must be performed. Based on longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households, fixed‐effects regression results show that only time spent in female housework chores has a negative effect on wages. Furthermore, gender differences in the effect of housework disappear upon disaggregating housework into task types. This research suggests that a more equitable distribution of not only the amount, but also the type, of housework performed by men and women in the home may lead to a narrowing of the gender gap in wages.     

Men in Non‐Traditional Occupations: Career Entry,Career Orientation and Experience of Role Strain

This article explores the experiences of men in non‐traditional occupations. In particular it focuses on the dynamics of career entry, career orientation (namely, a preference for intrinsic or extrinsic rewards) and the possible existence, nature and consequences of role strain. Four occupational groups are examined: nurses, cabin crew, librarians and primary school teachers. The results suggest that men fall into three main categories: seekers (who actively chose the ‘female’ occupation), ‘finders’ (who did not actively seek a non‐traditional career but who found the occupation in the process of making general career decisions) and settlers (who actively chose the occupation, often as a result of dissatisfaction with a more ‘masculine’ job, and who then settled in their non‐traditional career). Settlers, in particular, are associated with a more intrinsic career orientation and express a desire to remain close to occupational and professional practice. Role strain is prevalent in men's experiences in their non‐traditional career. The potential sources of such role strain and the implications for career aspirations and career choices are explored.     

Post‐Fordist reconfigurations of gender,work and life: theory and practice

Based on an in‐depth study with 56 informants (25 women and 31 men), across the ICT (information and communication technology), creative and academic sectors in one city/regional hub in Ireland, this article investigates the so‐called revolution in work/life practices associated with the post‐Fordist labour processes of the Knowledge Economy from the perspectives of workers themselves. Recent theorizations of post‐Fordist work patterns emphasize a rearranging of work and life place boundaries; a reconfiguring of work and life time boundaries; and a dissolving of the gendered boundaries of work and life (production and social reproduction) (Adkins and Dever 2014 ; Morini and Fumagalli 2010 ; Gill and Pratt 2008 ; Weeks 2007 ; Hardt and Negri 2004 ). Our findings suggest that, instead of dissolving boundaries, workers constantly struggle to draw boundaries between what counts as work and as life, and that this varies primarily in relation to gender and stage in a gendered life trajectory. Work extensification is compensated for via a perceived freedom to shape one's own life, which is articulated in terms of individualized boundary‐drawing. While younger men embraced ‘always on’ work, they also articulated anxieties about how these work habits might interfere with family aspirations. This was also true for younger women who also struggled to make time for life in the present. For mothers, boundary drawing was articulated as a necessity but was framed more in terms of personal choice by fathers. Although all participants distinguished between paid work and life as distinct sites of value, boundaries were individually drawn and resist any easy mapping of masculinity and femininity onto the domains of work and life. Instead, we argue that it is the process of boundary drawing that reveals gendered patterns. The personalized struggles of these relatively privileged middle‐class workers centre on improving the quality of their lives, but raise important questions about the political possibilities within and beyond the world of post‐Fordist labour.     

Dialect stabilization and speaker awareness in non‐native varieties of English1

Research on indigenized non‐native varieties of English has aimed to distinguish these varieties from individual second language learning in structural and social terms ( B. Kachru 1983 ; Platt, Weber and Ho 1984 ; Cheshire 1991 ) ; however, quantitative evidence of this divergence remains scarce. Through an analysis of a range of Indian English speakers in a contact situation in the United States, this study distinguishes developing dialect features from second language learning features and explores the concomitant emergence of dialect consciousness. First, an implicational analysis shows that some non‐standard variables (past marking, copula use, agreement) exhibit a second language learning cline while others (articles) form a more stable, incipient non‐standard system shared to some extent by all speakers; a multivariate analysis suggests that both sets of variables are governed by proficiency levels. Next, the explanatory scope of proficiency is assessed by examining the use of selected phonological variants (rhoticity, l‐velarization, aspiration). The use of these features resembles native‐like style‐shifting, as it appears to be more sensitive to speakers’ attitudinal stances than to proficiency levels. This points to the importance of understanding emerging speaker awareness and perceptions of stigma, risk, and value in new varieties of English.     

Man Up,Man Down: Race–Ethnicity and the Hierarchy of Men in Female‐Dominated Work

Scholars have largely overlooked the significance of race and socioeconomic status in determining which men traverse gender boundaries into female‐dominated, typically devalued, work. Examining the gender composition of the jobs that racial minority men occupy provides critical insights into mechanisms of broader racial disparities in the labor market—in addition to stalled occupational desegregation trends between men and women. Using nationally representative data from the three‐year American Community Survey (2010–2012), we examine racial/ethnic and educational differences in which men occupy gender‐typed jobs. We find that racial minority men are more likely than white men to occupy female‐dominated jobs at all levels of education—except highly educated Asian/Pacific Islander men—and that these patterns are more pronounced at lower levels of education. These findings have implications for broader occupational inequality patterns among men as well as between men and women.     

Reflections on front‐line medical work during COVID‐19 and the embodiment of risk

Drawing on the voice of a woman NHS front‐line doctor during the current COVID‐19 pandemic, we explore her lived experience of the embodiment of risk in the crisis. We explore her struggles and difficulties, giving her voice and mobilizing our writing to listen to these experiences, reflecting on them as a way of living our own feminist lives. Her story illustrates that the current crisis is not only a crisis of health, but a crisis for feminism. Through telling her story, we cast light upon the embodied amplification of inequalities, paternalistic discourses around risk and lived experience of exposure to risk of contracting a deadly virus. We explore her work on the NHS front line, providing a conceptual framework of the multi‐level facets of the embodiment of risk, through lived experiences of risk and observations of the inequality of risk in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK.     

Falling in love again and again: Marlene Dietrich and the iconization of non‐native English1

Icons are those stars who have become widely established and circulated as enduring international cult figures. Numbered among these is Marlene Dietrich, one of a class of international performers who present in English although not native speakers. Her performances can be theorized as Referee Design, by which speakers target linguistic codes other than their own. Dietrich came to stardom in the 1930 German‐made film, The Blue Angel, which provided her career‐long signature tune, ‘Falling in love again’. Analysis of her pronunciation shows her English as markedly non‐native. Her subsequent Hollywood films crafted Dietrich's image, enregistering her non‐native accent and baritone quality as the first and lasting voice of the femme fatale. For three decades from the 1940s Dietrich toured a live show renowned for her stunning costumes. Comparison of a 1964 stage performance of ‘Falling in love again’ reveals her English as much more native but still retaining a hearably different accent, which is now valorized as her distinctive voice. Dietrich's decades of repeated performances established her iconicity, and her appearance and vocal style – both its timbre and pronunciation – were widely circulated, referenced, imitated, and occasionally parodied. Living the femme fatale persona in her own life, and cultivating her image with extreme reflexivity, Marlene Dietrich achieved the ultimate ingroup identification. In language and appearance, she became her own referee. Ikonen sind jene Stars, die sich als bleibende internationale Kultfiguren etabliert haben. Zu diesen zählt Marlene Dietrich, eine derjenigen internationalen Darsteller, die in englischer Sprache auftreten, obgleich es nicht ihre Muttersprache ist. Ihre Darbietungen können als ,Referee Design‘ bezeichnet werden, wobei sich Sprecher eines Codes bedienen, der nicht ihr Eigener ist. Dietrich wurde durch den 1930 produzierten Film Der Blaue Engel zum Star. Diesem entstammt auch der Titel ,Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß‘, welcher zu ihrem Markenzeichen wurde. Die Analyse ihrer Englischaussprache weist sie zu dieser Zeit als Nicht‐Muttersprachlerin aus. Ihre späteren Hollywoodfilme festigten Dietrichs Image. Ihre einzigartige Aussprache und baritonartige Sprechweise wurden zum Sinnbild der .Femme Fatale‘. Ab den 40er Jahren trat Dietrich drei Jahrzehnte lang in einer für ihre atemberaubenden Kostüme bekannten Bühnenaufführung auf. Ein Vergleich mit einer Aufführung von ,Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß‘ aus dem Jahre 1964 zeigt, dass ihre englische Aussprache seither muttersprachlicher geworden ist, aber noch immer einen hörbaren Akzent aufweist, der bereits als ihr Erkennungsmerkmal betrachtet wird. Durch jahrzehntelang wiederholte Aufführungen hat sich Dietrich als Ikone durchgesetzt. Ihr Aussehen und ihre Sprechweise – Klangfarbe sowie Aussprache – waren weit verbreitet und wurden ein Vielfaches nachgeahmt und manchmal sogar parodiert. Dietrich hat die Femme Fatale auch im Privaten gelebt, ihr Image mit höchster Selbstreflexion kultiviert und erreichte dadurch die Spitze der Ingroup‐Identifikation: in Sprache und Aussehen wurde sie ihr eigener ,Referee’. [German]     

Situational Interest and Scientific Self‐Efficacy: Influence of an Energy Science Career Intervention

This study examined the efficacy of a career intervention aimed at promoting adolescents’ perceptions of scientific self‐efficacy (SSE), as well as interest in specific activities and careers relevant to energy science. One hundred thirty‐four adolescents (60 girls, 74 boys) completed self‐efficacy and interest measures on 4 occasions (Time [T] T1 to T4]) during the course of the 6‐day intervention. Results of latent change modeling yielded evidence of significant growth in SSE from T1 to T4. Results of a multiple regression analysis also revealed that situational interest in an energy science activity at T2 was a significant positive predictor of SSE at T4, thus offering further clarity regarding the theorized sequence of causal relations between interest and self‐efficacy. Findings call attention to the need for future research on the role of task‐level interest in the social cognitive career theory framework and highlight the importance of mastery experiences in the delivery of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics career interventions.     

Ambivalence in the Relationship of Adult Children to Aging Parents and In‐Laws

The concept of ambivalence emphasizes the complexity of family relations and the potential for individuals to evaluate relationships as both positive and negative. Using multilevel models, we investigate ambivalence in adult children's relationships with their aging parents and in‐laws (N= 1,599). We focus on factors predicting adult children's ambivalence toward parents and in‐laws within a gendered kinship structure that shapes these relations. We conclude that ambivalence is a useful concept for representing the complexity of parent‐child relationships and is produced within the context of social relations structured by gender and kinship. Results show greater ambivalence among dyads of women, toward in‐laws, among those in poor health, for daughters providing assistance, and for adult children with poor parental relations in early life.     

Making the Best of a Bad Job? Female Part‐Timers’ Orientations and Attitudes to Work

This article uses data from 50 qualitative interviews with female part‐time workers in low‐level jobs in Britain to illustrate their attitudes, orientations and aspirations towards paid work. The research reports two main findings. Firstly, even female part‐time workers at the bottom end of the occupational structure are not a homogeneous group of workers. Secondly, they are not all highly satisfied with their jobs. The article argues that many women (especially those in working‐class households) still do not have a genuine choice between ‘family work’ and ‘market work’. It concludes by presenting a theoretical model of orientations to work.     

Women's desire for the kaleidoscope of authenticity,balance and challenge: A multi‐method study of female health workers’ careers

Improved health care and increased life expectancy have extended working lives and changed the nature of work for many women. The aim of this research is to explore women's kaleidoscope career intentions of authenticity, balance and challenge, and understand the impact of life roles on their career choices. The research comprises two studies. In Study 1, interviews with 14 female hospital pharmacists demonstrate how their desire to increase non‐work life roles while caring for ageing parents has influence over their career choices. In Study 2, a survey of 178 female direct care workers confirms life roles’ impact on their kaleidoscope career intentions. Findings demonstrate that different life roles strongly influence women's career choices in a number of ways, primarily their desire to increase their leisure and engagement with activities outside work. In later life, carer responsibilities play an influential role in female career choices, particularly those related to eldercare. Finally, kaleidoscope career intentions may be influenced by life roles. These findings have considerable implications for both the expansion of careers and gender theory, and development of public and business policies aimed at attracting and retaining human resources.     

The differential impact of COVID‐19 on the work conditions of women and men academics during the lockdown

That the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected the work conditions of large segments of society is in no doubt. A growing body of journalistic accounts raised the possibility that the lockdown caused by the pandemic has affected women and men in different ways, due mostly to the traditionally gendered division of labour in society. We attempt to test this oft‐cited argument by conducting an original survey with nearly 200 academics. Specifically, we explore the extent to which the effect of the lockdown on childcare, housework and home‐office environment varies across women and men. Our results show that a number of factors are associated with the effect of the lockdown on the work conditions of academics at home, including gender, having children, perceived threat from COVID‐19 and satisfaction with the work environment. We also show that having children disproportionately affects women in terms of the amount of housework during the lockdown.     

Tolerance of Uncertainty: Links to Happenstance,Career Decision Self‐Efficacy,and Career Satisfaction

This study investigated the extent to which tolerance of uncertainty affects the relationship between happenstance skills and career satisfaction via career decision self‐efficacy. Moderated mediation analysis was conducted on data collected from 321 graduates (175 men, 146 women) of Korean universities making the school‐to‐work transition. Results showed that career decision self‐efficacy fully mediated the relationship between happenstance skills and career satisfaction. Furthermore, the moderation effect of tolerance of uncertainty had a significant impact on the relationship between happenstance skills and career decision self‐efficacy. Tolerance of uncertainty should be considered an important variable in happenstance career theory and intervention. Unplanned influences should also be considered important factors in the career decision‐making process.