ILPC 2027

 In analysing the effects of the 1980’s recession, Rubery (1988) noted that the impact on women’s employment could be explained in three ways: the ‘buffer’ hypothesis, where women are retrenched during an economic downturn;   the ‘job segregation’ hypothesis (after Milkman, 1984) where women’s employment is determined by changes in labour demand in specific occupations and industries  rather than macro-economic conditions; and the ‘substitution’ hypothesis where women provide cheaper sources of labour which enables cost cutting by employers. In the research presented in this paper, which examines the global economic downturn from 2008-2010, these hypotheses were explored in specific case studies, occupations and industries, because as Rubery argues, the hypotheses may not be mutually exclusive and should be examined at more micro scales rather than at the aggregate labour market level.

Although the Australian economy did not experience a technical recession in the period 2008-2010, the global economic downturn had a significant impact on the labour market. In examining women’s employment in Australia during this period, and using rich qualitative methods, supported by labour market statistics, we find most support for the segregation hypothesis. That is, men’s jobs in traditional industry sectors such as manufacturing were affected more than women’s, but this represents only part of the impact of the recession on the labour market. Less visible changes occurred and continue to reverberate in women’s working lives and in female dominated-industries such as retail and community services.

We argue that two important patterns in women’s employment emerged as a result of the economic downturn and that these have not received adequate attention to date. The first is an increase in ‘partial employment’, where women’s work provided employer-orientated flexibility and a partial buffer for capital through reduced, altered or casual and precarious hours. The second, more tentative finding, is the emergence of ‘compensatory; employment, where women entered the labour market (or increased their participation) to compensate for their male partner’s job losses. We argue that the former is a continuation of previous patterns and the latter represents an extension or addition to the segregation thesis. As men’s jobs losses are felt in so-called men’s industries, and women’s sectors are less affected, women offer themselves for more work in the service sectors to provide compensatory income and security for their families. This ‘compensatory’ employment hypothesis builds on the changing employment status of women vis a vis men, where some women are becoming equal, if not main, breadwinners in couple families. In the majority of single parent families, which represent a growing proportion of the total workforce, women are the primary earners.

The paper considers the policy implications of these findings at the micro (job and workplace) level and the macro level (labour market policy settings).

Rubery J (1988) ed Women and Recession Routledge and Kegan Paul new York