The Sexual Division of Labour in Process Manufacturing: Economic Restructuring, Training and `Women's Work'

Abstract

It is widely assumed that the development of enhanced skills appropriate to advanced technologies is an important means of increasing the employability of the socially excluded. This article tests this assumption through case studies in the food industry in Austria, Germany and Britain. The findings indicate that organizational restructuring, technological change and redeployment of labour have very different consequences for women and for men. In all three countries the restructuring of work and skills increased the marginalization of women, reinforcing gender cleavage.