Abstract
One of the most striking developments of the postwar period has been the increase in female work outside the home. Worldwide, women now make up over one third of the paid labour force. The proportion of women in employment and in the informal sector of the economy varies between regions, but in most there is an upward trend with a particularly rapid rise in many parts of the third world (Moore, 1988, Ch. 4; United Nations, 1991, pp. 88–96). For most women, staying at home is no longer an option, and many move in and out of employment as financial need, personal preference, domestic circumstances and job opportunities dictate (Bullock, 1994). Since their place in the labour force is now well established, we need to assess the implications this has for women’s health.
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Further Reading
Bullock, S. (1994) Women and Work (London: Zed Books). A general introduction to global trends in women’s work. Within the broad framework of women and development, it provides an overview of female labour and of women’s initiatives to improve their circumstances.
Chavkin, W. (ed.) (1984) Double Exposure: women’s health hazards on the job and at home (New York: Monthly Review Press). An American collection surveying the health hazards facing women working inside and outside the home. It includes case studies of a number of different occupations as well as lucid debates on policy issues.
Frankenhaueser, M., Lundberg, U. and Chesney, M. (eds) (1991) Women, Work and Health: stress and opportunities (New York: Plenum Press). An international compendium of articles exploring the relationship between women’s paid employment and their health. Three of the articles are particularly useful since they provide overviews of current research in important areas: Barnett, R. and Marshall, N., The relationship between women’s work and family roles and their subjective well-being and psychological distress’; Haynes, S., ‘The effect of job demands, job control and new technologies on the health of employed women: a review’; and Waldron, I., ‘Effects of labor force participation on sex differences in mortality and morbidity’.
Stellman, J. and Henifin, M. (1989) Office Work can be Dangerous to your Health (New York: Pantheon). A review and updated version of an earlier publication. This provides a useful summary of current information on the hazards of office work.
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© 1995 Lesley Doyal
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Doyal, L. (1995). Waged Work and Well-Being. In: What Makes Women Sick. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24030-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24030-2_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-54205-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24030-2
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