Sexual division of labour : the Italian case

Despite a growing literature on women's work, few contributions have examined in detail the actual features of women's and men's work, taking account of those determinants of occupational sex-typing that have been proposed from different perspectives within political economy (including feminist studies). This book makes such an examination, and develops its own interpretation of the subject.

The focus is on Italy, but the implications of the analysis are much wider. A large body of evidence is brought together for the purpose, including in-depth analysis of the labour process in several contemporary and early industries. The interpretation presented here argues that women's relative contributions as income earners within the family and their historically subordinate position in society, both of which relate to women's reproductive role, lead to the recurrence of particular patterns of occupational sex-typing. The implications of the sexual division of labour for the main aspects of female employment and pay are also investigated on the basis of historical and recent trends. The discussions on skill and the rise in female relative earnings in Italy bear special relevance to equal-pay policy issues. The issues discussed here will interest economists and sociologists working in labour economics, women's studies, industrial relations, and labour history.