A feminised workplace' doesn't mean what you think it means | Letter

"Feminisation in this sense describes the central role played by gender in the transformations of work over the past decades, from the decline of conventionally masculine forms of work in heavy industry to the rise of the service economy and the problematic idea that women's participation in paid labour is a measure of gender equality. This critical use of feminisation makes visible the ways that contemporary capitalism exploits our ideas about gender."

"The point is not to reiterate gender stereotypes (the fallacy that women are more naturally caring than men, for example), or to suggest that feminisation is something to be either entirely celebrated or entirely critiqued. It is certainly not to suggest that any field in which women predominate is likely to be weakened (an assumption behind much of the rightwing use of the term)."

"In critiquing the great feminisation thesis, we should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater: a feminist approach to the topic reveals that pay, working hours and working conditions are inseparably connected with the ways we define femininity and masculinity. Accurately describing gendered working conditions is the first step in making them more equitable for all."

Feminisation denotes the central role of gender in major labor shifts, including the decline of traditionally masculine heavy industry and the growth of service-sector employment. The concept links changing occupational structures to assumptions about women’s paid work and problematic measures of equality. Contemporary capitalism exploits gendered ideas, influencing pay, working hours and conditions. A feminist analysis rejects essentialist stereotypes about women’s natural caring and avoids unqualified celebration or denunciation of feminisation. Feminist critique warns against assuming that female-majority fields are inherently weakened. Accurate description of gendered working conditions is necessary to pursue more equitable labor policies for all workers.

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