Summaries
The educational and occupational segregation between men and women in the first half of the 1980’s.
L.F.M. Groot
In this article the author investigates the degree of occupational and eductional segregation between men and women of the Dutch labour force in the first half of the 1980’s. Recent studies on this sub ject did only investigate the degree of occupatio nal segregation. However, the total occupational segregation consists of two components. Firstly, during the educational career boys and girls choose different kinds of studies, which will have an impact on their future occupational choice and possibilities. Secondly, part of the occupational segregation can be explained by different labour market opportunities for men and women with equal educational qualifications. For the policy to be pursued insight in the relative importance of both components in explaining the total occupa tional segregation can be useful.
Job segregation and employment K.G. Tijdens
Dutch girls are encouraged to choose male domi nated occupations. According to labour market policy this would lead to better employment chan ces for women. Research on labour force data does not support this suggestion. From 1975 to 1985 employment grew in female dominated oc cupations and reduced in male dominated occupa tions, following the shift from an industrial to a service society.
Women work in relatively few occupations. Assu med conclusions about women’s vulnerability on the labour market can not be drawn upon it, be cause occupations are not counted equally in the classification. Female dominated occupations are
much less finely defined than men’s occupations and women work much more often then men in undefined occupations.
Job segregation tend to be higher in firms than in the labour force. Segregation is reinforced in se veral ways. Thus a policy towards desegregation must not only concentrate on girls’ occupational choice, but first of all on desegregation in firms.
Male and female occupations and the chances on work
B.F.H. Bakker
This short article is a reaction on Tijdens. The au thor seeks the relationship between the amount of women in an occupation and the chances on work for women.
Labour market segmentation and the require ment of personel by organizations
R.A. van der Poll
In this article the existence of the labour market segmentation theory is examined within sixteen branches of industry, in regard to job recruitment behaviour. The research is based on data from an inquiry carried out by the Dutch Ministry of So cial Affairs and Employment, which incorporated
1294 organizations that required personnel in 1988.
The results of this research indicates that a simple dualistic structure, as assumed in the dual labour market theory, does not exist for branch person nel requirements. Instead, we can distinguish six different market segments; some have more pri mary, others more secondary characteristics. On ly one segment can be characterized as a typically secondary labour market (retail trade and the ho tel and restaurant industry). This segment indica
Summaries tes that the theory has some right to exist. Howe
ver, the overall conclusion is that, based on this data, the segmentation theory does not account for the differentiation in the labour market.
A typology of occupational age-distributions in the Netherlands
M. Bottema, J.J. Siegers, C.A. van de Wijst In this article the age segmentation of the Dutch work force is analysed in terms of the age distri bution of occupations (three-digit code). The age stucture of an occupation is determined by several factors such as physical requirements, retirement rules, educational and training requirements, job linkages (‘job-ladders’), technological develop ments and institutional factors (life-time commit ment). An analysis of detailed data of the 1985 Labour Force Sample Survey shows that a majo rity of occupations in the Netherlands conform to one of the five basic age profiles which were construced earlier in labour market literature. Young workers are overrepresented in industrial occupations in particular and often occupy entry- level positions. Proffessional workers and speci fic occupations within industry have an overpre sentation of workers in the agegroup 25-54 years. Older workers are concentrated in managerial and supervisory occupations as well as in occupa tions with a high proportion of self-employment. Occupations with a uniform age distribution, the fourth type of age-profile distinguished, concern craft occupations. Finally, occupations with a U- shaped age distribution can be related to occupa tions having ‘secundary labour market’ features (‘dead and’ jobs). Attention is paid to the implica tions the occupational segregation by age has for the policy question how to respond to the challen ges of an aging work force.
Information systems and communication W. Martens, B. Riesewijk
Both design and implementation of complex, computer-based information systems are to a high degree a matter of communication. The technical but even more the social complexity, requires ap propriate communicative provisions and rela tions. An open communication, in which the identity of each of the parties involved constitutes the foundation of processes of attunement and ne
gotiation, appears to be essential to the success of systems development.
Scientific theories, advocating a partial approach, can be regarded as an impediment to solutions, which are more or less acceptable to everyone.
Continuity or change? The Dutch industrial relations in the eighties
C.J. Vos
At the beginning of the past decade there seemed to be little room for discussion: Dutch industrial relations were on the turn, state intervention in wage-fixing was substituted by state disengage ment. As from 1985 the tide turned once more. Industrial relations received a new impetus from economic recovery, European integration, and technological innovation.
In this article recent trends in industrial relations in the Netherlands are analysed to distinguish their permanent and temporary features. It is ar gued that — despite declining state intervention
— collective bargaining in the Netherlands still is marked by a relatively high degree of centraliza tion. In addition, developments at EC-level are noteworthy. Since there is no EC-level bargaining between employers and unions, community inte gration depends mainly on the creation of a le gislative framework. Without active involvement of the two sides of industry this proces may even tually influence negotiating models in the mem ber states, confirming a trend to (even) greater centralization.
Work and Gender M. Brouns, A. Schokker
Many reports were published about gender-diffe rences and work over the past fifteen years. Com pared to the period before the early seventies much more knowledge came available during the last two decades. Once again the great differences between the sexes became apparent. This inequa lity is characterized by a strong segregation, a lo wer profile and lower quality of women’s work compared to men’s work, and an underrepresen tation of women in management and in positions of leadership.
After a description of the state of the art the authors conclude that in spite of the additional knowledge the additional insight in the
ness of gender and work remains restricted. This can partly be explained by the lach of interaction between different disciplines and different para digmatic trends. Other explanations concern the
way sex/gender and work were dominantly con ceptualized. The authors design some new lines for future research concerning gender and work.
