The new inequalities: gender/class divides and labour market flexibilization

Research problem and specific questions:To pinpoint the mechanisms sustaining and reshaping gender inequalities the project will explore how labour market flexibilization has affected Swedish women’s room for manoeuvre.

The aim is to examine how flexible scheduling and on-the-job training - two central aspects of flexibilization – are linked to gender-class inequalities in wages and ill-health.

Four main questions (RQ) are addressed: How did work conditions – particularly flexible scheduling, on-the-job training, work hours and job strain – change between 1991 and 2020/22?

Can we see a gender-class polarisation and to what extent can changes in work conditions account for gender gaps in wages and ill-health?

To what extent can access to, and lack of, schedule flexibility account for gender-class patterns in wages and ill-health? How are relationships mediated/moderated by time in paid and unpaid work?

To what extent can on-the-job training, and lack of such training, account for gender-class patterns in wages and ill-health? How are relationships mediated/moderated by time in paid and unpaid work?

How does occupational gender segregation contribute to gender gaps in wages and ill-health for high-and low-skilled groups and how is flexibility related to occupational and individual-level inequalities?

Data and method:The project utilizes the Swedish Level of Living Surveys (LNU) 1991 – 2020/22, supplemented by administrative register data, to examine gender-class patterns in wages and (ill)-health (e.g., mental health, musculoskeletal pain, self-rated health).

The methods include Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions (RQ1), ordinary least square regressions and linear probability models (RQ 2 and 3) and multi-level regressions/hierarchical linear models (RQ 4) Societal relevance and utilisation:The project contributes theoretically, empirically and methodologically to research on labour market and health inequality by examining skill investments, occupational sorting/choice and women’s work-family adaptions in relation to flexible work conditions.

Further, the project can provide policy-relevant insights on how to promote a sustainable working life and the well-being and economic power of different groups in modern society. RealisationThe costs are mainly intended to cover salaries for Magnusson and Grönlund, who will carry out the project. Initially, time will be spent on harmonizing LNU data over time and linking registers.