Good, bad and very bad part-time jobs for women? Re-examining the importance of occupational class for job quality since the ‘great recession’ in Britain

Warren, Tracey; Lyonette, Clare

Abstract

Britain has long stood out in Europe for its extensive but low quality part-time labour market dominated by women workers, who are concentrated in lower-level jobs demanding few skills and low levels of education, offering lower wage rates and restricted advancement opportunities. This article explores trends in part-time job quality for women up to and beyond the recession of 2008/9, and asks whether post-recessionary job quality remains differentiated by occupational class. A pre-recessionary narrowing of the part-time/full-time gap in job quality appears to have been maintained for the women in higher level part-time jobs, while part- and full-timers in lower-level jobs suffered the worst effects of the recession, signalling deepening occupational class inequalities among working women.

Citation

Warren, T., & Lyonette, C. (2018). Good, bad and very bad part-time jobs for women? Re-examining the importance of occupational class for job quality since the ‘great recession’ in Britain. Work, Employment and Society, 32(4), 747-767. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018762289

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 18, 2018
• Online Publication Date: May 25, 2018
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2018
• Journal: Work, Employment and Society
• Print ISSN: 0950-0170
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8722
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 747-767
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018762289
• Keywords: Part-time; job quality; gender; occupational class; recession
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/934140
• Publisher URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017018762289
• Additional Information: Tracey Warren, Clare Lyonette. Good, Bad and Very Bad Part-time Jobs for Women? Re-examining the Importance of Occupational Class for Job Quality since the ‘Great Recession’ in Britain, Work, Employment and Society. Copyright © 2018. © SAGE Publications. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.