Las desigualdades de género en el mercado de trabajo: entre la continuidad y la transformación

Abstract

By now, the existence of gendered labour market inequalities is commonly accepted, a fact that was emphasized by feminist theory some time ago. Since then a large number of studies have pointed out the reality of subordination and labor discrimination for most of working women even though women’s activity rates have been increasing. On the other hand it seems that existing estructural features are getting worse for women while new ones are appearing. This article looks at women’s presence in the labor market pointing out  the persistence of horizontal and vertical segregation by gender as well as indirect discrimination. A persistence that it is getting harder in the present context of crisis. In this sense, labour transitions are characaracterized by a contínuum between precariousness and informal work and we can also observe a process of polarization among women workers. In this sense, social class inequalities persist but they have been reinforced by other inequality axis: ethnical —increasingly the inequalities between nationals and immigrants— and age —which are perpetuating the transition to steady work. These changes are taking place in a crisis framework, and politicians are putting into practice measures that are probably intensifying the inequalities mentioned above. At the same time this reveals the fragility of legal measures on gender equality adopted a few years ago. Summing up we conclude that inequalities are far from disappearing  but they are transforming.