A Comparison of the Labour Market Position of Women in Spain and the UK with Reference to the `Flexible' Labour Debate

Abstract

This compares women's employment in Spain and the UK in the context of very different historical and institutional developments in each country. A number of key variations in women's labour market position, for example, participation rates, part-time, temporary work and unemployment rates, are examined and in each area it is found that there are substantial differences in the patterns of women's economic activity. A contribution is also made to the debate on the non-standard or flexible workforce by focusing on the issue of recent changes in labour market deregulation in the two countries and the importance of the informal economy in Spain. In both countries the state has pursued policies of deregulation of the labour market to produce a more flexible workforce. Employers have drawn on a hidden labour supply of married women who in turn have been incorporated into the economy through forms of non-standard work, in the UK this has been part-time work and in Spain either temporary work or irregular or illegal forms of work in the informal economy. It is argued that these developments may have negative consequences for both countries with respect to training, skill and wage levels.