Women'S Employment and Gender Relations in Greece

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which the modernizing changes experienced in Greece in the postwar period are reflected in more equitable gender relations. The analysis indicates that although Greece has become one of the most progressive countries with respect to women's legal status, this is not necessarily reflected in behavioural changes at the interpersonal level. The influx of Greek women in the labour market is a necessary prerequisite, but not a sufficient condition, for the development of a new gender contract. Given the persistence of traditional economic structures within which the family retains a significant role, women's involvement in paid employment does not in itself signify a transformation of gender relations. For a large proportion of Greek women, therefore, work may be viewed as the result of a family strategy for collective income procurement and not necessarily as an indicator of more liberal gender-role ideologies. The article concludes that it is vitally important to establish the meaning that work carries for women themselves, as well as others in their social environment, by supplementing statistical information with qualitative in-depth analyses.