FLEXIBILITY AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT IN RETAILING

Abstract

This paper is concerned to explain the expansion of women's part-time employment, specifically in the retailing industry of Melbourne. The paper identifies the growth of this segment of the labour force in terms of changes in the demand for labour. Retailers' motives for employing increasing numbers of part-time workers are examined; so too are the occupations and hours that part-timers work. Part-time workers are mostly women, employed in sales and clerical occupations. It is argued that the growth of part-time work is the result of employers' response to a perceived available labour supply: women with children and associated domestic responsibilities. This raises issues about the relationship between the construction of part-time jobs and gender. This question is examined particularly in relation to the position of women in management.