Women in Traditional and Newly Emerging Jobs in the European Service Economy: Working Conditions, Technology and Corporate Strategies

ABSTRACT

This paper compares women's employment in two contrasting areas of the labour market, both of which involve computing work to some degree. First, the paper considers an established area of women's work, financial services, where women have traditionally and been employed principally in junior clerical and cashiering functions, in what constitutes a secondary labour market separate from the professional and managerial occupations dominated by men. Although this has historically been manual clerical work, the financial services sector has become a major user of information technology systems and networks, and many jobs in this sector, even at the most junior levels, involve a significant element of computing work. The paper then examines a newly emerging area of women's work, namely, employment in new media, where technical work is central to the job. The paper discusses the work and technical skills involved, the conditions of work and women's experiences of working with technology. It also considers the broader organisational and corporate dynamics affecting these two sectors—financial services and new media—and assesses their implications for women and for the gender equality project.