Women and Work in Modern Britain

The latest in the successful Oxford Modern Britain series, Women and Work in Modern Britain provides a highly accessible introduction to this important topic. Rosemary Crompton gives a full account of the recent changes in the structure of women's employment, incorporating a comprehensive review of the theoretical concepts and arguments developed to explain them. Discussing the pattern of women's paid employment from the standpoint of both constraint and individual choice, the author begins by examining the variety of explanations offered to understand the situation of women in work in twentieth-century Britain. In subsequent chapters she discusses the nature and extent of women's employment in Britain today; cross-national comparisons of the differential structuring of women's employment; women as employees; and the impact on the lives of both women and men of the changing employment/family interface and its implications for the wider structure of inequality and social polarization in Britain. Clearly and engagingly written, with useful chapter summaries highlighting key points and discussions, Women and Work in Modern Britain will be essential reading for students and teachers alike.