Structure and trends of women’s employment in the UK
University of Cambridge
Manufacturing Engineering
Department of Engineering
Structure and trends of women´s employment in the UK
M. J. Platts
Abstract
Women form 44% of the working population in the UK, and the proportion is rising, withlower unemployment for women than for men. Manufacturing only represents 14% of thelabour market and already 英國dissertation網contains a high proportion of women in many industry sectors, andtheir entry is welcomed at all levels. These are no barriers to entry: general communication,interpersonal group working and problem solving skills are increasingly seen as the key skillsof the future, not technical skills.Sources
The primary sources for employment data in the UK are the UK National Accounts1, whichpresent a ten year historic record, Social Trends2 , which augments this with some longer termstatistics and projections, and which gives a more thorough analysis of gender and ethnic differences,and the Britain’s Flexible Labour Market: What Next?3, a 1997 Department of Educationand Employment Study analysing current trends and in particular analysing future skillneeds.
Statistics
In the decade 1985-1995 manufacturing employment has declined from 5 million to 3.9 millionand is continuing to decline, whilst all other major employment sectors have increased:wholesale and retail, repairs, hotels and restaurants - 4.4 million to 4.9 million; financial intermediation,real estate, renting and business activities - 2.8 million to 3.6 million, and education,
health and social work - 3.7 million to 4.4 million. For a working population of 28million people, manufacturing now only represent 14% of employment, and more than half ofthat is in the offices, not employment on the factory floor. Equally striking are the figures foragriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing which together at 314 thousand represent just over1% of the working population and declining. Mining of coal and nuclear fuel, which from1985 to 1995 has dropped from 216 thousand to 15 thousand - i.e. has almost disappeared -and is still falling. These figures simply emphasise the extent to which Britain is now a service
economy.
Looking at gender differences, women now constitute 44% of the labour market and this isincreasing. 1.3 million of the probable 1.5 million new entrants into the labour market between1993 and 2006 are expected to be women, but already 83% of the women employed areemployed in the service industries (figure 1). Also in the 25 - 54 age group in mid 1997 fe-
1 HUMPHRIES, S. (ed.) United Kingdom National Accounts. (HMSO,1996)
2 CHURCH, J. (ed.) Social Trends 27. (HSMO,1997)
3 RATAJAN,A., VAN EUPEN, P. & JASPERS, A., Britain’s Flexible Labour Market: What next?
(CREATE,1997)
male unemployment was only 3.3% as against 8.5% male unemployment. To further put thisin perspective, while in 1995 white unemployment was approximately 8%, unemploymentamongst black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani members of the labour market was over 25%.#p#分頁標題#e#
Figure 1
Women in the Labour Force: Key Trends
1) Increased proportion of the workforce - From 37% in 1971 to 44% in 1994. Expected to be
46% of the labour force in 2006.
2) High proportion of new entrant - Women are expected to make up 1.3 million of the 1.5million new entrants to the labour force over the period 1993 to 2006.
3) Increased activity rates - For women aed 16 and over from 50% in 1986 to 55% in 2001.For 35 to 44 year olds increase from 76% in 1991 to 81% in 2001.
4) Faster return to work - In 1979, of all women who worked during pregnancy, 24% were inwork and 14% were lookin for work within 8 to 9 months of the birth. By 1988 the figureswere 45% in work and 20% lookin for work.
5) Later childbirth - 36% of births to women aged 25 to 29.
6) More part-time work - In 1971 14% of the workforce worked part-time (compared to only
6% of male employment).
7) Occupational segregation - 83% of women in the Service industries compared to 56% of
men.
8) Increased self-employment - Number of women up from 693,000 in 1984 to 800,000 in1993 (a rise from 24% to 26% of all self-employed people).
9) Older workforce - By 2001 34% of workforce over 45. Rise of 2.4 million in workforceaged 35 to 54 over period 1993 to 2006 and decline of 1.6 million in workforce under 35over this period.
Source: GHN (1995)
Also the trends favour women. Consistent with the high percentage of female employment inthe services sector and within the offices in the manufacturing sector, a breakdown of employment
into different trades shows 32% of men employed as plant and machinery operativesor in craft or related trades, whilst only 7% of women are so employed. These trades areexpected to see a decline of approximately 200 thousand jobs in the decade 1996 - 2006,compared to vastly expanding job opportunities elsewhere (figure 2), for which females alreadyhave a higher proportion of the necessary non-manual skills than males.
Figure 2
Changes in employment: by occupation, 1996 to 2006
United Kingdom
Thousands
Plant and machine
operatives
Other occupations
Clerical and
secretarial
Managers and
administrators
Personal and
protective services
Associate
professionals and
technical
Sales
Professionals
Craft and
skilled manual
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500
1 - 1996-based projections
Source: Business Strategies Limited
Skills
These trends can be summed into areas of increase and decrease both on industries and occupation,which generates a map of changes in broad occupation groups (figure 3). Thesechanges translate into a focus on the development of communication, inter-personal groupworking, learning and problem solving skills in which general numeracy, and also familiarity
留學生畢業dissertation網with using computers to handle and distribute information, play a supportive role, but are notof high priority. General personal skills are seen as of much higher importance and indeed oftwelve skills seen as core skills for graduates, IT ranks last. The list dominated by the ‘soft’personal attributes that give the flexibility required by today’s changing organisations.#p#分頁標題#e#
Figure 3
Changes in Broad Occupational Groups
Numbers Increasing
D
E
S
K
I
· secretarial occupations (p/t)
· junior clericals (p/t)
· recreational occupations (p/t)
· personal service occupations (p/t)
· security occupations (p/t)
· managers and administrators
· engineers, scientists etc.
· associate professionals
· health/education profesionals
· multi-skilled craftsmen
· sales & marketing occupations
· security
U
P
S
K
I
L L
L
I
N
G
· junior draftsmen
· single-skilled craftsmen
· operatives
· unskilled occupations
· manual occupations
· multi-skilled clerks
· supervisors
· secretarial occupations
· recreational services
· secretaries
· personal service occupations
L
I
N
G
Numbers Decreasing
Source: Rajan (1992)
The change in the nature of organisations to being open, communicative networks rather thanformal hierarchies entirely depends on these soft skills (figure4), and whilst these are aided byinformation technology, the improvements in information technology itself steadily move ittowards easy use-ability. Features such as the presentation of forms on screens, and the generationof shared record within a computer system, can be identified as the supportive aspectsof IT. But these do not have to be learnt in any formal way in advance and indeed cannot belearnt in any formal way in advance, because they only develop slowly, being inseparablefrom the wider development of teams, developing shared approaches to doing to things inwhich the appropriate information system gets developed as a tool. Anybody who has thefocus on the technology has got the focus wrong. Company specific of industry specifictraining may be given in particular techniques, along with the developing a broader educational
awareness of the products and processes a company is involved in, all underpinned bythe coaching-style development of personal competence in the softer skills that enable thecompany to be responsive, dynamic and interactive with its market. These skills are seen asthe core skills whatever type of company is involved, because manufacturing itself is increasinglybeing viewed as offering a service to its customers just like any other service, withtechnical competence obviously being necessary but with attentiveness and responsivenessbeing paramount.
Figure 4
Impact of IT on Structures, Practices and Ethos
Closed Hierarchy Open Networked
Organisation
Structure hierarchical Þ horizontal
Scope inernal/closed Þ external/open
Resource focus capital Þ human, information
State static, stable Þ dynamic, changing#p#分頁標題#e#
Personnel focus managers Þ professionals
Work location factory, office Þ mobile workstation
Key drivers reward and punishment Þ commitment
Direction management commands Þ self-management
Bais of action control Þ empowerment to act
Individual motivation satisfy superiors Þ achieve goals
Learning specific skills Þ broader competencies
Basis for compensation position in hierarchy Þ competence, performance
Relationships competitive Þ co-operative
Employee attitud detachment Þ identification
Dominant requirements sound management Þ leadership
Source: Adapted from Tapscott and Caston (1993)
Attitude
None of these trends work against women’s employment prospects. In manufacturing, women
have had high levels of employment in clothing poduction, in food and fast moving consumer
goods, in electronics, in white and brown goods and in light industry generally, but women’s
employment is increasing in all manufacturing sectors. There has been encouragement for
women to enter engineering and industry for decades, with many young women doing so. All
industry sectors now have women in positions of significant responsibility. For any company,
and for any professional sector, their first female entrant has been a matter of excitement and
enthusiasm and considerable quiet pride in how well she is doing, combined with appreciative
stories of her perceiving things differently and causing them to perceive things differently.
http://www.400190.com/dissertation_writing/There is professional equality and the change is considered a valuable learning experience.
Literature
Humphries, S. (ed): United Kingdom National Accounts, (HMSO, 1996)
Church, J. (ed): Social Trends 27, (HSMO, 1997)
Ratajan, A./ Van Eupen, P./ Jaspers, A.: Britain’s Flexible Labour Market: What next?,
(CREATE, 1997)