Publication

This paper examines the relationship between employment and social policy specifically from a gender perspective. It first lays out the conceptual ground, drawing on a range of heterodox economic and feminist analyses to suggest alternative ways of understanding institutions and labor markets as gendered structures. It then shows that the empirical evidence, in terms of the persistence of gender hierarchies within both paid and unpaid work, does not fit comfortably within the predictions of standard labor market models. The concluding section draws out some of the policy implications from the preceding analysis for more gender-egalitarian policy agendas.