Norms, Institutions and Women's Labour Market Outcomes in Global Perspective
The Long Shadow of Gendered Tradition
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- Description
- Contents
- About
Why do women’s labour market outcomes continue to diverge across countries that share similar policy ambitions? Norms, Institutions and Women's Labour Market Outcomes in Global Perspective reveals how slow‑moving gender norms interact with welfare systems, labour regulations, and family policy to shape women’s work opportunities across generations.
Rather than treating gender inequality as the product of individual preferences or isolated reforms, the book shows how institutional legacies and deeply rooted expectations continue to structure everyday economic life. Through five theoretically selected country cases - Sweden, Spain, Croatia, South Africa, and Indonesia - the authors trace how historical turning points such as regime transitions, welfare expansions, and market restructuring created enduring patterns of norm-institution alignment. Their comparative, mixed‑methods approach highlights why similar reforms can produce sharply different results across contexts.
Bridging economics, sociology, political science, and gender studies, this book offers a cohesive framework for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand - and transform - the long shadow of gendered tradition.
Introduction: The Long Shadow of Gendered Tradition; Debra Shepherd and Peter Gladoić Håkansson
- Part I. Comparative Framework and Patterns
- Chapter 1. Theoretical Outline and Methodology; Debra Shepherd and Peter Gladoić Håkansson
- Chapter 2. Economic Empowerment and Labour Participation; Debra Shepherd
- Chapter 3. Marriage and Reproduction; Debra Shepherd
- Chapter 4. Intrahousehold Bargaining and Agency; Debra Shepherd
- Part II. Institutional Trajectories in Comparative Perspective
- Chapter 5. Croatia – The Ramparts of Tradition; Željko Mrnjavac and Predrag Bejaković
- Chapter 6. Indonesia – Institutions, Gender Inequalities and Persistent Change; Tutik Rachmawati and Yohanes Andika Tjitrajaya
- Chapter 7. South Africa – Recognition Without Redistribution; Debra Shepherd
- Chapter 8. Spain – Rapid Modernisation and Segmented Inclusion; Ferran Mane
- Chapter 9. Sweden – Institutional Alignment and the Dual-Earner Model; Peter Gladoić Håkansson
- Chapter 10. Conclusions: The Long Shadow of Institutions; Debra Shepherd and Peter Gladoić Håkansson
Debra Shepherd is an Associate Professor in Economics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her research focuses on inequality, social policy and gender, with a strong emphasis on the empirical analysis of large-scale datasets. Her research has informed policy work and public debate in South Africa on educational inequality, child poverty, gender equality, and social inclusion.
Peter Gladoić Håkansson is an Associate Professor in Economic History at Malmö University, Sweden. His research focuses on different aspects of labour market change. He has published a vast number of research articles in international research journals on labour market, labour market inequalities and spatial perspectives on the labour market.