Abstract
The relationship between French and British women's domestic circumstances, their employment patterns and their occupational achievement is the subject of this thesis. Using secondary analysis of large nationally representative survey data, the Labour Force Survey 1984 and the Enquete Emploi 1985, case studies of two contrasted occupations, office working and teaching, are developed. The work is based on the premise that an examination of women's employment needs to take into account the different historical and structural aspects of particular occupations, as well as the socio-cultural context which gives rise to particular policies. This combination of social, cultural, structural and policy elements is referred to as the 'occupational situation'. The analyses show that the effects of domestic circumstances vary in each occupation. Yet, in a country such as France where day care is widely available, and in occupations whose structure is likely to minimise the effect of domestic responsibilities, the effect of marriage and children on employment patterns and occupational achievement persists. An added finding relates to the effect of part-time working on occupational achievement: in French office working, part- time working does not significantly decrease chances of occupational achievement. This indicates the importance of French employment protection legislation, particularly that which allows for continuity of employment during the period of family formation and which protects part-time working. Yet, although such policies can affect employment patterns, they may not have a marked effect on occupational achievement. Policy and structural elements of particular occupations can lessen the effect of domestic circumstances on employment patterns and occupational achievement. However, the unequal relations of power between women and men in the home and in the workplace act as a constant variable in each of these case studies, and inequalities persist between women and men in employment.