G
ender
e
quality
, W
ork
and
H
ealtH
: a r
evieW
of
tHe
e
vidence
In the industrialized countries, women and men also commonly
perform different tasks and work in different sectors, although some
job titles in white collar work are occupied by both women and men
(Messing, 1998: Chapter 1; Anker, 2001). In some places, at some
times, women lift heavy loads and men do most administrative work
and in others, the situation is just the opposite
(Bradley, 1989). There is also a "vertical" division
of labour in many countries, where women
occupy lower ranks than men (Acevedo, 2002;
Theobald, 2002; Anker et al., 2003). A gendered
division of labour is found within the household
as well as in paid employment; women and men
do different tasks in the home (Frankenhaeuser
et al., 1991; Valls-Llobet et al.,1999). This work is
apportioned differently in different countries.
The contractual relations involved in work
also differ by sex. Women tend to work more
hours at home and fewer outside of the home, compared to men, and
they usually take primary responsibility for family well-being (Parra
Garrido, 2002; Acevedo, 2002; Messing and Elabidi, 2003). Men in
many countries do more seasonal work in fishing and forestry. In some
countries, women are more likely to be unemployed but in others, men
are more often without jobs.
In industrialized countries, there has been a rise in non-standard
precarious forms of employment such as short-term contracts and
subcontracting (Quinlan et al., 2001). Women hold specific types of
non-standard work such as part-time work and one-person independent
contracting (Cranford et al., 2003). Available evidence suggests that
as a group, women suffer more from growing competitive pressures
and cost-saving strategies, which can be associated with lack of
security, limited possibilities for training and career advancement,
and inadequate social security coverage in terms of old-age pensions,