The role of the state in feminisation and quality of employment: A comparison of teaching profession in the UK & Pakistan

Khan, Mahwish

Abstract

Teaching is considered one of the ‘female’ occupations in most countries around the world (Anker, 1998; Gaskell & Mullen, 2006). Feminization does pave the way to increase the presence of women in work but it does not imply women’s access to power in the labour market. On the contrary feminization is often related to the lowering of the status of an occupation and raises issues related to the gender wage gap, occupational segregation, glass ceilings and work life balance (Harkness, 1996; Bruegel, 2000; Wylie, 2000). The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the employment trends of women in the labour market of the UK and Pakistan while giving particular attention to the teaching profession. The paper will analyse differing reasons and processes of feminisation of teaching and evaluates the role of the state during the process in the UK and Pakistan. The paper will also analyse the quality of employment of teaching in terms of knowledge, rewards, and career advancement opportunities in the two countries.
In the UK, there is a vast literature on feminisation of teaching tracing it back to the expansion of the public education in the nineteenth century (Miller, 1992). Whereas, feminisation of education in South Asian countries particularly in Pakistan , initiated in early 2000s in the backdrop of promotion of neo-liberal privatisation policies (Kelleher, 2011). This paper has used interpretivist approach to analyse the employment trends and quality in teaching profession. Secondary data is used to evaluate feminisation in the UK as there is vast literature and secondary sources available to collect relevant information. Both secondary and primary research has been done to analyse the changing labour market trends and quality of teaching employment in Pakistan. The original data is collected through semi-structured interviews – 48 in total – with women and men school teachers in Lahore, Pakistan.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: 13th European Sociological Association Conference
• Start Date: Aug 29, 2017
• End Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Acceptance Date: Sep 2, 2017
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/881621
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : (Un)Making Europe: Capitalism, Solidarities, Subjectivities