Gender and Home-Based Employment - Hardcover

by Charles B. Hennon (Author), Suzanne Loker (Author), Rosemary Walker (Author)

Gender often influences the type of occupation that individuals choose, as well as the way they work and the outcomes of that work. Home-based employment is no different. The proximity of these workers to their families' living activities provides an unique opportunity to study the effects of work-at-home on family interaction and the role that gender plays in this traditionally female-dominated situation.

The chapters provide a range of gender considerations from the perspectives of the workers and the workers' families, with emphasis on either the workers, the family, or the work/business. The first chapter provides an overview of the subjects being covered and defines several of the concepts used. The range of viewpoints is extensive: Chapter 2 considers home-based employment from a global perspective, while Chapter 8 narrows the focus to one particular location and type of home-based worker. Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 7 examine in various ways the data from a 9-state study, basing their analyses in theoretical and conceptual frameworks related to gender. Chapter 6 explores the dilemma of parents who have to hire child care in order to complete their home-based work. Also included are recommendations for public policy considerations.

Author Biography

CHARLES B. HENNON is Professor and Associate Director of the Family and Child Studies Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio./e

SUZANNE LOKER is Professor, Department of Textiles and Apparel, Cornell University./e

ROSEMARY WALKER is Professor of Family and Child Ecology, Michigan State University./e