Wa ae oe

 

 

and Services, Melody Hessing, Sessi-
onal Sociology instructor currenty
teaching at U.B.C., and Helga Jaco-
bson, Associate Professor of Anthro-
pology, U.B.C. The proposal is entitled
CLERICAL AND HOUSEHOLD LA-
BOUR - STRATEGIES OF WOMEN’S
DUAL EMPLOYMENT. It is the result
of the seed money grant in the amount
of $5,000 granted by S.S.H.R.C. in
Nov. 1987 to Zimmerman and Hessing
which enabled them to design this now
successful proposal.

The purpose of the study is to in-
vestigate the means by which
Canadian women manage the _ in-
terrelated demands of household and
paid labour. It is well-known that

. women now comprise 51% of the paid
labour force, that participation rates of
married women and women with
children have shown particularly large
increases. In 1983 mothers with
children under 16 surpassed other
married women in their employment
rates and more than 52% of such
women have children under the age of
six. (Statistics Canada 1985)

 

 

 

““Good evening. Today the world achieved
equality for the sexes, universal nuclear
disarmament, and truth in advertising. But
our lead story is Hell: It froze over."’

(The Warherstorrian Vy 185 p 239)

 

Documenting how women accommo-
date the multiple demands of their “two
jobs” will be the central focus of the
research. While studies on women in
the labour force and on household la-
bour have proliferated, there has been
little if anything on the intersection and

interdependence between home,
family and work. Thus, according to
the proposal “9 to 5’ is assumed to
stop with the clock when the worker
shuts down the word processor or
closes her office door. The respon-
sibilities of childcare and housework
are then a separate realm to which the
worker is transported, both theoreti-
cally and physically, and in which she
assumes another role. “Our primary
goal in our research is to extend the
research to encompass the full work-
ing day, to include the strains and
accommodations encountered in the
combination of work force and in the
home.” Zimmerman, Hessing and
Jacobson believe that until this is
documented and understood, policy in
such areas as daycare, parental leave,
leave to look after sick children, social
services, etc., will continue to fail to
reflect the needs of Canadian women
and their families.

 

 

 

 

Further, although the largest sector eo
employment for women outside the
home is the clerical sector in which
one-third of all working women are
employed, the bulk of studies to date
have emphasized academic, career
and professional women. Thus, there
has been little on the “double day” of
women in the clerical sector -
women's largest paid work category.
The researchers have obtained
permission of College management
and the B.C.G.E.U. to interview
College staff on a VOLUNTARY and
ANONYMOUS basis. The course of
this study will be from July 1987 to
December 1988. The funds granted
will go to the Principal Investigator
Melody Hessing, for research assis-
tants, computer time, library searches,
travel, etc. LillianZimmerman and
Helga Jacobson, along with Melody
Hessing make up the research team.
While they will not be paid, they are
equal partners in the research.

Jim Doerr
Dean of Community Programs
Services