Women and wage society : the cases of France, the United Kingdom and Sweden

Abstract

For T.H Marshall, the notion of modern citizenship emerged in opposition to feudal notion of status, which defines the relations between individual on the basis of their position in an intangible social order. The first principle of modern citizenship - civil citizenship - is based on contractual relations. Contracts formalize relationships between individuals who are free (to commit themselves) and equal (principle of equality between the contracting parties). Of particular importance here is the wage contract. Indeed, it is participation in paid work that is the basis for individual autonomy and hence for individual freedom. The wage contract combines direct remuneration and individualized social rights linked to wage work and provides access to social citizenship. In many societies, however, women's access to social protection was based not on their position as wage-earners but rather derived from their family status. And it was this definition in terms of status that limited their 'capacity' and prevented them from acquiring the full individuality that is a condition of modern citizenship. Women entered the wage society in different ways and at different times from men. How did different European countries conceive and manage the relationship between women's work and 'their' family responsibilities? Posing this question will lead us to examine the various ways in which access to the labour market has been linked to social rights and the gendered character of this link. We will examine how the work-family relation is differently constituted and institutionalized in France, the UK and Sweden, focusing on two points of entry: the public and private management of the time given over to paid work and to family matters and childcare