Gender, Class and Power (eBook)

Tricia Dawson is a Lecturer in HRM at Keele University, UK and was previously Senior Lecturer in HRM at the University of Westminster. She was also employed by the Graphical, Paper and Media Union as Equality Policy Adviser for over 20 years from 1979.

Acknowledgements 5
Contents 6
Abbreviations 9
List of Figures 11
List of Tables 12
1: Introduction 14
Research Process 20
Organisation of the Chapters 23
References 28
2: Theories of Discrimination 31
Power, Gender and Pay 33
Power 33
Power Resources 37
Bradley’s Model of Gendered Power 38
Extending the Model 41
Economic Theories of Discrimination 44
Neo-classical Explanations 44
Alternative Economic Explanations 47
Gender-Based Theories of Discrimination 50
Gendered Practices and Policies: Workplace and Union 52
Conclusions 57
References 58
3: The Development of the Printing Industry: Workers’ and Employers’ Organisation 67
Early Development: 1470–1780 68
The Nineteenth Century 74
The Early Twentieth Century 77
Post Second World War 80
Developments Post-Merger: The GPMU 85
The End of Independent Print Unions: Amicus and Unite 87
Conclusions 87
References 91
4: Missed Opportunities: The Failure of Union Solidarity in the Struggle for Control of the Labour Process 93
Early History 94
The Nineteenth Century 95
The Early Twentieth Century 101
Two World Wars and the Interwar Years 102
Post-Second World War 107
The GPMU Merger 116
Conclusions 121
References 123
5: Gender or Skill? The Continuation of Segregated Work 127
Occupational Segregation and the Labour Process in General Printing 128
Job Content 137
Barriers to Removing Occupational Segregation by Sex 145
Conclusions 154
References 158
6: Challenging Inequality: Employers and Unions 162
Discriminatory Treatment at Work 164
Employment Policies 168
Recruitment and Promotion Processes 168
Training Processes 170
Hours of Work and Caring Responsibilities 173
Union Internal Democracy 178
The Efficacy of Structural Change in the GPMU 178
The GPMU: A Reassessment 185
Conclusions 190
References 192
7: Wage Leadership: The Continuation of Unequal Pay 196
Pay Determination Between 1950 and 1991 199
Pay Determination Post-1991 203
National Bargaining 204
Negotiating Processes at National Level 206
Local Bargaining 212
Bargaining Processes at Local Level 215
Pay Outcomes 220
Conclusions 226
References 229
8: ‘Paid Class 3, Treated Class 3, Act Class 3[?]’: Overcoming the Barriers 233
Women’s Invisibility in the Work Organisation 235
Women’s Invisibility in Bargaining Processes 243
Summary and Final Comments 249
References 254
Appendix: Characteristics of Survey Respondents and Interviewees 257
Glossary 264
Index 266