About this Research Topic
For the past several decades, structural shifts in the economies of industrialized nations have produced transformative change in work systems, employment relations and the nature of work. A major externality has been the rise of work-related insecurity across industrial sectors as a greater proportion of work is redefined as contract, temporary or part-time – i.e., the "Gig-ified" economy." In addition to heightened job insecurity, these types of work arrangements are precarious in several other important ways since they tend to provide low wages, a lack of social protection via health or disability benefits, and have an increased risk of work injury due to the absence of employment standards.
Research on the social patterning of precarious work arrangements shows that women are more vulnerable than their male counterparts to work-related insecurity exposures and concomitant adverse effects on health and wellbeing. Moreover, the intersection of social position arising from gender, race, age and (dis)ability can have multiplicative effects with respect to level of exposure to work precarity and associated occupational health risks. Against a backdrop of the major economic and social upheaval of the past 15 years arising from first, the Great Recession, and then a global pandemic, this issue seeks to articulate the contemporary experience of work-related precariousness, insecurity and vulnerability experienced by women who work, with a focus on how work-related factors influence women’s health and wellbeing. Focal areas include: the restructuring of key employment sectors and the rise of unemployment and employment insecurity (including gig work) following the global financial crisis; the impact of pandemic-induced lockdowns and school closures on women’s work and domestic roles; and, the emergence of economic and monetary pressures in the post-pandemic economy that have functioned to severely raise the cost-of-living and limit the affordability of food and housing. Factors of potential ameliorative value will also be considered, namely: the strong demand for labor in the post-pandemic economy; the growth in more flexible, hybrid and remote work; and, an institutional-level push for the implementation of effective DEI policies.
We are interested in articles containing original research, as well as reviews collating timely facts and evidence. All submissions must include women/gender as a variable or theme. Focal topics include, though are not necessarily limited to:
- gig work
- job insecurity
- unemployment and underemployment
- hazardous work exposures
- income and wealth insecurity
- the impact of social protections including employment standards and collective bargaining rights
- later-life employment e.g. the influence of menopause
- work disability
Research on the social patterning of precarious work arrangements shows that women are more vulnerable than their male counterparts to work-related insecurity exposures and concomitant adverse effects on health and wellbeing. Moreover, the intersection of social position arising from gender, race, age and (dis)ability can have multiplicative effects with respect to level of exposure to work precarity and associated occupational health risks. Against a backdrop of the major economic and social upheaval of the past 15 years arising from first, the Great Recession, and then a global pandemic, this issue seeks to articulate the contemporary experience of work-related precariousness, insecurity and vulnerability experienced by women who work, with a focus on how work-related factors influence women’s health and wellbeing. Focal areas include: the restructuring of key employment sectors and the rise of unemployment and employment insecurity (including gig work) following the global financial crisis; the impact of pandemic-induced lockdowns and school closures on women’s work and domestic roles; and, the emergence of economic and monetary pressures in the post-pandemic economy that have functioned to severely raise the cost-of-living and limit the affordability of food and housing. Factors of potential ameliorative value will also be considered, namely: the strong demand for labor in the post-pandemic economy; the growth in more flexible, hybrid and remote work; and, an institutional-level push for the implementation of effective DEI policies.
We are interested in articles containing original research, as well as reviews collating timely facts and evidence. All submissions must include women/gender as a variable or theme. Focal topics include, though are not necessarily limited to:
- gig work
- job insecurity
- unemployment and underemployment
- hazardous work exposures
- income and wealth insecurity
- the impact of social protections including employment standards and collective bargaining rights
- later-life employment e.g. the influence of menopause
- work disability
Keywords: political economy, social inequality, work systems, employment relations, precarious work, occupational health risks
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
