GEND 1107 - Gender and work in a changing world

Gender identities have proliferated in recent years, but has this changed our working lives? This course will take a critical, intersectional look at the world of work, both paid and unpaid, and explore how it is changing. Labour can be gendered, sexual, emotional or aesthetic, and often this work is largely invisible and undervalued. We will look at the origins of categories like the ‘breadwinner’ and the ‘housewife’ and whether they are now outdated. We will discuss what counts as ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ work, and what happens when people challenge these expectations. On a more international level, we will look at how work and care are globalised, and how this contributes to exploitation and modern slavery. We will ask questions such as: Why do we still have a gender pay gap? Why does paid work seem to get more and more insecure and casualised, especially for young people? What happens to Indigenous, migrant, queer or trans people in the workplace? What gendered effects might climate change, pandemics and artificial intelligence have on working life? And what can be done to make work more equitable in the future? Discussions will be based on existing research with a focus on what we still need to know (and do) to make working lives more liveable for all.