The
interdisciplinary EU research project Work Changes Gender
researched the
implications of changing working conditions, the self-image of men, as
well as
gender relations in Norway, Spain, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and
Israel.
The
research project began with an investigation of the far-reaching
changes in
gender relations that have occurred in the labor market over the past
decades.
Only a minority of men who are fit for gainful employment actually work
in the
so-called “standard employment relationship”: full-time, non-temporary
and with
social insurance. This is clearly demonstrated by the various
developments that
have occurred in the EU since 1988. The rate of unemployed women has
sunken
from a high level, while the rate of unemployed men has risen from a
clearly
lower level. Men now work more frequently in temporary positions.
Although the
tendency is toward more temporary employment for both men and women,
the number
of men in temporary positions is nearing that of women. The number of
men
working part-time in the EU has doubled since 1988, climbing from 3.1
to 6.1 million,
while the number of women working part-time—which is already very
high—is
growing only slightly.
The purpose
of this investigation was to identify the men’s strategies that both
aimed at
dealing with these changes and were oriented toward quality of life and
equality. Apart from analyzing economic data and engaging in
discussions with
experts, researchers in participant countries conducted a total of 140
semi-structured interviews with men. The majority of the interviewees
were men
who voluntarily deviated from a normal work schedule and were working
part-time.
In organizations, it is not only women but also men not working a standard full-time schedule who are confronted with a glass ceiling when seeking higher positions and careers.
In the
institutions of our society, it goes without saying that men are
assigned
professions and careers. The higher value attributed to a “normal work
life” in
contrast to other forms of work continues to make it difficult to
combine
part-time employment or employment interruptions with career
opportunities. In
Germany, men who voluntary deviate from the full-time norm are
frequently
viewed and treated in their organizations as oddballs and dropouts.
This point
has clearly been demonstrated through expert-led discussions with equal
rights
representatives and employees.
In the
interviews, many men emphasized that their employment deviation has
hindered
their careers. A German employee who chose part-time work explained it
this
way: “The moment you decide to go part-time, you’re dead career-wise.
It would
be naïve to think or believe otherwise, to think that you still had a
chance.”
These losses in potential standing, power and income are most often
consciously
accepted.
The situation
is different in Norway, where, for instance, the one month of parental
leave,
“reserved” for men is used 90% of the time. With the second and third
child,
men take more time off to devote to child raising. A lower assessment
of the
value of work and higher one of family is experienced here as a source
of
satisfaction. The predominant wish of fathers to be breadwinners and to
raise
their children can be supported by governments, is realized more and
more by
men, and is becoming a new model for fathers
Men strive for forms of life that break with clichéd rolls.
Among the
men interviewed, there were a host of different motives for reducing
their
workload: partnership, realizing caring duties or wishes, social
commitment, or
simply the “demand for a full life”. The quality of life acquired in
this way
is consciously offset against a professional career.
A change in
men’s values is more clearly seen in the private sphere than in the
professional
world. In the European Union, a differentiation in the form of
long-term
relationships is taking place. The forms of life of the men interviewed
were
correspondingly diverse, ranging from single parents, singles, married
couples,
long-term relationships as well as communal living to homosexual and
heterosexual
“living-apart-together-pairs.” These forms of life lead to different
distributions of work in these communities and also to new forms of
emotional
reproduction.
Men in caring situations also encounter difficulties in the private sphere.
One result
of our interviews with men in caring situations is that the often new
and
manifold requirements and changes initially cause feelings of
insecurity.
Active fathers at the playground—“alone among mothers”—are viewed as
oddballs,
exceptions, etc. From their corresponding reactions, they feel insecure
and
“out of place” in their self-perception as men. Over the course of
time, this
is dealt with through reflection and a change in social contacts and
networks.
In Germany
and Austria, men are subjected to a deep-seated traditional familial
model
combined with a gender-dualist division of labor. In these two
countries, men
have to fight against ideological stereotypes. In Bulgaria however, the
men are
very pragmatic about taking up caring duties in a society where women
demonstrate
a very pronounced orientation to professional work. This is not
perceived as a
threat to their masculinity concept.
This
different form of men’s behavior is, however, not to be conceived of as
a new
concept of masculinity. It’s more the case that it remains, to a great
extent,
isolated. It is often not connected with a demand for equality either.
Most of
the men we interviewed do not define the position of men in society in
a new
way. Although they affirm and realize some elements of “new
masculinity”, many
are also representative, to some extent, of traditional masculinity
concepts.
Distinct new patterns of interpretation are not being integrated into a
comprehensive understanding of a different, new masculinity. For men,
this is
not possible given current social circumstances. In many European
countries,
non-conventional individual self-perceptions held by men are not yet
granted
recognition. Thus many men fall back on or persist in identifying with
old role
models that are, to a large extent, disconnected from the social
reality around
them. Nevertheless, contentment outside of the “normal work life” is
possible
if these forms of work and life are chosen by the individual.
Men too
require a policy of ensuring equality that is intended for them.
Although
the new strategy of Gender Mainstreaming in its conceptual form applies
equality to men and women, it is very difficult, even with this
concept, for
many actors engaged in equality processes to see men not only as
“hinderers” or
“supporters” of women-oriented equality policies, but also as a target
group
that is to be included and recognized as having its own requirements
and
interest in achieving equality. The men interviewed do not foresee
equality
policies as something that can potentially have an effect on them.
Often they
do not feel that they are addressed and that their interests will be
heeded in
the framework of equality policy. Thus they fall back on individual
strategies.
Like women,
men may require support, for instance in their search for part-time or
family-friendly solutions, business contacts, and collective interest
representation. Equality policy thus offers a suitable framework, is
able to
put traditional masculinities into question, and directs attention to
the
diversity of living situations and forms of masculinity.