Job sharing and equal opportunities under the new public management in local authorities

This paper starts with the assumption that local authorities, under the new public management, may use job sharing as part of an equal opportunities policy in order to attract and retain experienced and professional employees. Data collected from 32 councils in England and Scotland have shown that although most of the female employees would possibly prefer to work flexibly through job sharing, there was little or no established policies for the implementation of job sharing as a means of providing equal opportunities. With the consolidation of the new public management in local authorities in the late 1990s, the approach to the use of job sharing and flexible working in general has changed from emphasising equality to meeting business objectives. The promotion of job sharing is very limited and its implementation often restricted. Job sharing is undermined by a culture of full‐time work and determined by economic motives.