Women and Employment in Europe

Women's life patterns, balanced between paid and unpaid work and the sharing of time in and out of employment, are already representing the future — and the time has come for men to conform to the female “norm” rather than the reverse. Emphasis on common humanity, and judging in which respects men and women need to be treated the same or differently, offers greater potential for human development and self‐awareness. The part‐time/flexible work patterns negotiated by women offer a valuable proposition to counteract a polarised society of “haves” and “have nots” divided by employment/lack of employment. For the present, effective training must ascertain the various bases of sexual discrimination, and organisation management developers should look to women to find the means of introducing a flexibility of style to managers.