Working and forming a family is problematic for the Spanish, particularly for the «young adult» population between the ages of 20 and 29. It has become more difficult in recent years for this cohort to achieve emancipation and combine the two factors, due to economic instability, job uncertainty and the deficit of effective social policies in favour of new family units. In this scenario the strategies adopted to reconcile professional duties with the upbringing of children reproduce existing gender differences. This dynamic in turn reinforces familism as a socio-cultural and institutional structure based on women’s limited participation in the labour market and their greater role in the household and in reproduction. only subscribers can see the full article

The article examines the progress of female employment in the face of the world economic crisis that has hit the country. The aim is to bring out how, in the present-day scenario, not only gender inequalities, related to the trends of the last fifteen years, are growing, but also those between women. In a context where there are serious employment difficulties, the unequal distribution of opportunities, both between different areas and different classes, produces further fragmentation. At the same time, there is an emerging «need» for women to work, to reduce the economic vulnerability of the family, given the serious implications on economic wellbeing and expenditure on children. The conclusions emphasize the clear risk of widening the gulf between a North that may already be enjoying an upturn, and a South where those regressive phenomena might be consolidated, forcing women into an anachronistic role as housewives and excluding the young from jobs and professional training. only subscribers can see the full article