
A Reversal of Fortunes?
Women, Work, and Change in East Germany
Rachel Alsop(Author)
Berghahn Books, Incorporated (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 1. May 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-57181-771-6 (ISBN)
Description
German unification brought fundamental, often traumatic changes for the people in eastern Germany. Women as a group were arguably more deeply affected by the changes than any other, and in one area in particular: that of work, which had far-reaching effects on them and their families' economic situation. Rachel Alsop critically examines the processes behind women's changing relationship to the labor market in eastern Germany following the collapse of state socialism and the transition to a market economy. By the 1980s women made up virtually half of the East German work force. The collapse of the GDR transformed the field of work, drastically diminishing the general demand for labor. Yet while economic and political restructuring reduced the volume of both male and female employment, it was women who bore the brunt of unemployment. In the immediate transitional period a re-masculinization of the workforce was evident, with women constituting the large part of the unemployed.
Using an extensive range of both quantitative and qualitative data, the author explores the gender dynamics of the social, economic, and political restructuring of eastern Germany, thereby producing an important new context in which to examine contemporary debates on gender and work.
Using an extensive range of both quantitative and qualitative data, the author explores the gender dynamics of the social, economic, and political restructuring of eastern Germany, thereby producing an important new context in which to examine contemporary debates on gender and work.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Herndon
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
10 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
354 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57181-771-6 (9781571817716)
DOI
10.3167/9781571819659
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2000
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€25.99
Available for download
Person
Rachel Alsop is Lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Hull.
Content
List of Tables
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Glossary
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Rhetoric and Reality:Women's Employment in the GDR
Chapter 3. The Unification Process
Chapter 4. Changing States: Redefining Women,Work and Welfare
Chapter 5. The 'Defeminisation' of Waged Labour
Chapter 6. Linking the Local and the Global: Women in the Textile and Clothing Industry
Chapter 7. Hearing Voices: Women's Responses to Change
Chapter 8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Glossary
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Rhetoric and Reality:Women's Employment in the GDR
Chapter 3. The Unification Process
Chapter 4. Changing States: Redefining Women,Work and Welfare
Chapter 5. The 'Defeminisation' of Waged Labour
Chapter 6. Linking the Local and the Global: Women in the Textile and Clothing Industry
Chapter 7. Hearing Voices: Women's Responses to Change
Chapter 8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index