... these terms inevitably define women as 'second best (Furze and Stafford, 1994: 247).' Stratification by gender was once legitimised by reference to the complementary roles of women and men. Women were responsible for the emotional or expressive side of life, and men were responsible for the breadwinning, or instrumental side of life. Like segregation of blacks from whites, the notion was 'separate but equal (Furze and Stafford, 1994: 248).' Gender is a fundamental condition of people's participation in, and experience of work, as well as one of the fundamental organising conditions of the work place. Men's identities are grounded in work, whereas women's identities are grounded in family membership. For men, the family is a support, for women it is a competing responsibility (Newman, 2000: 447). From the earliest phases of industrial society, the work place has come to be considered the men's sphere, with the home belonging to the ...

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