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Servemploi (1998-2001)
Innovations in Information Society Sectors - Implications for Women's Work, Expertise and Opportunities in European Workplaces.
The Research
A three-year Europe-wide study of women's employment and career prospects in the Information Society is now under way, with participation from eight European Union countries, co-ordinated by Employment Research centre. The project, which runs between December 1998 and December 2001, focuses specifically on the retail and financial services sectors. The project is run under the auspices of the European Commission's 'Targeted Socio-Economic Research' programme.
The objectives are:
- to examine the patterns and dynamics of innovation operating in two sectors of the Information Society: retailing and financial services;
- to investigate the significance of these innovations as part of the emerging European Knowledge Economy, specifically for the work done and knowledge content in the work of female employees in these sectors;
- to assess the opportunities for these employees to develop and utilise expertise in their work in the context of these patterns of innovation;
- to assess their consequent 'employability' and opportunities for personal development, within firms and beyond them;
- to compare and contrast patterns of change and experience across member states, in the context of varying legal, economic and social environments.
Research issues and methods
Researchers in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK are conducting studies of retailing and financial services companies in all eight countries and seeking to answer the following questions.
Is computerisation widespread? How do firms use it to organise work? How does this operate in conjunction with outsourcing and other innovations? Is casual employment becoming more significant? What does all this imply for women in routine jobs who want to develop as employees and learn new, transferable skills? Is the so-called Knowledge Economy relevant to these women and are they able to harness its potential? The researchers are studying the work performed, the expertise deployed, and the personal development prospects enjoyed by female non-managerial employees. They will report back to a series of industry conferences, the first of which will take place at the end of 1999.
A particularly innovative part of the project involves a two-year longitudinal study of selected women moving within firms, between firms, into or out of employment, or becoming self-employed. The women in the study keep diaries, and meet the researchers regularly, keeping them informed about their progress in the labour market, and their employability. The researchers will discuss the project conclusions with them at a special event during the third year of the project.
Research plan and role of ERC
The main stages of the research are:
- Initial framework (months 1-6)
- Fieldwork first phase (months 7-12)
- Fieldwork second phase (months 13-24)
- Final fieldwork and initial synthesis (months 25-32)
- Final synthesis and dissemination (months 33-36)
The research is carried out by seven national teams, each of which carries out fieldwork in its own country. The fieldwork involves (a) case studies of
companies in financial services and retailing (b) a longitudinal study of individual
employees. In addition each national team has responsibility for a particular theme within
the overall project. Here the ERC is responsible for the analysis of technological
change. The research will involve desk research using documents and statistical
material, key informant interviews and probably the collection and analysis of survey data.
A key feature of the project will be the involvement of users at national level and the involvement of Eurofiet (European trade union federation
covering white-collar staff in the financial services and retailing sectors) at European
Union level. This user involvement will be facilitated by two employment roundtables with
employers and unions during the project and a final policy conference involving policy
makers at national and EU level as well as the social partners.
The research will involve desk research and interviews with significant actors (stage 2), interviews using network analysis (stage 3), interviews and probably collection and analysis of survey data (stage 4).
Further information about the project can be found on the Servemploi homepage.
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Partners
Annette Mikkelsen
Uni-Europa, Brussels, Belgium
Hanne Shapiro
TI, Technological Institute, Teknologiparken Centre for Competences, Aarhus, Denmark
Heike Jacobsen
Landesinstitut Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund, Germany
Silvia Gherardi and Barbara Poggio
AROC, Associazione Ricerche Sulle Organizzazioni Complesse, Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Trento, Italy
Isabel Vidal
CIES, Centre d'Iniicatives de l'Economia Social, Barcelona, Spain
Elisabeth Sundin
NIWL, National Institute of Working Life, Laxholmen, Sweden
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Publications and Reports
The following are all available for download from this website:
Servemploi Final Report (PDF, Servemploi Final Report.pdf, 165KB)
Final thematic reports:
Financial Services (PDF, Servemploi Financial Services.pdf, 461KB)
Retail (PDF, Servemploi Retail Sector.pdf, 708KB)
Restructuring (PDF, Servemploi Restructuring.pdf, 449KB)
Technology (PDF, Servemploi Technology.pdf, 451KB)
Employment (PDF, Servemploi Employment.pdf, 279KB)
Training and Skills, (PDF, Servemploi Training.pdf, 472KB)
Equal Opportunities (PDF, Servemploi Equal Opportunities.pdf, 586KB)
Factsheets:
Factsheet 1: Aiming for the 'high road' in European service employment - some examples from Servemploi companies (PDF, Servemploi Factsheet1.pdf, 27KB)
Factsheet 2: Trying to get up the ladder: The Employment Pathways of Women in European Services
(PDF, Servemploi Factsheet2.pdf, 29KB)
Further Publications:
Elisabeth Sundin (2000) 'Men Are Always Suitable? Paper on the Varying Prerequisites for the Implememtation of Diversity From a Gender Perspective' (PDF, Men Are Always Suitable.pdf, 59KB)
Juliet Webster (Aug 2000) 'Is this Job Holding me Back? Women's Skills and Prospects in European Service Employment' (PDF, Is This Job Holding Me Back.pdf, 85KB)
Heike Jacobsen and Juliet Webster (Eds.) 'Literature Review' (PDF, Servemploi Literature Review.pdf, 324KB)
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News
March 2000 - News Release 1
May 2000 - Employment roundtables under way - News Release 2
May 2001 - Key findings so far - News Release 3
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ERC Team
For further information on a specific researcher, please click on the appropriate link.
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