E Ruspini

Men who work in ‘non-traditional’ occupations

The focus of this International Review of Sociology (IRS) special issue is to observe and discuss how masculinity is performed by men who work in ‘non-traditional’ occupations. By discussing how male workers manage to reconcile the feminine nature of their work with the hegemonic gender regime, this collection of essays focuses on key issues in promoting gender equality and in understanding gender change. The special issue has two further aims. The first one is to show the importance of sociological research, in regard to the role played by work in the social construction of masculinity. The second one is to emphasize the importance of the gender perspective for the study of social change, particularly in labour market research. There has been a relatively recent growth in academic interest in men who work in female-concentrated occupations (Carmichael 1992, Heiches 1991, Williams 1995, Isaac and Poole 1996, Kvande 1998). These studies have provided some understanding of why men enter these jobs. Men participate in female-dominated occupations far less than women in male-dominated jobs for at least three main reasons. First, there are fewer female-dominated occupations than male-dominated ones. Second, men prefer male-dominated jobs because they offer more pay and social status than female-dominated jobs. Finally, men face powerful social pressures that direct them away from entering female-dominated jobs (Jacobs 1993). When men enter female-concentrated occupations, they face negative stereotypes and challenges in their non-traditional career. In particular, teaching and nursing may call for special abilities that only women are seen as possessing (Hochschild 1983, Sargent 2001). Men who enter these jobs can be defined as effeminate or homosexual (Simpson 2005). However, much less is known about men’s experience in such occupations. Another key issue, that needs to be explored, is how men who opt for femaledominated jobs (such as care jobs) can reconcile this ‘transgression’ with the norms of hegemonic masculinity (Connell 1995) and, consequently, if and how the gendered relations, norms, and practices of care work are being transformed when men perform these occupational roles.

Changing Femininities, Changing Masculinities Social Change, Gender Identities and Sexual Orientations

Harris, J; Gill, F; Dudek, Sonja M; Lambert, C et al (The WASS Collective); Shipman, B and Smart, C; Reynolds, S; Monro, S; Whittle, S and Turner, L; Hines, S; Soley-Beltran, P

Girls, boys, money. Economic socialisation, gender, and generations in Italy

The aim of this article is to discuss the issue of economic socialisation in Italy from a gender perspective. What do boys and girls know about money and economy? How do they acquire this knowledge? What roles do the family, school, and the media play? The empirical material making up the base of our observations is composed of in-depth interviews with a group of Milanese families on the questions of economic socialisation and practices of money management. Gender differences emerge in the construction of the relationship with money by children and young adults: girls, in particular, undergo the strongest pressure, i.e. they are still more driven towards discipline and self-control. Our results also suggest the need to activate targeted, gender-sensitive training programmes in economic education.

‘Sharing Tourism Economy’ Among Millennials in South Korea

The chapter focuses both on the relationship between tourism and the new generations (Millennials in particular) and on the connection between Millennials and the sharing economy. More specifically, the chapter explores the case of South Korean Millennials by analysing the project ‘Sharing City, Seoul’. This project, launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2012, is boosting social innovation and promoting local sharing entrepreneurship, also in the tourism sector, with specific regard to Korean Millennials. The case is investigated through a mixed-methods approach, confirming (1) the high involvement of Korean Millennials in the local process of innovation, especially in terms of entrepreneurship, and (2) the importance of a generational perspective for the future growth of the tourist market. The relationship between Millennials and tourism, apart from few exceptions, is still underexplored. However, the understanding of the future tourism trends cannot miss a generational perspective. In order to ensure strong future growth prospects for tourism (in Asia and beyond), the tourism industry has to better understand peculiarities and expectations of the Millennial generation.

Migration, tourism and peace: Lampedusa as a social laboratory

ABSTRACT This paper highlights the relationships between tourism, migration, and peace in the context of the present refugee crisis. It focuses on the case of Lampedusa, an island that is not only an important tourist destination but also a major gateway for migrants trying to reach Europe. In 2016, it hosted the first exhibition of the “Museum of Trust and Dialogue for the Mediterranean.” Lampedusa is the only local community that was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2017, its mayor received the UNESCO Peace Prize. The research shows how the island is still in search of a balance between local identity and global processes, and discusses its possible role as a social laboratory for peace and mutual understanding.

Gender-sensitive data: the state of the art in Europe*

ABSTRACT Gender statistics play a crucial role in social research and in the creation of gender sensitive policies. Gender statistics document the situation of women and men around the world, making it easier to raise awareness about inequalities between them, to monitor gender equality and promote actionable change. There is thus a need to encourage awareness about gender statistics and their usefulness in gender mainstreaming. The paper has different aims: (1) to discuss the role of gender statistics and gender sensitive indicators; (2) to give an overview of the main gender sensitive European databases; (3) to present the European Commission Strategy on Gender Equality; (4) to display information collected by the European Institute for Gender Equality (Eige) database; (5) to promote proposal for increasing the gender sensitivity of social indicators.

The social construction of health inequalities: The case of Italian women

This article focuses on the relationship between women, poverty and health - the latter being a mix of physical, psychological and social wellbeing - paying special attention to the situation in Italy. This relationship is very complex, even though it has, as yet, been little studied in Italian scientific literature, except in a few instances. The relationship should be read dynamically, in the light of the link between the burden of caring work; the way in which women are dependent on the time and paid work of husbands/partners and husbands on the unpaid work of their female partners; gender inequality in the distribution of both material and symbolic resources; and the response of the welfare system to the difficulties that can arise at the crossover points between these various dimensions (Ruspini 2001).