The Patriarchal Restructuring of Gender Segregation: A Case Study of the Hotel and Catering Industry

Abstract

This paper considers recent debates around patriarchy and gender segregation in paid employment. I argue that there are significant problems concerning a lack of attention to the forms of mobilization of patriarchal forces. Most analyses using the concept of patriarchy to explain gender segregation have used those empirical examples where men are organized in trade unions or professional associations. They have no way of explaining segregation in those cases where such organizations are absent. Using a case study of the hotel and catering industry between 1951 and 1981, I show that it is necessary to distinguish functional, hierarchical and industrial forms of segregation, rather than simply horizontal and vertical forms. I also develop concepts of the different organizational resources that patriarchal mobilization may draw upon in order to explain those cases where unions and professional organizations are absent.