Praca zawodowa kobiet w Polsce w latach 1945–1970 na tle porównawczym

Abstract

The aim of the present reflection was to answer the question of how the basic phenomena related to the employment of women in the years 1945-1970 in Poland were specific, and to what extent they can be regarded as reflecting the European trends in this field. Two countries: France and Spain were chosen for comparison; the former as representing the general trends observable in the West, the latter - as an example of a country hostile to women’s employment and creating barriers to their employment. A look at the basic indicators related to women’s professional activity enables one to highlight a number of similarities between France and Poland. In both countries, similarities can be observed, among others, in the employment of women, the phenomenon of feminization of certain professions, the low percentage of women in senior positions, and finally an ambivalent attitude towards women and work. Spain was the country where the same processes occurred much later. Against the background of France, what was characteristic of Poland was a sharp increase in employment, and – at least initially – employment mainly in industry, while generally in the West women undertook jobs in the service sector. In Poland, sooner than in France, women began to enter into the professions considered to be for men or requiring higher qualifications.