Leading researchers from across Europe will discuss findings from the latest research into aspects of gender and employment at a conference in NUI Galway from 6-7 September.

The conference, jointly hosted by the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology and Global Women’s Studies at NUI Galway, highlights the advantages of analysing gender and work issues across an individual’s entire life time. Entitled ‘Gender and Employment in Europe across the Lifecourse’, the event is an interim conference of Research Network 14 of the European Sociological Association (ESA).

Some of the key issues to be discussed include:

• The gendered impact of recession and austerity budgets on pensions, employment and poverty.
• An exploration of the relationship between care provision and labour force participation.
• The implications of extending working life.

In the current economic environment, the conference aims to contribute to policy debates on the restructuring of the welfare state and provide rich empirical evidence on the consequences of such restructuring.

The plenary address will be given by Professor Nicky le Feuvre, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Professor le Feuvre is currently leading several research projects on gender and the labour market, with a particular focus on the transformation of gender inequalities from a comparative European perspective. She has published widely on the feminization of a number of occupations (doctors, lawyers, academics, domestic workers) in the UK and France and is currently working on the employment experiences of male and female seniors (50 years+) in Switzerland. 

The conference will take place in CA110 in the JE Cairnes Building, NUI Galway.

The event is supported by the Institute for Business, Social Sciences and Public Policy, the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, Global Women’s Studies, the School of Political Science and Sociology, Gender Arc and the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.

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