Compared to men, women devote substantially more attention and effort toward enhancing the health of their spouses. Yet, scholars have been unable to explain why this gender gap persists. Women also do more unpaid work in the home than men, and a significant literature explains the origins of this gender gap. In order to better understand why women do more to enhance the health of their spouse, this dissertation maps well-tested theory on unpaid work in the home on the literature on social integration and health to develop the theoretical construct of health work. Health work is defined as the activities and dialogue concerned with enhancing others’ health habits. After developing this theoretical construct, this dissertation turns to a qualitative examination of health work dynamics in 61 straight, gay, and lesbian couples living in the United States (N = 122). Findings reveal two distinct ways that partners work to shape one another’s health habits. Respondents in all couple types describe specialized health work, whereby one partner does health work over the course of the relationship. In straight couples, women perform the bulk of health work and men were the primary recipients of health work. Individuals rely on gendered discourses of difference to explain these unequal health work dynamics. Cooperative health work, whereby both partners perform health work in mutually reinforcing ways, emerges nearly exclusively in gay and lesbian couples. Individuals rely on discourses of similarity to explain why they perform cooperative health work. Findings reveal that health work processes not only depend on gender, but also on the intersection of gender, sexuality, and the gender composition of a couple. Additionally, this dissertation finds that partners not only do health work to promote one another’s healthy habits, but that partners also attempt to promote one another’s unhealthy habits. The implications for the promotion of both healthy and unhealthy habits are discussed. / text

In recent years much has been made of active and productive ageing policies, with the attempt to promote a more positive image of ageing. Despite this, negative representations of ageing and conceptualisations of older people as a ‘burden’ persist. This thesis presents an argument that these negative images are intertwined with common understandings of work, the frequent equating of this to paid employment within the field of social gerontology, and the reliance upon cessation of work in determining the beginning of old age. With reference to the wider literature in the sociology of work, an argument is presented that determines why it is essential to challenge those taken-for-granted assumptions about older people and work. Reflecting upon the findings from an exploratory and qualitative research project, which focuses upon the perspective of the older people themselves, attention is given to the detail of what should be encapsulated into new understandings of work. Within the thesis it is argued that there are many activities undertaken by the older person, which should be thought of as work, including (but not limited to) paid employment, volunteering, care, attendance at social clubs, undertaking sport and physical activity. Some of these activities might more intuitively be thought of as acts of leisure. However, it is evidenced within this thesis that there are fuzzy and blurred boundaries between leisure and work - older people leisure at work and work at leisure. The recognition of these blurring boundaries is one aspect that must be incorporated into re-conceptualisations of work. The thesis demonstrates how the work of older people transcends different socio-economic spheres and there are multiple interrelations existing between different activities. Whilst this last point resonates with the approach of some authors in the sociology of work, they have never been incorporated within the field of social gerontology. Through this analysis, and promoting a new way through which the activities of older people might be incorporated within the rubric of work, it is hoped that ageism might be challenged in a similar vein to the way in which feminist researchers once challenged sexism in relation to work and housework. This thesis reflects upon how we need to identify and conceptualise the third age in light of the findings. It highlights how the working lives of older people are shaped through a process of negotiation between social expectations within current political and economic contexts, influences from key historical events and social changes, and the desire for freedom, autonomy and choice. Age period cohort is crucial in determining the world of work, and more generally how ageing might be experienced. Through its unique approach, and the lessons learnt within this thesis, a theoretical framework is provided to assist in future comprehensive studies of both work and ageing. Overall, this thesis makes significant contributions to understandings of work and ageing following the consideration of two schools of thought (i.e. sociology of work and social gerontology), which previously have been infrequent companions.

This dissertation examines the effects of career interruptions on workers’ wages. In chapter four I examine whether controlling for the type of interruption differently affects men’s and women’s wages and therefore can be used to explain the remaining gender wage differences. The increased participation of married women in the labor force has increased their wages from just 30% of men’s wages in 1890 to nearly 80% as of 2001. Thus, although the gender wage gap has narrowed over time, it has yet to be eliminated. One argument for the persistence of the gender wage gap is that previously researchers have used poor measures of experience to estimate men’s and women’s wages. Although previous studies have made strides in measuring experience, including controls for the timing of work experience, the gender wage gap persists. I extend the wage-gap literature by including controls for the types of interruptions men and women encounter. Because they typically experience different types of interruptions, I examine whether the varying types affect wages differently. I control for the types of interruptions and find similar effects for men’s and women’s wages. My study shows that types of job interruptions do not explain the remaining wage differentials. The fifth chapter extends from the fourth chapter by including controls for all periods of unpaid leave from work. I examine whether wage differences exist between workers who return to their current employer post-interruption versus those who change employers post-interruption. I find differences in the wage effects from different types of unpaid leave for men and women. Chapter six extends from previous chapters by including controls for all periods of paid leave from work in addition to unpaid leaves from work. I examine whether depreciation effects occur when women spend time out of work but receive compensation through paid maternity leaves. I find no evidence that time out of work because of paid maternity leaves depreciates skills.

This dissertation includes three papers that address various aspects of the economics of labour and the family. The dissertation integrates the discussion on the following issues: (1) the allocation of housework and childcare in Canadian two-earner households (2) the effect of family policy reform on time allocation and labour supply in two-parent families (3) effect of anticipated divorce and divorce duration on male and female labour supply. The first paper Time Allocation Gender Gap in Native-born and Foreign-born Families in Canada focuses on the difference between the housework and childcare share produced by foreign-born husbands compared to Canadian-born husbands. This empirical analysis employs the data from the Canadian General Social Survey. The results show that foreign-born husbands have a lower share of housework and childcare compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. The second paper The effect of Quebec childcare policy change on the labour market outcomes and time distribution in the family analyzes the effect of the childcare policy change that took place in Quebec in 1997-2000. The results show that the introduction of “$5 per day” daycare subsidized by the Quebec government increased the labour supply of married mothers and also affected the allocation of time husbands and wives spend on housework and childcare. The data from this project were drawn from 1996 and 2001 Canadian Census. The third paper Labour supply of Australian men and women before and after divorce studies the changes in the labour supply of men and women before and after divorce. The data for empirical analysis employs 12 waves of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA). The outcome suggests that men and women do not change labour participation and weekly working hours in anticipation of divorce. Women increase labour force participation and weekly hours worked as a result of divorce. Men’s labour supply does not change in response to divorce.

Volunteering involves performing tasks without receiving any compensation for it. Interest in this idealistic commitment to non-profit organizations is growing and the primary reasons for this is to help other people, pursue their interests and contribute to the organization. The purpose of the study is to examine what it is that motivates individuals to commit to non-profit organizations. This study will only examine aid organizations. In order to answer the question four different theories have been used and these are the most fundamental theories in this field. These theories are Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Hertzberg's two-factor theory, Self-Determination Theory and The Gift. In this study twelve volunteers, dedicated individuals within aid organizations, have been interviewed. The study is a qualitative study in which semi-structured interviews were used. The findings of the study have shown that there are four prominent motivational factors why individuals engage in non-profit organizations. These four factors are the following; contributing and making a difference, appreciation, personal development and experience and the social environment.

Voluntary and community organisations are fundamental to society because they are major stakeholders in building the social capital that underpins healthy and well-functioning communities. Yet many of these organisations are small and possess limited resources when measured against the challenges and needs that they address. This raises the issue of the capacity of organisations within the sector to operate effectively. Within the range of capacity issues, governance is consistently rated as an area requiring development. This research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of issues impacting on the governance capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations within the overall context of capacity building. A focused study in the Taranaki region examines the factors impacting on the governance of community organisations providing social services. The research identifies the level of governance capacity demonstrated within the organisations studied and also explores the level of awareness around the need to enhance governance capacity. The research examines a range of frameworks and models used to build governance capacity to see if they could be adapted for the Taranaki region. The study suggests that, although a number of frameworks and models are useful, every situation is different, and models must be responsive to the social and cultural context and the particular history and mission of each organisation. As a result, the study concludes that further work should be undertaken to develop a model of governance for the voluntary and community sector.

The patterns of paid and unpaid work adopted by migrants families with dependent children are more or less similar to that of prevailing working pattern of men and women of Australian born couples. A case study with 28 couple families, 14 husbands and 14 wives who migrated from Nepal under "skill" or "professional" category and the literature review on paid and unpaid work of couple families with dependent children show that in both families the trend of change of working pattern in paid and unpaid work is similar. With the increased participation of married women in the paid labour force, men increased participation in household work. There is increased household work for both husbands and wives, but women tend to do more household "inside" and childcare work than men. In the mean time, men tend to do more work in the "masculine" sphere of "outside" work in house maintenance, repair and car care. The only factor that differentiates working pattern of migrant families with Australian born families is the experience of migration and the category that they migrated. The change of working practice of paid and unpaid work of migrant families are affected by the change of family type from extended family to two generational family and their education and previous work experience that they brought along with them. Professional migrants who migrated family as a "unit" migrated spouse and dependent children together and they made their own decision to migrate, unlike other categories of migrants who migrated from political or economic pressure. One of the important experiences of migrant families is that there are new opportunity, new lifestyle, new intimacy and companionship and new sharing of work between husbands and wives after migration. At the same time, there are losses of extended family relatives, close friends and cultural event which affects their day to day lives. There are Australian based friends who provided support in the initial period of migration but these families do not provide regular assistance or support which family relatives provided in Nepal.

Voluntary and community organisations are fundamental to society because they are major stakeholders in building the social capital that underpins healthy and well-functioning communities. Yet many of these organisations are small and possess limited resources when measured against the challenges and needs that they address. This raises the issue of the capacity of organisations within the sector to operate effectively. Within the range of capacity issues, governance is consistently rated as an area requiring development. This research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of issues impacting on the governance capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations within the overall context of capacity building. A focused study in the Taranaki region examines the factors impacting on the governance of community organisations providing social services. The research identifies the level of governance capacity demonstrated within the organisations studied and also explores the level of awareness around the need to enhance governance capacity. The research examines a range of frameworks and models used to build governance capacity to see if they could be adapted for the Taranaki region. The study suggests that, although a number of frameworks and models are useful, every situation is different, and models must be responsive to the social and cultural context and the particular history and mission of each organisation. As a result, the study concludes that further work should be undertaken to develop a model of governance for the voluntary and community sector.

Cette thèse a pour objet l’analyse des potentialités et limites de la microfinance dans la création ou la consolidation d’emploi au Sénégal. Elle combine une analyse de la demande et de l’offre, en étudiant à la fois le fonctionnement de certaines filières d’activité et le rôle qu’y joue la microfinance, les stratégies d’implantation des IMFs puis la crise des impayés et de surendettement au Sénégal qui est actuellement en émergence. Dans cette thèse trois grandes questions essentielles sont abordées. S’inspirant d’une approche en termes de filières, une première question s’intéresse à la demande et analyse les potentialités et limites de la microfinance dans le financement de différents secteurs d’activité comme la pêche artisanale, le mareyage, la transformation de produits halieutiques, le commerce et l’artisanat. Nos analyses mettent en évidence d’une part l’existence de barrières multiples à la dynamisation de ces filières, qui vont bien au-delà de l’accès au crédit, et d’autre part la présence de diverses formes de financement informel, souvent peu couteux, facilement accessibles et plus adaptés à l’irrégularité et la saisonnalité des activités. Au final, dans le contexte actuel, la microfinance se révèle peu adaptée. S’inspirant des économies de proximité, une seconde question s’intéresse à l’offre et étudie les stratégies d’implantation des institutions de microfinance. Nos analyses mettent en évidence deux stratégies principales : celles qui privilégient l’agglomération dans des zones à fort potentiel humain et économique, créant ainsi une concentration de la microfinance et une forte concurrence ; et celles qui en revanche se spécialisent et s’ancrent sur un territoire spécifique. Une troisième question combine les deux points de vue – offre et demande – pour étudier la crise émergente des impayés. Nos analyses suggèrent que cette crise combine différents facteurs, les dérives de mission, le relâchement dans les règles de gestion et de gouvernance et des facteurs politiques. / The object of this thesis is to analyze the potential and limits of microfinance in the creation or preservation of employment in Senegal. It combines an analysis of supply and demand, by studying together some value chains and the role played by microfinance therein, MFIs’ establishment strategies, and issues related to unpaid-loan and over-indebtedness in Senegal that is now emerging. Three main questions are addressed in this thesis. Inspired by a value chain approach, the first question concerns the demand and analyses the potential and limits of microfinance in the financing of different sectors like artisanal fishing, fish trade, processing of marine products, trading and craftsmanship. The analysis reveals on one hand the existence of multiple barriers to the dynamism of these value chains which go far beyond access to credit and on the other hand the presence of diverse forms of informal financing, often less costly, easier to access and more adapted to the irregularity and seasonal nature of the activities. One conclusion is that, in the present context microfinance is not well suited. Using the model of local economy, the second question is related to supply and studies microfinance institutions establishment strategies. Findings evidence two main strategies: one that is centered on cities with a high human and economic potential, creating therefore a concentration of microfinance and strong competition; and the other that are more specialized and are territory-specific. The third question combines the two points of view – supply and demand – to study the emerging unpaid-loan issue. Our results show that several reasons preside to this issue, including a loss of cap in the mission, loose management and governance rules enforcement and political factors.

This thesis aims to find out the range of unpaid work in the Czech Republic and whether there are significant gender differences in the terms of unpaid work. This target was reached by evaluating experience from abroad, specifically from the research of OECD, research of HETUS and research based on a survey in the Slovakia in 2011. Measure of unpaid work in the Czech Republic was determined by present surveys, but was mainly based on my own survey. The thesis also contains a theoretical part that specifies the importance and influence of unpaid work. Gender inequalities in society but mainly in the labour market were also specified. This thesis summarises past results of surveys that addressed the topic of unpaid work. The main asset of my work is the research in the Czech Republic, which is directly focused on the range of unpaid work as there only had been series of research that dealt with unpaid work briefly. Another benefit of this work is proposing possible amendments because the assumption that women spend more time on unpaid work than men was confirmed. These changes could help to compensate the inequality.