Women as reserve labour : the Nova Scotia case

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explain the rapid increase, in recent years, of female labour force participation. A general theory of women's labour force activity in Canada is introduced and applied to the specific conditions of working women in Nova Scotia. The case study method is employed in order to illustrate the conditions under which women work. Because it is the aim of this research to examine the problem as it occurs under the underdeveloped conditions of Nova Scotia, a single--industry town in a rural area was chosen for the case study.

I argue that in order to understand the role of women in the labour force a structural analysis is necessary. This approach move away from the traditional mode of analysis which sees the labour force activity of married women as the result of individual decisions, formulated on the basis of subjective factors. A structural analysis goes beyond the traditional approach and provides a conceptual framework, within which the labour force activity of women can be seen as the result of objective structural conditions. This approach provides a view of the interrelation between the demand for, and the supply of, labour, which is involved in the growing trend of female labour force participation.

The conceptual framework of this research is based on Marx's concept of the reserve army of labour , of which the defining characteristics are cheapness, availability, and competitiveness. It is argued that female labour has the defining characteristics of the reserve army of labour. As members of this reserve labour force women have a definite relation to the production process whether it is as a paid worker, or as members of the active or inactive reserve labour.