As we can support with objective evidence, the position of men and women on the Czech labour market is not equal: (i) There is an obvious gender pay gap. (ii) Women are overrepresented in lower-paid professions with lower social prestige. Many authors (e.g. Čermáková, Crompton, Bradley) concerned with explanation of the reasons of the gender inequalities on the labour market emphasize the role of structural barriers and gender stereotypes. In this paper I am trying to answer the question whether it is either the existence of structural barriers or different attitudes of men and women towards work that is the cause of the obvious gender inequality on the Czech labour market. The analysis revealed that the differences in attitudes of men and women towards work are marginal and that many gender stereotypes according to which women are less ambitious employees than men are untenable. The structural barriers and gender stereotypes are thus possible to be considered as the principal causes of the gender inequalities on the Czech labour market. The findings are based on a quantitative analysis of data collected in a study of 5 510 respondents in 2005 in the Czech Republic.
A structural look at the employment of women with young children shows that this group is marginalized in the labour market when it is unable or only with difficulty is able to find employment in the labour market, as the current labour market revolves around the principle of independent, fully flexible individuals unencumbered by any obligations outside work. What significance in their lives do these women ascribe to being mothers and what significance do they assign to work? How does the perception of the relationship between work and family influence how they define for themselves the combination of these two spheres of life? How does this group of women see their opportunities for finding work in the labour market? Answers to these questions were sought from an analysis of 29 semi-structured interviews carried out in 2006 with women on parental leave or women just returning to work from leave, who had taken a requalification course. Their view is the view from “below”, which is a legitimate one, but given that it mainly relates to their own experiences or the experiences of others in their social surroundings there may be limitations to it. The potential limitations in this view are pointed out in the article’s conclusion., Hana Maříková., and Obsahuje bibliografii