Women and men coal miners: coping with gender integration underground

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7043118

Yount, K R

The central purpose of this research is to initiate a theoretical understanding of the integration of women into traditionally-male, physical-labor jobs. The primary sources of data consist of in depth interviews with women and men underground coal miners and company personnel, and field notes collected during participant observation work in mining communities. Part I addresses the relationship between conditions of production and modes of interaction in underground mines. Personality traits conceived as aspects of masculinity are traced to efforts to cope with the stressors of engaging in physical labor in a work setting characterized by lack of work autonomy, a high degree of threat, and a high degree of interdependence for task accomplishment. Part II focuses on situational and individual factors affecting the integration of women in the workplace. Although most women miners are satisfied with their work, a gender based division of labor has arisen in which women are concentrated in low-prestige laborer positions. The processes involved in undermining a woman's work reputation and self-concept are summarized and forms of discrimination that recreate aspects of the female sterotype and lead to the development of sex segregation in the workplace are to the development of sex segregation in the workplace are discussed.

• Research Organization: Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7043118
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
COAL MINERS
MEN
WOMEN
UNDERGROUND MINING
LABOR RELATIONS
SOCIAL IMPACT
ANIMALS
FEMALES
MALES
MAMMALS
MAN
MINERS
MINING
PERSONNEL
PRIMATES
VERTEBRATES
012000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Mining
294001 - Energy Planning & Policy- Coal
290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology