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“Girls in the Office†: Recruiting and Job Search in a Local Clerical Labor Market

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  • K V L England

    (Division of Social Sciences, Scarborough College, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada)

Abstract

In this paper I investigate local labor-market processes which are associated with clerical employment in the financial and business services. I use a case study of Columbus, Ohio, to examine the process by which individual workplaces go about recruiting women workers and how women search for paid work. This process is viewed from the perspectives of employers and women clerical workers through the interpretation of a questionnaire survey of a sample of workplaces, and interactive interviews with personnel managers and women employed as clerical workers. I analyze the strategies that establishments utilize to recruit clerical workers and the job-search methods of the women interviewed. The results indicate that formal techniques of hiring and searching (for example, newspaper advertisements and temporary agencies) are particularly important, but informal methods (for example, personal contacts) are also very significant. The popularity of these techniques varies by location within the metropolitan area. Downtown locations for establishments and women employees are much more likely to be associated with formal methods, whereas informal methods are more popular in suburban workplaces. I argue that these processes illustrate that employers and women are enmeshed in a complex web of localized sociospatial relations and networks in their efforts to fill positions and find jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • K V L England, 1995. "“Girls in the Office†: Recruiting and Job Search in a Local Clerical Labor Market," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 27(12), pages 1995-2018, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:27:y:1995:i:12:p:1995-2018
    DOI: 10.1068/a271995
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. H. Allan Hunt & Timothy L. Hunt, 1987. "Recent Trends in clerical Employment: The Impact of Technological Change," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Heidi I. Hartmann (ed.),Computer Chips and Paper Clips: Technology and Women's Employment, volume 0, pages 223-267, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    2. Devine, Theresa J. & Kiefer, Nicolas M., 1991. "Empirical Labor Economics: The Search Approach," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195059366.
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