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Experiencing Patriarchy Experiencing Patriarchy: Women, Work and Trade Unionism at Eaton's

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Experiencing Patriarchy Experiencing Patriarchy: Women, Work and Trade Unionism at Eaton's EXPERIENCING PATRIARCHY EXPERIENCING PATRIARCHY: WOMEN, WORK AND TRADE UNIONISM AT EATON'S BY SANDRA ELIZABETH AYLWARD, B.A. M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University (c) Copyright by Sandra Elizabeth Aylward, September 1991. DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (1991) MCMASTER UNIVERSITY (Sociology) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Experiencing Patriarchy: Women, Work and Trade Unionism at Eaton's. AUTHOR: Sandra Elizabeth Aylward, B.A.(Wilfrid Laurier) M.A.(McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor Peta Tancred NUMBER OF PAGES: 345 ii .. • • '· ~· • , • '4' ABSTRACT This research tested the applicability of Sylvia Walby's theoretical model of patriarchy to a case study of women working and unionizing at the T. Eaton Co. The focus was on the two time periods 1947-1952 and 1984-86 when a unionization drive was underway at Eaton's. In depth interviewing was conducted with over ninety participants in the events. Support was found for the aspects of Walby' s model that pertain to patriarchal relations within paid work. In addition, forms of women's resistance and empowerment were examined specifically in relation to the 1984 unionization events. It was found that women's political action contains components that traditional politics do not explain. Overall, the findings of this case study strongly support Walby' s position that gender inequality in society as a whole cannot be understood without the concept of patriarchy (1990). iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should first like to acknowledge with the deepest respect my supervisor Peta Tancred. Through the long process of "experiencing patriarchy" Peta championed both me and my work and for this I will be forever grateful. I should also like to acknowledge the intellectual and emotional support I received from my supervisory committee. In particular, Meg Luxton taught me to listen to women and to hold sacred the experiences and perceptions as of their lives as the true story; Robert Storey challenged my analysis by presenting the men's story; Jane Synge provided a constant supportive presence. Many people contributed to the completion of this thesis through their ideas and encouragement and to all of them I offer my thanks. Special thanks go to Judy Grant, David MacGregor and Jane Vock who read and commented on parts of this work. I would also like to express my appreciation to RWDSU, in particular, Donna Johanson, Eileen Tallman Sufrin and Ernie Arnold and all the women and men at Eaton's who shared their story. I am grateful to Labour Canada and the Labour Studies Programme at McMaster University for their financial assistance. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS •.•.••.•• • • • · · • • • • . • • . • • • • • • . • • • • • iv Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. EXPLORING THE EXPLANATORY POWER OF "PATRIARCHY" 10 Making a Case for the concept of "Patriarchy" 12 Introducing "Patriarchy" ........•••.......•. 14 Marxist Feminism ............................ 17 Dual Sys terns Theory . • • • . • . 20 Class and Gender . 26 Theoretical Impasse? . 28 Race and Ethnicity . • . • . • . • . 32 Feminist Political Economy ...•..........••• 36 Toward an Exploration of the Explanatory Power of the concept of "Patriarchy" .... 40 Defining patriarchy ....•...•.....•.... 41 Conceptualizing patriarchy ••••........ 42 The patriarchal mode of production .•.• (!! Patriarchal relations in paid work ~~ From private to public patriarchy .•.•• 47 Cone 1 us ion . 4 9 v vi Chapter Page 3. RESEARCHING EATON'S, FOR, BY AND WITH WOMEN 51 Doing Methodology as Feminists •.•.•••.••..•• 53 The Scientific Method • • • • . • . • . • • • . • . • 54 Feminist Epistemology .••••••.............•.. 56 Feminist empiricists .......•••.•.•... 57 Feminist standpoint •••••••.•••..•.••. 58 The Post Modernist Feminist Challenge 60 Toward Feminist Methodology .•..••.••••••.••• 61 A Feminist Methodological Approach To Researching Women, Work and Trade Unionism at Eaton's .•....••....•..•• 65 The case Study Approach •..•..••........•.••• 70 The case of Eaton Is . • . • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • . • • 72 The Events . • . • . • . 72 The Research Process .•••••••....•••.••••...• 73 Sample Subjects ••.•••...•••••.•••..•• 75 Researching the 1948-52 Events ••••••• 76 Researching the 1984-87 Events ..•••.• 78 The Interviews • • • . • . • • • . • . • . • • • • . • • 81 The Research Experience ..•••...•••.•• 84 Conclusion . 86 vii Chapter Page 4. PUBLIC PATRIARCHY, PRIVATE CAPITAL 88 Eaton's Management Practices of Control ••••• 89 The Entrepreneurial Firm and Simple Control •• 92 Expanded Firm and New Systems of Control .... 99 Contradictions of Control .............. 103 Crisis of Control ....................... 106 The Modern Firm . 114 Contradiction and Crisis ............... 116 Conclusion . 121 5. DEGREES OF PATRIARCHY: THE GENDERING OF JOBS ••. 123 Salesworkers .....•••••.••.•••...••.•..••••. 125 Gendered Jobs at Eaton's ••.•••.••••..••..••• 129 Men's Work and Women's Work •.••••••• ~ Masculine and Feminine Nature of Products •..••.•.•..•••..••••••••• 136 Job Characteristics .••••.••.••••••• 138 Image and Customer Profile ••.•••..• 142 Status Hierarchy Between Stores •••. 149 Paternalistic Dominance 153 "Wages are Confidential'' ..••....•.. 155 Hiring 158 Part-time Work ...••.•••.•••..•••••• 162 Who Does The Job . 167 viii Chapter five con't .••• Page The Denial of Discrimination .............. @ The Masculine Sales Personality •.•. 171 Compteti ti on • . • • • . • . • • • . • • . • • • • 17 3 Risk-Taking . 174 Aggression . 176 Male Collegiality ..............•..• 177 "Women Need Not Apply" . • . • • • • • • • 178 The Female Sales Personality •..•••• 183 The Case of the Female-Dominated Commission- ed Saleswork . 184 Conclusion . 192 Postscript 192 6. STRATEGIES OF PATRIARCHY AT EATON'S 194 The Wage Form. • • . • • • • • • • . • • • • • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • @') Forces of Change ............................. 201 Wages: The Contested Terrain ••••••••••.. 203 Equal Pay for Equal Work •••••••••••••••• 205 Maintaining Gender Distinctions •••••••..••.•• 211 "Protection" Strategies •...•..•••••••...~~ Segregation and Subordinate Job Grading Strategies . 221 The Social Construction of the Gendered Wage Form . 2 31 Conclusion . 240 ix chapter page 7. WOMEN'S RESISTANCE AND EMPOWERMENT AT EATON'S 242 Conceptualizing Empowerment •••••••.•...•••.•• 245 The Organizing Drive ••...•..••.....•••••••••• 248 The initial contact . 249 Managements' Breach of the Paternalistic Contract . 250 Women's Differential Experience of the Breach . 2 5 J Insult and Injury .••••.....•.• 257 The denial of oppressive work . 259 Images of Unions ·. • . • • • • • • • • . • . • • • • 262 Why Join the Union? 264 The initial lack of opposition to unionizing ••.••....••• 270 Barriers to Women Organizing ••..•••••.•• i"i!::, Contract Negotiations •••••••• /~ Su111111ary • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 2 8 3 Expanding and Redefining the Terrain of Politics .•••••••..••.•••..••••••••••• 285 The Personal is Political ••..••.•••••••• 285 Membership 287 Leadership 290 Shaping Women's Political Consciousness ...... 295 Commonalities and Differences Among Women •.•• 304 Conclusion: Feminisms •.•.•••..•••••...••••••• 308 8. CONCLUSION . • • . • . • . • . 311 x APPENDIX 1. INTERVIEW SCHEDULE • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 320 BIBLIOGRAPHY . • • • • • • . • . • • . 328 xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Since the 1960's, the number of women joining unions has skyrocketed to surpass the rate of increase for men (White, 1980). It is true that most of these women are predominantly white collar workers but the historical reality is that women generally had limited involvement as union members. When this project was originally conceived, we set out to examine why so many women were now joining unions and what the factors were that were facilitating their ability to unionize. Additionally, we intended to explore what factors had inhibited women's membership in trade unions in the past, and to what extent these factors were continuing to present a barrier to women's full participation. When an organizing drive began at T. Eaton's department stores in January of 1984, it afforded a unique opportunity to research the above concerns. First, Eaton's department stores included over eighty per cent female workers. Second, the T. Eaton company was privately owned and represented a sector of the labour market where few women workers were currently unionized. Third, in the 1940's 1 2 there had been a five-year-long organizing drive that did not attain certification and would facilitate an historical comparison with present day events. Prevailing explanations for women's low levels of unionization generally focus, according to Julie White, on some aspect of attitudinal "blame". on the one hand, male trade unionists' "discriminatory attitudes" towards women workers were to blame and on the other, women were at "fault" for not wanting to organize themselves or make a commi tmerit to unions (Ibid., 29). White's survey of the status of women in unions concluded that, " ... attitudes of either women or unions, or both, are of questionable importance in the overall rate of unionization among women" (Ibid.,50). Proponents of the new studies in women's labour history suggest that the unique focus on "women unionizing, or in unions", contributed to improbable perceptions in the same way that many of women's significant contributions to the development of the
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