The state of the economy, unemployment, and the economic crisis concerns us all. How critical is the present situation and what are the indicators for the future? Will a steadily increasing technology be beneficial or harmful? And what are the prospects for women, both in the paid labour force and in the home?
Pat Armstrong presents a stunning analysis of current patterns, exploring for the first time the effects of the crisis on women's and men's work both in the labour force and in the household. In a sector by sector investigation, using Statistics Canada data, Armstrong explains why women's unemployment will deteriorate both absolutely and in relation to men. Her thoughtful and comprehensively detailed arguments herald a warning for the future that, unless they get together to do something about it, the working women of Canada will emerge from this crisis in a more uncertain position than before.

Pat Armstrong is a Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at York University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She is the author of numerous books and articles in health and gender and has held a Canada Health Services Research Foundation/Canadian Institute of Health Research Chair in Health Services.

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