Women and flexibility in the Scottish leisure industry

Both employers and employees may seek flexible employment patterns, but for different reasons – employees for lifestyle reasons and employers for financial and business imperatives. This paper focuses on the first of these issues, summarising the results of a comparative case study analysis of female work roles and participation in flexible working arrangements in three contrasting leisure providers. The research findings suggest that gender role segregation existing in generic, non-leisure specific jobs – such as reception – may be constraining equal opportunities for women more than lack of family-friendly (or flexible) employment policies.