comparable worth in the UK and the USA

Book Reviews

ences, are all actually products of these modernist frameworks of ideas and particularly of feminism. The second puzzle is related. It is apparent from these 178 powerfully written pages that their author is highly engaged with this discourse. By giving it so much time, attention, and intellectual energy she presents it as larger and more powerful than many other feminists would accept: The form of her text belies its message of dismissal. Herein there is far too little of Somer Brodribb’s own ideas. This particular reader thought that someone who writes so well and so powerfully should have expended less energy in critiquing ‘the ideas of the Masters’ and a lot more in constructing the Brodribbian alternative to this masculinist discourse. I very much look forward to her next book. This publication from the newly established Spinifex Press is smartly and indeed expensively turned out, on good quality paper and with a well-designed and beautifully printed cover. For those of us used to feminist books produced on a shoestring and which fall apart after one reading, this book is a treat. Spinifex, based in Australia, represent a new departure in feminist publishing and I look forward to seeing more of their books. LIZ STANLEY UNIVERSITYOF MANCHESTERUK

RED~OMENONTHE

SILVERSCREEN:SOVIETWOMEN ANDCINFMAFROMTHEBEGINNINGTOTHEEND OFTHE COMMUNISTER& edited by Lynne Attwood, 272 pages. London, Pandora Press, 1993. Soft cover, BrE12.99. This is an extremely enlightened book for readers interested in both women in Soviet cinema (both sides of the camera) and the history of Soviet cinema in general. On both counts it makes for a fascinating read not just because it sets several myths straight-such as the heritage of montage usually/officially accredited to Eisenstein but actually revealed as being to the honour of the women filmmaker Esfir’ Shub (who came to collision editing through her compilation system first devised for the re-editing of Hollywood films) - but also because it examines the development of Soviet cinema in relation to the USSR’s political culture and too the (so-called) emancipation of women. The study is rich, full, and dense. The book is organised with intelligence and sensitivity. The first half is written by Lynne Attwood (who modestly refers to herself as editor rather than coauthor); then there are two other parts which make up the other half and which give space to the voices of Soviet women: film critics, film stars, and women behind the camera. Attwood explains how cinema after the Revolution was perceived as an agent for socialisation and how, throughout the history of Soviet cinema, the symbolic use of the female figure as the Republic, motherhood, and morality has placed the Soviet woman on the screen as an ideological construct far removed from her own reality (particularly in its refusal to recognise her doubleburden as worker and mother) but one which safely echoed Soviet hegemony. Attwood traces the changes in the representations of the Soviet woman and the myths they propagate: particularly-up until Perestroika- the myth of sexual equality. She also discusses the disturbing

317

shift in representation of ‘woman,’ in the films of the 1980s onwards, as an object of violence and finds the logical reason for this. Having been positioned as site of morality under Communism, ‘woman’-now that this regime has been exposed as a failure/corrupt-becomes the site of all that is dishonourable in postCommunism. Attwood’s section, as well as that of the other authors, makes clear that feminism, where it does exist in the now ex-Soviet Union, has always had a very different set of preoccupations. The concerns were primarily social politics rather than sexual. After Perestroika, this has changed somewhat, and sexual politics are coming to the fore but again manifest themselves as quite other, focussing as they do on that which women have been denied: feminine eroticism and beauty- hence the wide appeal of beauty contests. For the Soviet film critics writing in this book, the present plethora of sex-scene films represents a sublimation of other urges: a desire for pluralism on all fronts (including sex); they also see them as representative of a deep ennui where youth, demoralised by the hypocrisy of their elders, see sex in any form and amount as a way of filling that void. The ‘invisibilisation’ of women filmmakers is also addressed in this book. There is a general reluctance for women directors to have their work labelled “women’s cinema.” (Incidentally this is also the case for France.) The reason is not difficult to pinpoint given the strong patriarchal constructs inherent in both countries/nations. And in this context, of particular interest/concern to this reader was the chapter on women in the cinema of the East-that is, Moslem Republics-and their lack of strong characterisation on the screen and their total proscription as filmmakers. Finally, given Soviet cinema’s honoured reputation as an art cinema, it is noteworthy that the effects of Perestroika will erode that standing. All filmmaking has now entered the profit-making culture. Satisfying popular taste has now become the order of the day, and this means primarily satisfying youth audiences: something that has already taken place in most Western societies although not necessarily to the betterment of this popular cultural artifact. Attwood’s book seems to hint that the ex-Soviet cinema is now headed for a rapid decline. Quite possibly, but then Hollywood is but a shadow of its former self in this regard-at least-the former superpower rejoins the only remaining one. SUSAN HAYWARD FRENCHSTUDIES BIRMINGHAMUNIVERSITY BIRMINGHAM,UK

Eau.4~ VALUE/COMPARABLEWORTH IN THE UK AND

THE USA, edited by Peggy Kahn and Elizabeth Meehan, 284 pages. Macmillan, London, 1992. Soft cover, Brf15.99. Legislation based on the principle of equal pay for equal work was introduced in the USA in the 1960s and in the UK in the 1970s. This was certainly important in challenging direct forms of pay discrimination, such as separate women’s and men’s rates for the same job. It soon became clear, however, that this was not enough because this legislation could not be invoked in situa-

318

Book Reviews

tions in which no man was available for comparison. Nor did it help to tackle the systematic undervaluing of women’s jobs and skills. Thus, campaigns were mounted in both countries for the right to claim equal pay for people doing dSffeenr jobs, where the value to the employer of those jobs could be demonstrated to be the same. This was partially accepted in the USA after certain court rulings and decisions of state legislatures, and in the UK because of the need to comply with directives from the European Community. These campaigns and their outcomes, termed ‘comparable worth’ in the USA and ‘equal value’ in the UK, are the subject of this comprehensive and informative book. The book is divided into two sections. The first deals with general issues, the second with case studies of particular campaigns or situations. A generally ‘feminist’ methodology is used throughout, though the attitudes and approaches of the contributors differ considerably. Race and class perspectives, in addition to gender, are upfront. The essays in the first section highlight problems and issues, draw out the comparisons between the two countries, and examine how these campaigns relate to other developments in feminist and labour movement strategy. Developments in the law and the technical problems related to job evaluation are well set out and debated in this context by, respectively, Jeanne Gregory and Fiona Neathey. The move to comparable worth/equal value has always been seen as important in class terms and as a way of extending equality campaigns to benefit working class women. Linda Blum makes the point that even comparable worth claims still have relevance only for certain types of workers, namely those with relatively stable jobs, probably in the public sector, and where arguments about skill and responsibility can be made. They do not on the whole benefit women with more fragmented work patterns and lower levels of skill. Julianne Malvaux, writing about the effect of comparable worth on Black women, points out that it is necessary also to look at how successful claims are paid for. For instance, employers in the state sector might be tempted to pay by taking funds from schemes for the unemployed or from childcare provision, thus disadvantaging other low paid women. She welcomes comparable worth schemes, however, particularly as the revelation of gender bias in wage scales opens the way for the consideration of race bias also. Both of these contributors emphasise that claims for comparable worth need to be part of an overall strategy for women workers, and conducted in ways that show awareness of the possible implications for other groups of women. The case study section provides additional vivid information which slots into the above. Overall, it would seem that comparable worth/equal value is most likely to be implemented in areas where the employer has something to lose from a public confrontation, for example, the Midland Bank and Sainsburys in the UK, Yale University and some public authorities in the USA. Alan Arthurs’ account of the (employer initiated) scheme at the Midland Bank shows interestingly that the management, aware that they were vulnerable in terms of comparisons between cashiers and messengers, waited to see ‘if there was going to be any fuss,’ when the EC measures were adopted. When they found that activism

was growing, they implemented their own, quite favourable, scheme to pre-empt further action. In all these accounts the relation among women’s militancy, trade union action, and use of the law is fully examined. Evidence would suggest that an equal balance of the first two, with the law in the background, is the most effective combination. Unfortunately, the existence of women at management level is not always a guarantee of favourable treatment. Linda Blum’s account of events in San Jose, California, styled by its woman mayor as ‘the feminist capital of the nation,’ makes this all too clear. As will be evident, there is a great deal of interesting material in this book which helpfully illuminates one strand of feminist practice in the 1980s. My only regret is that there is no final chapter drawing the material together. It would have been interesting to know the conclusions of the editors, and how they see such activity developing or changing in the circumstances of the 1990s. CATHERINE HOSKYNS SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND LAW COVENTRY UNIVERSITY COVENTRY, UK

EUROPEAN WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND

MANAGEMENT,

edited by Marilyn J. Davidson and Cary L. Cooper, 199 pages. Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd, London, 1993. Hard cover, fBr25.96. This book explores the situation of women in business and management in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. There is not a common chapter format; each contribution reflects available material and issues of local significance. Most authors provide detailed statistics on women’s participation in the workforce (which is increasing throughout Europe), their entry into management positions, and their roles as entrepreneurs. Other topics frequently covered include equality legislation, pensions, access to education, lack of pay equality, childcare provision, profiles of women managers derived from survey data, attitudes to women managers, women’s career aspirations, combining professional and domestic roles, and government, corporate or women’s organizations’ initiatives to enhance opportunities for women. This is, then, a valuable source book which broadens horizons about women and employment by portraying different cultures’ situations and focal issues, often mapped against those of other European countries. There are, of course, many similarities between countries. For example, women are still largely segregated into traditional women’s jobs in a limited range of employment sectors, they are often found in part-time or contract employment, and they are poorly represented in senior management (especially in the private sector). Many new entrepreneurs are women, and they are more likely to be married and to have children than are women managers in organizations, suggesting that this may be an easier lifestyle base for reconciling different demands. Most authors conclude that legislation has so far had limited impacts. Several do, however, believe that European Community laws will soon set higher stan-