Telework: A new mode of gendered segmentation? Results from a Study in Canada

Abstract: Telework is seen as a way to reduce traffic congestion and urban pollution, as a new mode of work organization, and oftentimes as a way of balancing work and family. Our research not only provides a picture of teleworkers in Canada, but also goes beyond the non-gendered percentages which are more frequent in the analyses. This reveals an interesting fact, which we call a gendered segmentation of telework or telecommuting. In this paper, we stress the gendered differences in the type of work done, differentiations in tasks, in the autonomy of the decision to telecommute, as well as differentiations in work organization. We show that work organization and tasks are differentiated according to gender and we will see that while the practice of telework is gendered in types of task and time spent at home, the motives for telework, advantages and disadvantages, are similar for men and women. Resume : Le teletravail est vu comme un nouveau mode d'organisation du travail, et parfois aussi comme une facon de mieux concilier l'emploi et la famille. Notre article presente une analyse differenciee selon le sexe du teletravail au Canada, et met en relief ce que nous avons appele une segmentation differenciee selon le sexe du teletravail. Nous soulignons les differences relatives au type de travail effectue, aux tâches, a l'autonomie dans la prise de decision de faire du teletravail, autant d'elements differencies selon le sexe. Nous exposons aussi les avantages et inconvenients que voient les hommes et les femmes dans le fait de faire du teletravail et constatons que contrairement a ce qu'indiquaient certains auteurs, les avantages du teletravail sont relativement les memes chez les deux groupes.