Women, identity and employability: one day conference CFP

Call for papers



Women, identity and employability

One-day conference



University of Teesside, 7th February 2008



Keynote Speaker: Professor Sue Yeandle, University of Leeds



Although there is a wealth of literature on women within employment,
less focuses on women who are on the margins of the UK labour market and
issues of employability. For many women, achieving satisfying and well
rewarded employment is more complicated than simply eradicating external
or structural barriers, and for some women particular life experiences
and resulting conceptions of self can impact heavily on their
employability. Previous research findings have tended to document the
experiences of women who are already employed, or who are equipped with
the necessary skills and qualifications to feel confident enough to
approach the employment market, i.e. they have higher levels of personal
capital. This conference starts from recognition of the need for
critical attention to both the concept of employability and what it
means for diverse and also socially excluded groups of women within the
UK. For example, how do different women perceive their own
employability? In what ways does identity impact upon employability?
What personal development strategies are required to enter into and
sustain employment? Are expectations about people's employability
gendered? How might employability issues vary for different socially
excluded groups?



This event, hosted by the ADVANCE project

(http://www.tees.ac.uk/depts/socialfutures/research26.cfm) and the
Centre for Social and Policy Research's Gender Research Forum

(http://www.tees.ac.uk/depts/socialfutures/CSPRprofile.cfm), both based
at the University of Teesside, invites papers on the broad theme of
women, identity and employability. We welcome papers with a critical
focus on gender in, for example but not exclusively, the following
areas:



* Nature and meaning of employability for women

* Identity, diversity and employability

* Meanings of personal development for women

* Unemployment and 'spoiled' identities

* Innovative employability research methodologies

* Representations of the employable feminine body



Abstracts should be 250 words in length and can be theoretical or
empirical. Please send abstracts to Joan Heggie J.Heggie@tees.ac.uk by
the 7th December 2007.



Conference organisers:



Professor Eileen Green (University of Teesside)

Dr Joan Heggie (University of Teesside)

Ms Barbara Neil (University of Teesside)

Ms Carrie Singleton (University of Teesside)

Ms Gemma Quinn (University of Teesside)