Origins of Task Division by Gender
WHY DO MEN DECIDE AND WOMEN DELIVER PERSONAL SERVICES IN FINNISH SOCIAL WELFARE
Abstrakti
THE ORIGINS OF TASK DIVISION BY
GENDER
Administrative Studies, Vol. 7(1988): 4, 282-289
The answers to questions concerning gender
division in Finnish public administration can be
traced back to the nineteenth century to issues
concerning the organization of local administration at a time when the major economic outlays
of the municipalities were for social welfare.
Different strategies for helping the poor and the
disabled were emphasized by women and men,
there being a conflict of interest over whether priority should be given to issues concerning the
quality of human care or the effect on municipal
finances. While those directly lnvolved in helping
work placed a primary value on the care and concern for human wellbeing, the social welfare
administration run by men placed a primary value
on economics. The result is today's welfare
bureaucracy in which control is exerted by
men through a demand for economy and
efficiency.
